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Who's Who: Hansup Kwon

Learn by example, teach by example. That may not by Hansup Kwon's exact formula for life and business, but it's certainly a template. The president and CEO of Cross Technologies is all business.

September 13, 2001

Learn by example, teach by example. That may not by Hansup Kwon's exact formula for life and business, but it's certainly a template.

 

Kwon considers himself a hard-working man -- a necessary attribute for any entrepreneur -- and he credits his mentor, S.R. Cho, with teaching him that lesson. "It's not so much that he taught me business 101," said Kwon, president and chief executive officer ofCross International Technologies."It's the way he approaches his business and how diligently he works. I've never seen anybody work harder than he does."

Interestingly, Cho's company, theHyosung Group, serves as a corporate mentor of sorts for Cross International. Cross is the only North American importer and marketer of products manufactured by South Korea's Hyosung Group, creating an interesting metaphorical parallel between the two men and their companies. The no-nonsense Kwon, however, dismisses such comparisons. "It is a little bit more than that," he said. "There is a mutual relationship -- we are learning from the big company, but they are also learning from us as a small company." Kwon has plenty to teach. His company's foundation was born in 1986 when Kwon decided to launch a PC product development company ("because I didn't know any better," he explained).

The work ethic Kwon gleaned from Cho over the years served him well as the business met with the usual successes and failures on its way to becoming what it is today. Those who know Kwon best will tell you it's his dedication that makes him successful. "Working with Dr. Kwon," said Cross Director of Sales Bill Dunn, "is like working with a physics professor with insomnia -- he is brilliant and non-stop. His mind works 90 miles an hour, while I drive in a 30 miles-per-hour zone. ... And hard working? That is putting it mildly -- he lives and breathes this company." "Even at home he's thinking about work," said Kwon's wife Heemook, who serves as Cross's vice president of business development – and somehow manages to keep up with her husband's 12-hour-a-day schedule. "So I feel like I have to work at that pace too. Fortunately, I'm not working full-time -- that's the only good part."

Hansup Kwon:President and CEO: Cross International Technologies Birthdate: Nov. 12, 1950 Birthplace: Seoul, Korea Residence: Los Altos, Calif.Education: B.S. in electrical engineering, Korea; Ph.D. and MSEE in electrical and computer engineering from the University of MichiganResume: Before founding Cross International Technologies, was vice president of marketing at Everex; prior to that, director of engineering at Unisys CorporationFamily:Married with two children Key quote: "When you are young, you tend to make mistakes because you think you have a lot of time; when you get old, you tend to make mistakes because you don't have enough time."

The long hours certainly have paid dividends. When Cross entered the U.S. ATM market in 1998, it shipped 650 units -- and increased that number to 6,000 only a year later. Like Kwon, Cross shows no signs of slowing down: Cross has sold 20,000 ATMs in the U.S. and Canada through a network of more than 100 distributors, and its annual sales figures have reached $40 million. In truth, there's more to Kwon than his Energizer Bunny demeanor. He's a thinker and a savvy businessman. Dunn described him as a "task master" who demands respect and loyalty from everyone around him – but who readily gives it in return.

"Our distributors fear him," Dunn said. "They know if they debate him, he will win. But they also respect him and his opinions. He rarely makes a bad decision." Perhaps the key is that Kwon doesn't believe he has it all figured out.

"As you can imagine, running a business is extremely challenging," he said. "I learn every day. There are things that happen that are totally unexpected, and there are things we expect and they don't happen. You cannot really separate business from life in some sense. Not that I'm in business 24 hours a day, but everything I learn personally and from this business affects the other." Indeed, Kwon does have a life outside Cross International. He may be an intense businessman, but he is also a loving husband and father who can trace his family tree for 35 generations, as well as a 10-handicap weekend golfer. Could it be the 50-year-old Kwon is getting in some early practice for retirement? Not so fast, says his wife. "It's definitely not a near future thing," warned Mrs. Kwon. "He wants to retire someday, but even then he would still prefer to have something to do -- I don't think he's capable of NOT working." Sounds as though Kwon is still pursuing his education. But that handicap gets lower with every lesson learned.

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