"Find the Values That Matter to You" ... Global CEO Talk by Lee Janghyuk

On March 31, the Global CEO Talk, hosted by the KUBS (Dean= Sang Yong Kim), was held in room 303 of the Hyundai Motor Hall. Lee Janghyuk, the associate dean of the KUBS, was the speaker of the special lecture. Lee Janghyuk earned his master's and doctoral degrees in business administration from ESSEC Business School and worked as a professor at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom and HEC Paris (École des hautes études commerciales de Paris) before devoting his efforts to educating the next generation as a marketing professor and associate dean of KUBS.

First, Lee introduced the start-up that he launched through faculty entrepreneurship. He is currently the co-founder and CEO of AligoAI and the co-founder and partner of SGH Korea. Lee advised students on how to use their time wisely. When he started his career in the United Kingdom while having a family, he emphasized “the importance of refusing requests to secure time,” in order to spend 100% of one’s time on work, oneself, and loved ones.

He also shared his experience living in France and using French. France makes it more difficult to acquire and use English, unlike the UK. As a result, Lee actively participated in global marketing discussions to gain many opportunities, which is a point he advised to students as well.

He then emphasized three points for students. The first was about acknowledging objects. As one acknowledges and realizes objects, he advised students to practice generalizing and expressing their understanding of them, adding that it is what anybody can start this very day. The second was about explaining the world. He stated that “It is important to explain the world in one's unique way, rather than describing others based on a lot of information.” Third, he explained how to recognize and distinguish the types of industries.

Lee then shared the cases of Meta and Coca-Cola, that they treat each customer as a new customer and provide services. Thus, their marketing is not based on a simple criterion of customer awareness but on the perception that customers are always new. For example, Coca-Cola conducted a video ad for a "happiness vending machine" as an example of experiential marketing. Through the video, people perceive the keyword "happiness" and feel that "Coca-Cola made me happy," conveying only emotional aspects and thus having a positive impact on emotional consumption.

Finally, Lee advised that if you want to build a career in the marketing field, you should look for opportunities in industries with low product involvement and awareness. In particular, he emphasized the importance of finding values that are important to oneself and walking the path of preserving those values, rather than the things that look good at the moment or the things people say are good.

Meanwhile, the Global CEO Talk is a lecture series for undergraduate students of KUBS, conducted in a special lecture format where invited speakers give lectures every week. However, any G-MBA or G-MIM student can audit after pre-registration. Those who wish to audit the Global CEO Talk, which takes place every Friday until June 23, please apply by email to the Global CEO Talk administrator (slim.vbc@gmail.com).