As I sat across from Anthony Salzman, better known in the media as “The First American,” I couldn’t help but wonder what the hell could make such a charismatic, successful, and innovative man nervous. Well, let me tell you, not much…

Having lived and worked in Vietnam for over 18 years, this New York native is tough as nails. I mean, how else could he have survived and succeeded in a country under an American embargo, with a non-existent banking system, no cars, and poor infrastructure?

When you search for Salzman online, you discover that he played a key role in normalizing the relationship between Vietnam and the US, as well as signing the Vietnam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement.

But, you also read that he was “first” in everything in Vietnam… Really? I ask you… the first in everything?

I argue that any powerful man has his detractors, and you’re probably wondering if Salzman was the first to write a check… Wasn’t there a banking system in Vietnam before Salzman arrived in 1992? – Was Salzman really the first to have a car? Does it seem so unlikely that in the 1990s a country like Vietnam didn’t have cars? and then comes the most important thing, the Chicago Tribune claims that Salzman was “the first” American to do business in Vietnam. Let’s go! surely there were other Americans who flew to Vietnam with a dollar and a dream and somehow did business there in 1992, right?

Tony Salzman, aka “Tony the Tiger”, the president of V-TRAC Development Co. is a soft-spoken, charismatic (yes, I said that), almost humble man… As he sits across from me while I play the devil’s advocate, laughs at my questions and smiles calmly… without getting upset he explains:

TS: “Banks. No, there were no foreign banks in this country when I arrived. It doesn’t mean zero. While I was here, sometime after I arrived, ANZ Australia bank was first. Citibank was second. The country manager from the Australian bank was a wonderful guy named AM who I chose to hand over the caterpillar banking business to him.

I ran one of the most successful and innovative marketing programs of all time: it was a contest to find the oldest working piece of Caterpillar equipment in Vietnam. The reward was $1000. At that time, the median monthly salary was $80. Submissions came from all over Vietnam. And I thought it was time for the first check to be issued in Vietnam. After all, it was a 100% cash partnership. A virgin banking market. So, we found the oldest caterpillar in the country that was still in operation, an excavator built in 1937. The runner-up was 1939.

There should be some kind of stock photos of this somewhere. I will try to find them. When we announced the winner, it was a celebration attended by many people, and the winner, who was an engineer who owns a tugboat. Sorry, the oldest engine was on the tug, the second on the bulldozer. On the tug it was used for propulsion. I remember seeing those huge checks as a kid on game shows. The ones the size of the bed. I decided that this was exactly what my company and the bank needed. A giant check with our two logos in the name of “bearer”. One of my staff members described the smile on the winners’ faces as ivory from ear to ear! Well, the ivory disappeared when he saw this thing, the check, which I announced that he had won. During the ceremony I proceeded to explain what a check is: a negotiable instrument. I told the audience that it was time for Vietnam to start using negotiable instruments, and here is the first one! I invited the very perplexed men up on stage and then gave him a cheap plastic pen. He seemed even more confused. The huge check was held by two bankers as a backdrop for me and the very perplexed winner.

At that point I asked the bankers to turn the check over to show the blank side to the audience. They did this, and then I had the winner sign his name to back it up. You can imagine, he looked even more puzzled than more puzzled than more puzzled! He did not want to sign. I then directed their attention to another bank representative who was holding two plastic bags with the bank’s logo on them. Shopping bags overflowed with cash. The ivory smile returned. He began to head towards the bankers. I said no, you have to sign your name on the back of the check. He didn’t really know what he was talking about, but he realized he wasn’t going anywhere near those bags of cash unless he signed his name.

So, he signed his name. He then went to the cash bags and once again I told him no, the other two bankers holding the giant check gave it to the guy holding the two cash bags to take, he took the big check to the other companion, then an attendant took it from him, and bags of cash were delivered into his hands. At that point, probably only me, my wife, and the bankers understood what the hell was going on. Certainly no one else did! Anyway, that was the first negotiated check in the history of Vietnam, no matter what regime of government it is.

Now, you have become the fifth or sixth person in the world to understand the nature of that ceremony and transaction. Unfortunately, I have never written any of this anywhere, nor have I told any reporter. Eventually I’ll find the verification image, I hope, in any case, it’s quite a story.”

It’s a great story indeed, and that explains how the tiger earned his mark as “the first” American to write a check in Vietnamese history.

But how about being “the first” businessman to do business in Vietnam, that’s pretty absurd I tell him, now how are you going to explain that Tony?

He smiles, and without roaring says: “On being the First American to do business, here I confess that the media took some liberties. In fact, there were two others, neither of them had employees, but there were two others. Oh yeah, I mean two other Americans in Hanoi, there were others in South Vietnam, I never found out who they were.”

So that settles it, Anthony Salzman may not have been the only “first American” to do business in Vietnam, but he certainly was “the first American” to have employees in Vietnam. And it is precisely for this reason that in 2010 he was awarded the most prestigious honor, receiving the Vietnam Friendship Medal from President Nguyễn Minh Triết, who recognized the American’s enormous contributions to Vietnam, primarily as a pioneer whose commitment personal and business opened a new chapter of friendship and paved the way for others.

While I’m impressed with all of the Salzman anecdotes you shared with me, I’ll point out that devil’s advocate is rarely satisfied…

IDG: I have to ask Tony, the “first” to own a car in Vietnam? Are you kidding? It was the 90’s, every somewhat civilized country had cars… seriously, how could this be?

Without pausing, Salzman explains: “NN-35-01, so 35 means United States and 01 means first person to register!

The problem arose when the first US ambassador was appointed. According to protocol, he had to have America’s number one!

So I hated the negotiation and sued during which I was told I had to hand over my 01 plate. There was a solution, in typical Vietnamese style: they gave me the license number 00 001!

There’s also a story about how I matched the ambassador, whose wife had tragically passed away due to a terrible illness, and, you guessed it, the bank officer from the Bank of Australia.

Now, if your naysayer friends don’t think I introduced the first American ambassador to his wife, they need to read the next installment of the story!

Hint: the American ambassador had been a prisoner of war in Vietnam. And the banker lady was a Vietnamese immigrant in Australia. Then Australian newspapers had headlines saying “US Ambassador marries Vietnamese girl.”

Well, this young lady was not far behind! She responded to reporters by saying the headline should have read “ex-hustler marries Australian diplomat”!

Hopes, I blew the shot. She had been with the Australian aid organization in Vietnam before joining the bank.”

In fact, that takes care of the “First” to own a car in Vietnam and the best American matchmaker in Vietnam. The registration is not only straight but engraved in “steel” rather than stone, as Salzman tells me he still owns the earlier model Mercedes with its Vietnam license plate 00 001.

While I thank Salzman for this bizarre interview, he kindly thanks me, adding: “When I was a kid, there were these stories called ‘the fair stories’ by Rudyard Kipling. My favorite was ‘how the elephant got its trunk.’ I have explained a bit in the same way. [laughs]

In our Just So Story, I say that this “tiger” has definitely explained how he earned his stripes.

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