Twelve years ago, Ann Kim had an epiphany. At a crossroads in life, she knew she wanted to open her own restaurant but was terrified of failure. Opening her own restaurant seemed far too daunting so she decided to settle for a franchise. Ann Kim stared at the contract she was about to sign for…
27-year-old Korean American Stephen Song has won the 2022 World Poker Tour Prime Championship in Las Vegas, a win that has pushed him to the top of the global poker rankings. He defeated runner-up Lara Eisenberg, a radiologist from Maryland, while another Korean American, Young Eum, a former software engineer from Los Angeles, came in…
You can sense the passion when David Chung speaks about his life and his work. He’s an entrepreneur, and launching companies is a never-ending source of drive and energy. You may know his skincare brand Farmacy, which was acquired by Procter & Gamble (P&G) in December of 2021. His makeup-melting product “Green Clean” has become…
Korean American Michael B. Kim shares his love of books, chimaek, and the power of jeong at the workplace. According to Forbes, Michael B. Kim of MBK Partners jumped 10 places this year on their list of 50 Richest to become the third wealthiest person in Korea. But if you ask Kim, he might say…
A fireside chat with Min Jin Lee, author of “Pachinko”, for the Twin Cities Asian Executive Leadership Conference. I am so honored and delighted to have recently interviewed my friend and hero, Min Jin Lee. I first met Min Jin in May of 2017, three months after her best-selling novel “Pachinko” was published. I had…
Sometime in the early 2000s when investment banking was still a mystery to most of the immigrant community, a young Korean American named Dow Kim found a way to navigate the cutthroat ranks of traders and bankers to become one of the highest ranking executives on Wall Street. An understated man of few words, Kim…
In January 2022, Rose Lee was elected by Honeywell International to be the newest member of their board of directors, becoming the first Korean American woman to sit on the board of a Fortune 100 company. This news came on the heels of an even more impressive achievement when, in September 2021, Rose Lee became…
If anyone is a cross-cultural bridge builder, it’s Eric Nam. Since his debut in 2013, the multifaceted singer, songwriter and TV host has been engaging all of us around the world! It’s not only through the talent of his music and gift of conversation that he’s put Korean Americans in the forefront. Eric Nam has…
In the vanguard of female leaders in finance, Suzanne Yoon stands apart. Women represent seven percent* of private equity founders but Yoon is the only Korean American in that trailblazing group. Yoon founded Kinzie Capital Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm, in 2017 and currently has about $150 million AUM (assets under management). Named by…
High up in the Umbrian hills of Italy, Chang-rae Lee is spending the summer on a farm where olive groves and vineyards play host to one of America’s most celebrated novelists. Not coincidentally, the farm overlooks the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, an artist residency program that hosted Lee two years ago when he first fell in love…