"I never thought I would be a business person until…”

I still remember the excitement on March 27th, the day I was admitted to Harvard Business School. Once the excitement was gone, I began to realize what this meant. Recruiting. Taking the next step in my career, stakes felt higher.
I come from Seoul, Korea. I majored in International Relations and minored in Media Studies at Korea University. I never thought I would be a business person until I interned at The Boston Consulting Group. I worked on a technology incubation project for a Korean heavy industries conglomerate. I was fascinated by the industrial manufacturing industry in Korea and the large investments into the field. The industry had tangible products that changed people’s lives in a broad spectrum as it dealt comprehensively with infrastructure.

That is how I decided to work at STX Group, world’s fourth largest shipbuilder at the time. STX Group dealt with numerous business areas ranging from shipping, shipbuilding, industrial plants and energy. I was asked to join the in-house consulting unit that was established right after I joined STX. Later on, I progressed on to a more finance related role dealing with corporate M&A projects as well as capital raising activities.

I was fortunate to experience diverse aspects of heavy industrial manufacturing and work with C-level executives from the start of my career as an in-house consultant. I was also thrilled by the fast pace of the deal scene and the structured but creative process that goes into a large-scale financing project. However, during my 2.5 years of work, I witnessed the whole shipping and shipbuilding industries suffer through one of the lowest downturns in the industry. This led me to acknowledge the dire need for in-time financing needs that goes before the execution and formulation of strategies. That said, I aim to build my core expertise in advising industrial companies as a financial advisory. In what capacity is still being debated, but I’ll make sure to keep you posted!