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By investseoul 25/11/2014

Eric Hoffman, Chief Commercial Officer, AON Korea

Eric HoffmanChief Commercial Officer, Aon Risk Solutions, Korea

1. When and why did you first come to Korea, and how long did you stay?

I first moved to Korea in October 1998 and have lived here since then. So I recently celebrated my 16th anniversaryof living in Korea. The original reason for my move was that I was fortunate enough to meet a wonderful Koreanwoman in New York City who I married and who convinced me to try living in Korea for a while. I was hesitant at firstas I did not know much about Korea, so I “hedged” my decision by having my employer, Aon, agree to guarantee ajob for me back in New York in three years’ time. However, I never took up the offer as we enjoyed living in Seoul andhad started our family here. We now have two children, a daughter who is 14 and a son who will be 12 this Friday.We have traveled all over the world but found Seoul to be a great place to live and raise a family.

2. While you have lived in Korea for many years, it seems like you have stayed in Seoul longer than any othercity. What do you like about Seoul the most?

We have lived in Seoul for our entire 16 years in Korea. From a family perspective, Seoul has so many goodqualities. It is safe, clean and has excellent schools, arts & entertainment, cultural activities, museums, restaurantsand outdoor activities. Where else can you go waterskiing or mountain climbing in the middle of a city with apopulation of over 12 million? As we have family abroad and like to travel, Seoul is also a very convenient location totravel from. The airports are top-notch and many interesting and fun places to visit are within a few hours flying time.We have been to many cities and towns throughout Korea but Seoul is clearly the right home for us, it has trulybecome a very cosmopolitan city.

3. Before you came to Seoul, you spent most of your time in the New York area, which is a globally renownedfinancial city. When you first came to Korea, it may have felt that there was a gap between New York andSeoul. In the perspective of an entrepreneur, which part of Seoul has been changed the most?

Before moving to Seoul, I lived in or near New York City my entire life. I loved New York and still do but living in Seoulhas given me a broader perspective where I can more readily see New York’s shortcomings and Seoul’s advantages.When I arrived in Seoul in 1998, it was very different back then and the “gap” with New York seemed quite wide. Overthe years though, Seoul has consistently changed for the better yet still retained its distinct cultural qualities so I nowsee both places as two distinct cities with Seoul being better in many ways. This positive trend continues and isevidenced all around us by the infrastructure improvements, better flowing traffic, impressive architecture, variety ofentertainment options and the overall cleanliness of the City. My work with the Foreign Investment Advisory Council(FIAC) also gives me insight into how much Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) is doing to improve the City for itscitizens and businesses as well as to enhance Seoul’s image internationally. From an entrepreneur / investmentperspective, Seoul’s location, economic concentration, vibrancy, ability to change and extensive support for business,combined with its educated, creative and wired population makes it a perfect home to start and grow a business.

4. Aon is the leading international risk management advisoryand insurance solutions provider in the world with over 500offices in 120 countries. What is the ratio of Koreans toforeign employees in the Korea office? Does conflict everoccur due to the multicultural nature of the company? Orare there specific advantages as a global company?

As you mentioned, Aon is a global services firm with 66,000professionals around the world. We greatly value the diversity ofour employees and respect their local customs, perspectives andcreativity. Our Seoul office was started in 1985 and, today, allthree of Aon’s global businesses are operating here with approximately 150 professionals. Each of Aon’s threebusinesses has a CEO who is Korean and I am the only senior foreign employee here. My role as Chief CommercialOfficer is to support the CEO’s and my colleagues in growing Aon’s business and I do that most effectively byidentifying Aon risk management and insurance solutions abroad and adapting them for success in Korea. Ouremployees are almost all Korean but many do have experience living or studying internationally. I wouldn’t say thereare cultural conflicts but we certainly do have spirited discussions on which solutions might be of interest to our clientsin Korea and what adaptations need to be made to make them the most beneficial for our clients here. That is a realadvantage of being a global company, we have unparalleled world-wide risk and insurance benchmarking capabilitieswhich, when combined with the creative ideas from our diverse workforce, help our clients better manage the risksthey face in Korea and abroad.

5. You have served on the Foreign Investment Advisory Council (FIAC) for many years and currently serve asChairman offering advice and assistance to Seoul Metropolitan Government on how to attract foreign directinvestment to the City. Why did you choose to work with them?

Over the years, I had met several executives who were serving on FIAC and I expressed my interest to serve shouldan opening become available. When the opportunity arose, I gladly joined as it was an effective way to givesomething back to my new home and contribute to Seoul’s development. I have had the opportunity to work with threeMayors and all have made very positive impacts on the City. Seoul’s business environment has improved and foreignbusinesses have invested and, at the same time, the City is cleaner than ever, has created more green space andparks, there are abundant trees, shrubs and flowers planted around town, the infrastructure is superb, traffic is

reduced, tourism is booming, architecture is world-class and the riverside continues to be improved. FIAC has hadinput on all of these very positive changes.

6. We have heard you joined the 2014Financial Hub Seoul Conference inNew York with Park Won-soon, mayorof Seoul last September. Would youshare the topic which you presentedon the conference?

The purpose of the conference was verymuch in line with one of FIAC’s goals, topromote Seoul as an attractive foreigndirect investment destination. SMG’spresentations provided very detaileddata, statistics and regulatory changeinformation to the potential investors so Ifocused on giving a foreigner’sperspective on investing in Seoul andincluded a number of positive examplesfrom Aon’s success story here. Mypresentation was titled “The top 10 reasons to invest in Seoul” but I had to provide more than 10 since there are somany good things to say about Seoul. It was an interesting experience considering that I grew up in New York butwas now encouraging New Yorkers to invest and live in Seoul.

7. What do you do in your free time? You can say anything like voluntary activities, sports, mountainclimbing, traveling or being with the family.

Outside of the office, I try to spend time with my family and, with two young kids, there is a lot of volunteering anddriving around town for soccer, piano, taekwondo, charity events and other commitments. On Sunday’s, we often takewalks together on Namsan or by the river with our two dogs. For me, I try to be active when I can by playing squash,tennis or golf. For about a year, I enjoyed Korean archery on Namsan but I had to stop as I did not have enough time.

8. Of all the achievements that you’ve made in Seoul, what is the most memorable one? And do you have anyother goals to achieve?

It is hard to narrow it down to one. From a family perspective, it is having our children born and raised in Seoul.Regarding business, it is being able to be successful in a city so different from New York and introducing several newrisk management practices and insurance protection solutions to Korea. For my time with FIAC, it is becomingChairman and going to New York to promote Seoul. One remaining goal is to assist Seoul Metropolitan Governmentand, more broadly, the Central Government with developing and implementing their Safe City programs throughdisaster preparedness and crisis management advice and the use of advanced risk transfer techniques.

9. Do you have anything to say to foreign investors who are looking to invest in Seoul? Anything that willhelp them to make wise investment decisions, or any factors they need to consider before making

investments?

I would suggest that they speak with foreigners who have lived and worked in Korea for a number of years. They willopenly discuss the opportunities in Seoul, the challenges and how best to overcome them. There are also manyhelpful resources available from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, KOTRA, embassies and the various chambersof commerce. Of course, they can always contact me for a copy of my “Top 10 Reasons to Invest in Seoul”presentation.