John Park

John obtained BA Honors in Economics, magna cum laude, from Brown University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

John Park founded Aevolution Investment Corp to invest in Asian disruptive growth companies, with an initial focus on Korea. Previously, he served as the CEO of Kakao Investment, a subsidiary of Kakao Group, overseeing assets exceeding 2.6 trillion won (USD 2 billion). In March 2021, he left Kakao Investment to establish and lead Aevolution Investment Corp as its major shareholder and CEO.

Before founding Kakao Investment, John held the position of Chief Strategy Officer at Kakao Group, orchestrating significant company-wide transformations. His achievements included the acquisition and merger of Daum Corp, pivotal acquisitions for Kakao, and the formation of the venture investing arm, later rebranded as Kakao Investment. One of their early successes was the acquisition of a 67% stake in Nzin, which later became Kakao Games, reaching a market capitalization of USD 6 billion through an IPO.

He also played a pivotal role in launching Kakao Group’s blockchain initiatives and held the CEO role for the holding company of Ground X, a blockchain subsidiary of Kakao Group. In a global capacity, he acquired a 50% stake in Kakao Japan from Yahoo Japan, transforming it into the manga content provider "Piccoma," now valued at USD 6 billion after a USD 600 million fundraising.

Before joining Kakao in 2014, John established Asia Evolution in 2000, an advisory and incubation firm across multiple Asian locations. His work involved assisting over 200 clients in strategic support, capital raising, and mergers and acquisitions.

From 1994 to 1999, John served as an Associate and Executive Director at Goldman Sachs Investment Banking Division in New York and Seoul. His contributions included establishing Goldman Sachs' Korean office and leading substantial corporate restructuring efforts for Korean companies. Additionally, he co-founded and funded $2 billion to create Vietnam's largest mobile telecom company, Viettel Telecom.

John is a member of Kauffman Fellows Class 26, and is serving his fellowship at Aevolution Investment Corp under mentor Perry Ha.