So-Young Kang
So-Young Kang is a serial entrepreneur as the CEO and founder of Gnowbe, a mobile transformational learning app that builds learning journeys for professionals in a bite-sized, experiential way and catalyst/founder of Awaken Group, a multi-disciplinary transformation design firm that integrates strategy, leadership, and innovation to design experiences that catalyze change. Kang has nearly twenty years of experience advising and training leaders globally and is a sought-after speaker across the United States, Asia, Middle East, and Africa on various topics across leadership, innovation, and transformation.
Kang loves people, organizations, and systems. She and her team work with individuals, teams, and organizations to align what’s on the inside (e.g., core values, underlying motivations) to what’s on the outside (e.g., strategy, user experience, business models, leadership). Simply put, Kang and her team, including creative collaborators, CONSULT + COACH + DESIGN + DIGITIZE to serve clients holistically.
She is committed to serving the community and founded the Young Professionals’ Group in 2000, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping students achieve their professional dreams. She sits on the boards of Open University West Africa and Love North Korea Ministries. She is a TED-ster, has been a TEDx speaker, and is author of Inside Out, a book on global leadership and innovation. In 2014 she was honored as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
Kang holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA dual degree with honors in international relations and East Asian studies from the University of Pennsylvania with a minor in music theory. Prior experiences include McKinsey & Company, Citigroup, and Chiba Convention Bureau in Japan.
March 8, 2016
