John Kim

John attended the Jerome Fisher Dual Degree Program in Management and Technology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a Bachelor of Science in economics from the Wharton School and a Bachelor of Applied Science from the School of Engineering. 

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John is a Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations and sits on various corporate and nonprofit boards, including those of Switch Communications, Kairos Society ASEAN, and the Choson Exchange, a nonprofit focused on teaching female entrepreneurs in North Korea.

John's career has taken him across a diverse range of operating and investing environments, from early-stage startups to Fortune 500 companies. For the last decade, before founding cross-border venture capital firm Amasia, John focused in finance, serving as Senior Vice President at Mercuria Energy Group, Executive Director at Goldman Sachs, and Portfolio Manager at Korean National Investments. While in these roles, he managed trading and investment strategies across a diverse set of asset classes including commodities, public and private equity, fixed income, and derivatives. 

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John started his career as an entrepreneur, founding music, Internet, and e-consulting businesses before joining Merck & Co. as a system specialist. He left Merck to start his third company, a Delaware-incorporated rock band called The Ally. John toured across America and recorded with top artists, most notably receiving a platinum record for his album contribution with Grammy Award-winner Brandy.

As a member of Class 20, John served his fellowship at Amasia under the mentorship of Amasia Chairman, Ramanan Raghavendran. He is also mentor to Class 21 member Geoffrey See.