Mirae Asset Financial Group Chairman Park Hyeon-joo delivers his keynote speech at the opening plenary of the 2024 Annual Conference of the Academy of International Business held at a Seoul hotel on Wednesday. (Mirae Asset Financial Group)

Mirae Asset Financial Group Chairman Park Hyeon-joo on Wednesday received the International Executive of the Year Award from the Academy of International Business, a top honor in the industry, recognized for his pivotal role in lifting the firm as a global financial service provider.

Park is the first Asian financier and the second Korean entrepreneur to receive the prestigious award from the AIB, an association of international business scholars and professionals. The first Korean awardee was SK Group late Chairman Chey Jong-hyun, father of current Chairman Chey Tae-won, in 1995.

"We now have an established global network spanning 19 countries, and have become a meaningful player in the global financial markets, managing or advising over $600 billion across all strategies," Park said in his keynote speech at the annual AIB gathering held at a Seoul hotel Wednesday.

In the speech, Park reflected on the early days when he launched Mirae Asset Financial Group in 1997 with capital of $7.2 million. After over two decades, the venture business has grown into a global financial giant with equity of around 11 trillion won ($8 billion).

“We now embark on the next 20-year chapter of our global expansion,” Park said. Since 2018, he has spearheaded the firm's international business as its global strategy officer.

“At times, I was discouraged, but thought that even if we did not achieve as much as we hoped, the next generation of our leaders would be able to achieve (global expansion) one day. So, I decided to pursue overseas expansion aggressively,” he said.

Park also stressed the need to adopt artificial intelligence widely in Mirae Asset’s business in response to the evolving market environment.

“Our goal is to implement an organization-wide AI platform, while at the same time remaining committed to ensuring transparent and responsible adoption of this powerful technology,” he said.

“This marks just the starting point for our next major transformation, targeting improved client outcomes at much lower fees.”

“Mirae Asset will introduce more sophisticated AI services in about five years," he said in a press briefing held after the event.

When it comes to mergers and acquisitions, Park hinted at a more cautious and strategic approach.

“I also think that we would not seek aggressive M&As for some time,” he said.

Over the years, Mirae Asset has expanded its business range through a streak of acquisitions, such as of the US exchange-traded fund provider Global X in 2018, Horizons ETFs from Canada in 2011 and ETF Securities from Australia in 2022. The acquired companies have been rebranded under the Global X portfolio.

More recent takeovers include UK-based ETF liquidity provider GHCO, Australian AI robo-adviser Stockspot, and the stock purchase agreement with Indian brokerage house Sharekhan Securities, signed in December.

"We believe that a virtuous cycle structure has been established," Park added.

The International Executive of the Year Award is given to individuals who have improved the performance and reputation of their respective firms on the international stage, according to the AIB.

Previous recipients include: Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever (2023); Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo (2016); and Dominic Barton, former global managing partner of McKinsey & Co. (2014).