Samuel Kim

Samuel Hungsoo Kim, a Korean national, is the Co-founder and President of the Center for Asia Leadership Initiatives (CALI). He is passionate about nurturing and empowering talent in Asia and runs over 70 programs annually, in 32 Asian countries, to help the region’s emerging leaders explore ways of being socially responsible as they face today’s complex challenges. His research and training focus on building social capital and trustworthy institutions; the effective use of power, authority, and influence; and negotiations, mediation, and confidence-building. To date, some 36,000 emerging and established leaders from the governmental, political, non-profit, and corporate spheres in Asia have benefited from his programs. Prior to establishing CALI, Samuel worked in a wide range of sectors, from strategy consulting and social entrepreneurship to international development, politics, and government. He has worked for and with over 30 renowned organizations, including the United Nations, UNESCO, Samsung, and Toyota. He is a visiting faculty at the Ban Ki-moon Institute for Global Education, UN Academic Impact, and currently sits on the boards of three social-profit organizations. He also has served as a visiting fellow at the Asia Center at Harvard University and the Kellogg School of Management in Northwestern University. Samuel holds a Master’s in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government; a Master’s in International Cooperation from Seoul National University; and an LLB in Law, International Politics, and Economics from Handong University. He is the editor of ten books and regularly writes opinion pieces and editorials.