[2020 Women’s Forum] CEO Jaewon Lee: "Solve Problems in My Own Way"

2020 Asia Women Leaders Forum Speaker

Lee Jaewon, CEO of XYZ Venture Partners, is giving a lecture at the '2020 Asia Women Leaders Forum' held on the 28th at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] "A career is like a beaded necklace. You always have to think about which beads to put in to make a beautiful necklace."

This advice was given by Jae-won Lee, CEO of XYZ Venture Partners (32), who serves as the head of the Korea Youth Chapter of the World Economic Forum, to university students and young professionals. On the 28th, Lee gave a lecture at the 2020 Asia Women Leaders Forum held at the Seoul Lotte Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul, emphasizing, "You need to gain experience while thinking about what you truly want to do." Defining himself as a 'pro resigner,' Lee majored in computer engineering at Stanford University and, after working at McKinsey and SoftBank Ventures, founded XYZ Venture Partners.

Lee said, "Through various experiences, I judged that I have the capability to solve startup problems in my own way," adding, "At XYZ Venture Partners, we have invested in five companies and carried out projects requested by six companies." XYZ Venture Partners is a company builder and investor that helps startups solve difficult challenges.

Lee also lectured on "The Impact of Important Decision-Making by Leaders" that day. He said, "I always think about whether I can make important decisions well," and added, "My belief is that we must have a positive impact on society." What is Lee’s unique problem-solving method?

Lee explained, "I structure and break down problems, then set hypotheses and quickly verify them with minimal data," adding, "While delving into the problem, you must continuously review the process, prioritizing and executing solutions that have the greatest financial and organizational impact and are cost-effective."

Earlier this year, Lee delivered a positive social message through the 'Vegetarianism for the Earth' campaign. He said, "The World Economic Forum concluded that the biggest solution to overcoming the climate crisis is vegetarianism," adding, "After returning to Korea, I launched a campaign with several companies under the message 'One vegetarian meal can stop the climate crisis' to encourage many people to participate, and it achieved results beyond our efforts."

Lee said, "Many people help in the process where decisions lead to influence," and added, "For good influence, relationships must be connected."