J E S U S | B. O. A. T.
+ author’s life
My name is Edward Oh Kim. I am a creator, leader, researcher, philosopher, author, investor, and philanthropist. While I prefer not to use titles, professionally I am known mostly as the CEO @ KEIRSEY (keirsey.com)—a human behavior research company, and President of the KEIRSEY FOUNDATION, a philanthropic initiative for emerging leaders. I have entrepreneurial interests which revolve around the fusion of leadership, impact, and life stories… I am constantly exploring innovative ways to benefit humanity.
Those who know me well describe me as a juxtaposition of attributes that rarely coexist in one person. At times, I am a utilitarian pragmatist, building and leading strategic enterprises to prevail, while on the other hand, I live unbounded, constantly seeking to create the future by engaging life artistically and spiritually. At the core of it all, my true passion lies in understanding people. This belief is so deeply ingrained in me that I had the mission statement of Keirsey etched in stone as: “Our mission is to change the world by helping people understand each other.” The purpose of the Keirsey Foundation is stated as: “Our mission is to change the world by providing access to the best emerging leaders who have limited access to the best learning opportunities.”
Beyond the Keirsey universe, I also lead a group of disruptive innovators in our enterprise, ZYBATZU—財閥 (zybatzu.com)—which operates as a venture incubator-accelerator-builder for startups. The purpose of ZYBATU is stated as: “Our mission is to change the world by creating, branding, scaling, and selling disruptive enterprises.” What I love most about my work is that I get to spend a significant amount of time meeting with fascinating leaders. My colleagues often remark that my actual role as CEO is to be the “Chief Eating Officer,” tasked to build meaningful relationships over great food and wine. I am often referred to as the bridge, whose job is to facilitate chemistry between content and context in order to build a connection.
I am married to my lovely wife, Suzanne Oh Kim, my eternal soulmate. Together we are the proud parents of five children, Olivia, Jared, Conrad, Emi + Nova. Olivia is a stylist and fashion designer—she refers to me as Darth Vader aka Dad, BFF, and her business partner. Jared is in high school where he’’s been recognized as a TED talk star. He plays competitive volleyball as a Libero, and is regarded as one of the top defensive players in SoCal. Conrad is a recent middle school dropout who is pioneering a new pathway for education, as founder of the Conrad Academy. Former classmates and teachers from since he was in kindergarten have promised to vote for him when he runs for POTUS—“President of the United States” and OOTU—“Overlord of the Universe.” He is referred to as King Conrad and Your Excellency. Suzanne is a retired physician who served as a MD for several decades in Family Medicine and in the Integrative Medicine domains. Post retirement she has been exploring the role of faith and spirituality in healing. Emi + Nova are our two little adopted twins. I am immensely proud to be Chief Dad Officer and am humbled and grateful to be partnered to my wife who has been a tremendous channel of love. To young emerging leaders, I advise, “Be fierce with your life, and boldly declare in words and actions, FU (to all the LIES)!”
