The Art of the Possible and Giving Back: Meet MENTOR Board Member Hyong Kim
November 7, 2024
In July, MENTOR welcomed its newest board member, Hyong Kim. MENTOR’s Chief Development Officer, Nicki Ruiz de Luzuriaga, recently sat down with Hyong — who is currently EY Global and Americas Technology, Media & Entertainment and Telecommunications (TMT) Industry Leader — to hear firsthand what motivated him to join MENTOR’s board.
What inspired you to join the board at MENTOR this summer?
I heard about MENTOR originally through my former EY colleague Gerry Dixon, who previously served on MENTOR’s executive board for many years. Gerry recently retired but, knowing my passion for giving back to the community and being involved, he asked me if I was interested in joining MENTOR’s board
After speaking with MENTOR’s CEO, Jermaine Myrie, about the organization’s mission and vision, I saw it aligned very well with my own purpose, which is really about giving back and the art of the possible.
What are you most looking forward to as a member of the MENTOR board?
There are two main things:
- I’m excited to work to give back to the community. I look forward to reaching out to other communities that otherwise we may not have had an opportunity to work with. I look forward to working with a broader set of stakeholders, to give back to.
- We [MENTOR] are an organization made up of Affiliates, and to be able to leverage the Affiliates in the states and make those connections available not only to those who work at MENTOR, but also to the recipients of the mentorship that the organization provides is enticing.
What role do you feel that MENTOR as an organization plays in advancing opportunity for young people?
MENTOR as an organization is at the heart of giving back to the community. I think oftentimes we live in our own bubble and don’t realize what others may or may not have. I think MENTOR gives an opportunity to make connections to those who may not otherwise have a figure to look upon for guidance, or for career development and things of that nature. MENTOR brings together all walks of life and gives an opportunity to all walks of life, fostering a sense of inclusion to connect with a diverse set of personal and professional connections.
How do you feel that mentorship has played a role in your own personal or professional journey?
I feel like I’ve had mentors throughout my entire career, both personally and professionally.
We in the firm (at EY) talk about mentors and sponsors. One of the analogies that we use around the firm is the fact that a mentor is going to be the one that gives you their top five restaurants if you’re asking for a restaurant recommendation for example. Here are the places that you go, and these are the best in town. But a sponsor not only gives you that, but then arranges a chef tour or a kitchen tour without even asking about it.
Both personally and professionally, I’ve had mentors look out for me, be my voice when my voice isn’t in the room and be an advocate. I think mentorship is really about advocacy at the end of the day.
I think without advocacy it’s very difficult not only to break into a circle and be part of it, but then also to bring new people into that circle. And from a DEI perspective to me inclusion is critical and giving everyone an opportunity to be part of that and contribute is at the heart of mentorship.
How have you acted as a mentor to others?
Our business at EY is around stewardship and apprenticeship. I think by definition that’s around mentoring our young professionals as we work alongside them, bringing them into opportunities.
Whether these opportunities are deals, pursuits or even meeting with clients to build relationships, and teaching them our craft through real world examples, this sheds light on mentoring from a relationship and delivery perspective. I think it’s inherent in our day to day to do that with our young professionals.
At EY, we have a number of different diversity programs, which we call business resource groups at the firm. The PAPN (Pan Asian Professional Network) community is a resource group I’ve been involved in, mentoring our young Asian professionals, both in terms of career development, career advancements, and fitting into a culture. Some have immigrated from different parts of Asia, and they may have questions about how to integrate into the U.S. culture.
I’ve also had the opportunity to speak at universities on the topic of DEI, and I think that you inherently attract people who want to gain more insights into business, career and personal development. I am passionate about opening up opportunities to those who may not have had them in the past.
We once again welcome Hyong Kim to the MENTOR Board of Directors.