{"id":7863,"date":"2015-07-01T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-07-01T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2015\/07\/01\/kyung-bae-suh-mba-87\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T18:17:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T18:17:21","slug":"kyung-bae-suh-mba-87","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2015\/07\/01\/kyung-bae-suh-mba-87\/","title":{"rendered":"Kyung-Bae Suh, MBA ’87"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kyung-Bae Suh, MBA \u201987, President and CEO OF AmorePacific and recipient of the L. Joseph Thomas Leadership Award, shares his vision: \u201cTransforming the world through beauty\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kyung-Bae Suh, MBA \u201987, has established a name for himself as the leader of one of Asia\u2019s biggest cosmetics corporations. Taking the helm of AmorePacific from his father, Suh Sung-Whan, in 1997, he launched a massive restructuring of the foundering company to refocus on its core business \u2013 health and beauty products \u2013 and divested all noncore businesses (then ranging from insurance and securities to a pro baseball team). Suh\u2019s bold move is credited with bringing AmorePacific back from the brink of bankruptcy and turning it around to become the world\u2019s 11th-largest skin-care products company (Euromonitor International) with net income of $197 million in 2014 (Bloomberg).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the man who accepted the L. Joseph Thomas Leadership Award was surprisingly humble and grateful, expressing deep thanks to the \u201cmany wonderful mentors who shaped my insight into the world, opened doors for new opportunities, and inspired my life.\u201d He also disarmed his listeners by poking fun at himself. \u201cWhen I first learned I was receiving this award, I got some bad news: I would have to give my speech in English,\u201d said Suh. \u201cA friend asked: \u2018Why are you so nervous? Your Korean public speaking skills aren\u2019t really that impressive, either,\u2019\u201d he added. \u201cAt least I\u2019m consistent!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he continued, Suh showed his listeners a glimpse of the business acumen and adherence to discipline that have made him an Asian business powerhouse. It\u2019s difficult to imagine a leader who so completely \u201clives one\u2019s brand.\u201d For example; Suh uses all of his company\u2019s products every day (except mascara, which makes his eyes itch), and has his wife and two daughters (both Cornellians) test them out, as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AmorePacific has been a family tradition for generations. His grandmother, Yun Dok-Jeong, extracted camellia oil in her kitchen to sell to wealthy women as a hair treatment in the 1930s. The brand was established: \u201cIn her kitchen, my grandma made the best products for the customer. At AmorePacific, our highest priority is to make the best quality products for the health and beauty of our customers,\u201d said Suh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suh\u2019s father, Suh Sung-Whan, transformed his mother\u2019s business into a modern enterprise, founding the company in 1945 as Taepyungyang (Pacific). The brand promise remained the same: beauty and health products based on indigenous Korean botanicals (first ginseng, then green tea). \u201cWe are ancient beauty creators, and we wish to spread Asian beauty across the world,\u201d said Suh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suh has relied on three business principles throughout his career:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The customer stands at the center of every business decision. AmorePacific invests heavily in research and development, \u201cbecause the best products come from the best ingredients,\u201d said Suh. \u201cIf you don\u2019t do that, the customer may buy, but won\u2019t come back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concentrate on what you do best. It served as a key guidepost throughout the AmorePacific restructuring. In the 1980s and 1990s, in addition to over-diversifying, the company had become complacent about its number-one position in Korean beauty. \u201cWe weren\u2019t making changes, innovating, listening to the voice of our customers,\u201d said Suh. \u201cSo, we went back to the drawing board and focused on what we did best, what we loved the most. I had learned that at Johnson.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep communications open and maintain mutual trust with all stakeholders. \u201cMy grandma would always have extra food on hand for unexpected visitors,\u201d said Suh, explaining that the country was starving in the 1930s. \u201cThe happiness of sharing is a value that runs through my family and our company, and leads to mutual growth with employees, partners, customers, society,\u201d he added. \u201cEach transaction is an exchange of trust between the company and the customer. True business happens in small increments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have been asked what kind of entrepreneur I want to be remembered as, and my answer is someone who made a small change but helped the world become more beautiful and happy,\u201d said Suh. \u201cI strive to make my community a happier, more beautiful place.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kyung-Bae Suh, MBA \u201987, President and CEO OF AmorePacific and recipient of the L. Joseph Thomas Leadership Award, shares his vision: \u201cTransforming the world through beauty\u201d Kyung-Bae Suh, MBA \u201987,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":7864,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[171],"tags":[196],"ppma_author":[],"class_list":["post-7863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-profiles","tag-archived"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nKyung-Bae Suh, MBA '87 - Cornell Business Centers & Institutes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Kyung-Bae Suh, MBA \u201987, President and CEO OF AmorePacific and recipient of the L. 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