Young-maan Park

Doosan Corp chairman Young-maan Park gave a speech titled "Doosan, a global growth outlier" at the 21st Asia Business Conference co-hosted by Harvard University's business and law schools and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government last month.

About 400 people heard Park explain how Doosan adjusted its business portfolio when it transformed itself from a domestic consumer goods-centred business into a global infrastructure support business (ISB).

Park introduced Doosan as "the longest-standing, fastest-changing, fastest-growing company in South Korea," adding, "our portfolio adjustment was made in order to establish our position as a business that can continue growing in the global arena."

He told the audience that, as a result, Doosan changed the ratio of consumer goods revenue to ISB revenue from 67:33 in 1988 to 15:85 in 2011.

He also explained that as Doosan underwent globalisation, its overseas revenue as a proportion of total revenue increased from 12% in 1998 to 58% in 2011, while the overseas workforce as a proportion of the company's total personnel increased from 0.2% in 1998 to 49.5% in 2011.

Park attributed Doosan's impressive change and growth to "risk management and decision-making based on cool-headed analysis of the risks; positive use of not only internal but also of external resources to solve problems; strategic decision-making based on a long-term view; and operation of the organisation regardless of any considerations about [Eastern or Western culture but] as a global company rooted in South Korea".

The Asia Business Conference is an annual event for students and academics from Harvard University and nearby universities in the eastern USA. It features lectures, a general meeting and panel discussions on current issues concerning Asia. Each year, the hosts invite successful Asian business leaders to speak.