Against the Odds: Sung-Joo Kim on Reinventing MCM and Redefining Global Luxury

Against the Odds: Sung-Joo Kim on Reinventing MCM and Redefining Global Luxury

Leadership, Transformation and Rewriting the Codes of Luxury

Today, luxury is no longer defined only by heritage, but also by vision, cultural fluency, and the ability to navigate a world increasingly shaped by Asia’s economic and cultural influence.

Few leaders have embodied this transformation as distinctly as Ms. Sung-Joo Kim, who reimagined MCM Worldwide from a legacy German brand into a globally recognized expression of modern luxury for a new generation.

Born into a prominent Korean chaebol family yet choosing an independent path, Sung-Joo Kim built her career across the United States, Europe, and Asia before leading the reinvention of MCM during a defining moment of global change. Under her leadership, the brand evolved into a cross-cultural expression of modern luxury – rooted in German craftsmanship while shaped by Asian dynamism, global youth culture, technology, and shifting consumer realities.

Her personal journey and the transformation of MCM raise broader questions that extend far beyond the luxury industry:

• What does it take to build global relevance without losing identity?

• How do you navigate fundamentally different cultural and market dynamics?

• And what does leadership look like in a world where economic gravity, innovation, and consumer influence are increasingly shifting toward Asia?

In conversation with Asia Society Switzerland Board Member Eunice Zehnder-Lai, Ms. Sung-Joo Kim will reflect on her entrepreneurial journey, the reinvention of MCM, and the realities of building across cultures, expectations, and markets.

Hosted at the MCM Münsterhof flagship store in Zurich, this intimate evening offers insight into Asia Competence in practice – and into what it truly takes to lead and succeed in an increasingly interconnected world.

Sung-Joo Kim
Sungjoo Group was founded in 1990 and has earned a reputation as Korea’s fashion leader, having launched prominent brands including Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Sonia Rykiel, and Marks & Spencer. In 2005, Sungjoo Group acquired MCM, a German luxury fashion brand founded in Munich in 1976.

Ms. Kim served as the President of the Korean Red Cross for three years from 2014. She was awarded an Honorary Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in June 2015 for her contribution to strengthening bilateral ties between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Korea. In June 2025, she received the Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy from the President of the Italian Republic in recognition of her long-standing commitment to cultural diplomacy and international collaboration.

Ms. Kim became the first female entrepreneur to be appointed as a member of ABAC, representing the Korean business community at APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) in 2013, and served in this post for four years. She holds three honorary doctorate degrees from Amherst College (Mass., USA), Business School Lausanne (Chavannes, Switzerland), and University of the Arts London (London, UK).

She was selected as a Global Leader of Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum in Davos in 1997 and received the Ethics in Business Award from the EU government in 2009. In 2012, she was listed in Forbes’ Top 50 Asian Business Women, selected as one of Asia’s 25 Hottest CEOs by Fortune, and invited by the United Nations to be part of “Innovation 101” at the Decide Now Act summit.

Ms. Kim is a passionate philanthropist and works with several non-profit organizations, including Asia House as a trustee member, the Global Summit of Women (GSW) as an International Planning Committee member, and numerous other humanitarian initiatives.

Eunice Zehnder-Lai
Member of the Board of Asia Society Switzerland, Vice Chair of the Geberit Group, Member of the Board of DKSH and the Julius Baer Group. Her other non-profit engagements are Trustee of the Orpheum Foundation for Young Soloists and the American Swiss Foundation. Previously, she worked in the finance industry for LGT Capital Partners, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, spanning the areas of asset management, private wealth management, and corporate finance in New York, London, Hong Kong and Zurich.

Partner

This event is organized in collaboration with MCM Worldwide.