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Special Lecture: Youngsuk Chi, Chairman of Elsevier

2015.09.16 Views 4427 지신재

Special Guest Lecture: “Global Pioneer in Publishing” Youngsuk Chi, Chairman of Elsevier
Held on September 7 (Mon.) at the LG-POSCO Building, Supex Hall - Theme: "People, Choices and Leadership"

On September 7 (Mon.), 14:00 at the LG-POSCO Building 4th Floor Supex Hall, Korea University Business School (KUBS)(Dean = Dong-One Kim) invited Youngsuk Chi, Chairman of Elsevier and "global pioneer in publishing", for a special guest lecture. Around 200 individuals were in attendance.

Chairman Youngsuk Chi lectured on the theme of "People, Choices and Leadership", while sharing his experiences and secrets to success in becoming the chairman of a leading publishing company in the global information industry. KUBS invites the CEOs of global companies for special lectures each year in order to provide opportunities for students to develop their global leadership and business mindsets. So far, some of the most famous speakers who have visited KUBS include Alvin Toffler, Jim Rogers, and Carly Fiorina, among others.

Before beginning his speech, Chairman Youngsuk Chi asked if anyone in the audience knew of Claude Monet, Pierre Auguste Renoir, and Edgar De Gas. As many answered that they did, he asked an additional question whether anyone knew of Durand Ruel. This time the audience was silent. Chairman Chi explained that, "After recognizing the value of impressionist works early on, at a time when they were considered 'abnormal' in France, Durand Ruel achieved great success as an art dealer in the United States after collecting 5000 pieces of art, even some of which were incomplete" and "he is a figure that business students must know." He continued by saying, "while collectors of vested interests adhered to old-fashioned pieces, Durand Ruel, on the other hand, took notice of the potential of experimental and creative artists and was able to find success in the new American market" and "Elsevier and other publishing companies must gain insight from this collector in order to find success."

Chairman Chi explained the present situation by saying that, "The publishing world changed drastically over the past few years as we shifted from the Gutenberg's movable type era to the digital world" and "the age of correcting printed manuscripts before publishing has come to an end and we are now living in a very interesting time where everything is done on computers." According to Chairman Chi, the current trend in publishing consists of novels and poem books, education publishing for children and adolescents, and academic profession publishing, each occupying about one third of the market.

Chairman Chi remarked, “Due to the change in the publishing environment, everyone here in the audience can become a publisher” and “more than half of the top 10 professional journals in each field worldwide, written by 1 or more authors, is being disseminated to various countries through international partnerships.”

Chairman Chi selected expansion, experience, and engagement as the three key words that helped in getting over the crisis of the rapidly changing publishing environment to develop even further. He emphasized that, “In an environment where over 50% of the people utilize digital devices to access text, publishing companies must not be limited to paper and they must be able to provide the right content, at the right time, and in the right context” and “this is the same as if a car did not simply function as a car or if a mobile phone did not merely have calling capabilities.”

He stressed the importance of experience by saying, “Watching the World Cup with 4 friends in front of a TV is an entirely different experience than watching it with thousands of others in the middle of the city” and “as we are living in an era that values experience, overlooking its importance will result in failure.” Regarding the last key word, engagement, Chairman Chi explained that, “Although in the past, I used to consider one-sided sales as important, my thoughts have changed a great deal after spending a long time in publishing” and “it is also important to strengthen deep, long-term engagement through multi-directional interactions considering the author, reader, and other various individuals.”

Chairman Chi ended his lecture with a message by saying, “Innovation will always be needed by the present and the future” and “I hope you, the future leaders of the world, will challenge yourselves by always pursuing innovation.”

The lecture was followed by eager questions from the audience. In response to one student’s question on how he overcame his moments of failure and discouragement, Chairman Chi emphasized the “importance of relationships.” “When I look back at my moments of failure and discouragement, I had not maintained my human relations very well” and “problems arose when I did not take care of my colleagues and coworkers and was not honest with them.” He continued by saying, “Although I had many moments of failure, and certainly more than one, as a PMA (Positive Mental Attitude) type of person, I try to solve any issues through positive thinking” and “if you control your mind and thinking with positivity, you can surely overcome any failures that you may encounter.”

CEO special lecturer, Chairman Youngsuk Chi, earned his bachelor’s in economics from Princeton University, his MBA from Columbia University, and his honorary doctorate from Sejong University. He previously served as the chief secretary of the CEO at American Express, President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Ingram Book Group, President of Random House and Chairman of Random House Asia, and the first Asian President of the International Publishers Association (IPA). He is currently the Chairman of the global publishing company, Elsevier.

With its headquarters based in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Elsevier is the world’s largest publishing company that provides literature in the fields of science, technology, and health with over 7000 employees in 24 branches around the world. Elsevier, which boasts a 430-year history, is leading in the provision of highly selective academic content with its recent adoption of the peer-review system.

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