Welcome to my personal website!

I’m Jae-Yong, but you can call me Jae.

Based in New York City, via Seoul, Zurich, Beijing, London, Boston, and San Francisco.
Fluent in English, French, German, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese. Basic Russian.
Clarinetist, certified personal trainer, and former amateur boxer.
MIT Sloan MBA Class of 2021. Alum of the University of St. Gallen, with study abroad at Tsinghua University.
Let’s connect if you’re interested in cars, geopolitics, national security, fitness, gaming, or operations management!

Bio

My worldviews are deeply rooted in my upbringing in a family of classical musicians, further shaped by my military experience and my work in security at a refugee center during the Arab Spring of 2011. This background has cultivated capabilities in risk assessment, crisis management, and an acute understanding of human factors within high-stakes contexts. As a third-culture kid who has grown up, lived, and worked across Asia, Europe, and the US, I use my fluency in five languages to cross-reference how key players perceive events across distinct linguistic and socio-cultural frameworks.

Currently, I'm the VP Operations at Thor Dynamics, a US defense technology company specializing in directed energy systems for counter-drone applications. I lead our operations strategy and build the company's operational engine to deploy advanced solutions for our partners across national security, public safety, and critical infrastructure.

Previously, I began my tenure at Rivian in Palo Alto with the strategy and corporate development team, focusing on strategic finance and contributing to the IPO. I then transitioned to the B2B team, where my focus shifted to sales & operations planning (S&OP), sales operations, order coordination with manufacturing, and RFPs for government sales - all centered on the supply chain, manufacturing, and logistical challenges of the automative industry.

Earlier in my career, I served as a diplomatic attaché at the Embassy of Switzerland in Beijing, gaining direct experience in international relations and geopolitical analysis. I then transitioned into venture capital in London, focusing on early-stage investments (Seed, Series A, Series B) at the center of the global race for technological supremacy, such as robotics, sensor technologies, machine perception, SLAM, and autonomous vehicle technologies. I also co-founded and served as CFO for a privacy-focused data science startup and left after securing Series Seed funding.

Academically, I majored in business and information systems in college, though courses in political science - particularly comparative political economy - ultimately had the greatest impact on my career. At MIT, I focused my MBA studies on supply chain, manufacturing, and logistics management. My passion for aerospace and defense also led me to co-preside over the MIT Sloan Space Industry Club and serve as a fundraiser for the MIT Rocket Team.