Born in South Korea, Byung Kim spent most of his life in the United States, obtaining a finance degree from the University of Texas in Austin. In 2002, he joined ExxonMobil, gaining finance and leadership experience in postings across the States and on an assignment to Hungary from 2007 to 2011.
Kim assumed his current role as lead country manager and lead controller at ExxonMobil Hungary in June 2022, where he heads a dynamic organization of around 2000 employees.
Kim enjoys playing golf and traveling with his family in his free time. He says he was excited to return to Hungary, where he met his wife during his previous assignment. “We are very much enjoying this new chapter of our lives with our two young children,” Kim says.
The possibility of Trump Tariffs, the prospect of an end to the war in Ukraine, sluggish European economic growth, or something else, and if so, what?
Last year, enhancing the competitiveness of Europe was elevated to the highest of priorities for governments and industries alike. The business community has been sounding the alarm on this issue for years. The Letta and Draghi reports have become significant catalysts for highlighting the challenges and what is needed to overcome those to regain competitiveness.
The first step policymakers should take is reducing the regulatory burden in Europe. Directives such as CSRD and CSDDD prevent international companies from investing in emissions-reducing technologies in the region. We need regulations, but regulations must enable a business case for industry and enable investors to compete to offer the best solutions. Urgent action is required from policymakers to reduce the regulatory burden and cut red tape, which I hope we will see early in 2025.
Europe must also embrace a broader range of low-carbon technologies and support market-based mechanisms to progress the energy transition and restore competitiveness.
Generally, two key attributes support a continued inflow of opportunities: talent and policy. As we continue the evolution in complexity of roles, a robust pipeline of talent from the educational system and support for investments in upskilling will position us to compete for new opportunities. This requires strategic cooperation by government, companies and educational institutions; ExxonMobil Hungary views this cooperation as vital to our long-term talent development approach. The other critical enabler for FDI is stable policy, whether tax or legal, as abrupt or retroactive policy changes can disrupt business operations, even if unintended.
I would take it a step further: mature business centers are now pursuing differentiated talent for higher complexity roles where the talent pool is even tighter. As for the impact of digitization, automation, AI, etc., you must look at the segment of the talent pool that is impacted by technological advancement. For example, the potential elimination of lower complexity work may create depth in one segment of the talent pool, with a shortage in another. This links to my earlier comment on the need to upskill our overall talent pool to compete for future opportunities and job roles.
For our annual Sci-Tech Challenge, we partner with Junior Achievement Hungary and invite local high schools across Hungary to compete in a STEM-based sustainability case study challenge. The winning team competes with students from across Europe in the regional competition at our ExxonMobil Europe office in Brussels.
We also have strategic cooperation agreements with top universities in Hungary where alumni employees give back to their universities through courses, seminars, and information sessions. As you rightly point out, companies ultimately benefit from the improved quality of the talent pipeline needed for value delivery into the future.
Have you managed to get a grasp of the Hungarian language? Is it important to try?
This is my second assignment in Hungary, and I now have a basic understanding of Hungarian. In some cases, I even get the jokes when I am queuing at the café. What is even more important is that I feel at home here, and Budapest has a special place in my heart.
The enablers for success are the team and collaboration. We see that within the company when talented individuals from various teams collaborate on a strategic project or initiative or when companies, trade associations, and governments form coalitions on advocacy for policies that elevate the competitiveness of Europe. In each case, our voice and effectiveness are strengthened by working together. This, in turn, shapes what I will miss most from this posting: the relationships I have built, from our exceptional employees at ExxonMobil Hungary to our coalition partners across the business community in Hungary.
This article was first published in Top Expat CEOs – The Most Influential Expat CEOs in the Hungarian Economy 2025 on March 21, 2025.
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