April 4, 2011                                                                      

To hear an audio recording of Kim's talk, press the play button below, or download the file here.

 

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AMHERST, Mass.—International business woman Sung-Joo Kim, a member of Amherst College’s Class of 1981, will discuss her work and corporate social responsibility in a lecture titled “From Amherst with Love… Taking Over the World One Handbag at a Time” at 8 p.m. on Monday, April 25, in Amherst College’s Johnson Chapel. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Schwemm Fund.

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Kim is the founder of Sungjoo Group, which consists of Sungjoo Merchandising Inc. (SMI) and Sungjoo Design Tech & Distribution Inc. (SDD). She is also a chairperson of MCM Group/MCM Products AG/MCM Lederwaren & Accessories GmbH and has been involved in the fashion industry for more than 20 years. Since 1990, the Sungjoo Group has successfully launched several globally renowned brands as an exclusive franchisee; they include Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Sonia Rykiel and Marks & Spencer, with more than 100 direct-run stores in Korea. The company has also acquired MCM’s global business, distributing to more than 150 retailers in 30 countries worldwide. 

Throughout her career, Kim has been featured in numerous publications and media broadcasts, including Forbes, CNBC and the BBC. She was also selected as one of the “1997 Global Leaders of Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland; one of “The 20 Most Powerful International Businesswomen” in 199? by Working Woman and one of the “7 Most Powerful Women in Asia” in 2001 by Asiaweek. In addition, she was nominated by CNN as one of the “New Century Leaders” and ranked among the “Top 50 Women to Watch” by The Wall Street Journal in 2004. She was also named 2007 Honoree of the Year by the Asian American Federation in New York.

A successful businesswoman with a strong sense of corporate social responsibility, Kim considers serving society as one of her utmost duties in her personal and corporate life. This is reflected in her active involvement in nonprofit charity and cultural organizations, including Save the Children, Asia House and many others. In addition, she firmly believes in the power of women to improve global society and is actively involved in many prominent women’s organizations, such as the Global Summit of Women, the Women’s Leadership Board, the World Women’s Forum and the Women’s International Networking.

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