Just Five Questions: Sojung Lee ’13 MAM
Five questions posed to leaders in business and society.
Sojung (SJ) Lee ’13 MAM is the President of TeamViewer Asia Pacific and a Director-at-Large for The Yale SOM Alumni Advisory Board.
What’s a global trend you are following where you see an opportunity or bright spot in this challenging macro environment?
Sustainability. Now everyone talks about it, even my fifteen year old son. Sustainability is not just protecting the environment, reducing the usage of plastic or electricity, it is about a paradigm change in the way we interact with people and the way we work, which accelerates the speed of innovation across industries and regions. Working for technology companies, I see great
momentum in how society and business embraced digital technologies to improve efficiency and drive new ways of engaging each other by connecting and leveraging insights from data to drive a sustainable future.
What’s an example of how SOM’s mission informed your professional path or how you built teams?
As one of the first Master of Advanced Management (MAM) students, I was part of a class that resulted from Yale SOM inviting the global network of top universities to expand a global perspective and drive a more diverse and inclusive culture at Yale; so diversity and inclusion was always a key DNA of my team. Through our diverse experience and perspectives, we learned more about how to respect other cultures, drive new ideas and share expertise and know how to overcome global challenges.
What’s an SOM experience that helped shape the way you understand business and society?
Through the mission, "to educate leaders for business and society," Yale SOM clearly demonstrated those two are not separate. The public and private sectors are intertwined, therefore leaders in business and society need to take more responsibility for how her or his decision will impact the overall ecosystem. This goes back to the sustainability topic above.
What’s a favorite SOM memory, faculty member, mentor or class?
Very difficult to pick just one memory, I truly enjoyed the coaching sessions from fellow classmates—there were career coaches which were assigned by the Career Development Office who were second year MBA students who already had secured their job and volunteered to support other classmates. Learning from peers who had similar concerns about the future and experiences surely helped me to think through my career. Also as part of the first class of MAM students, our previous Dean, Dean Snyder, had invited all of us (less than 20 members) to his home for a discussion with various industry leaders. He is an amazing host and those real business talks in his living room made us learn about real business and world challenges.
What are you excited about for the year ahead (as it relates to any public, private or nonprofit endeavor you are paying attention to)?
As it is the year of the dragon, as per The Lunar New Year, this symbolizes prosperity and good health. As we have been through various economic, health and political challenges regardless of regions and industries in the last couple of years, I wish this new year brings collaboration, peace and positive momentum.
Just Five Questions is an initiative led by the Yale SOM Alumni Advisory Board. Want to learn more? Contact Lee Race ’93 with feedback, thoughts, and/or questions.