CHA Biotech taps former Meritz adviser as vice chairman, CEO

CHA Biotech will appoint Choi Suk-yoon, a former adviser at Meritz Securities, as vice chairman and CEO following the general shareholders’ meeting and board approval on Monday.

Choi brings over 40 years of experience in investment banking. He started out his career at J.P. Morgan and worked at Daewoo Securities’ Tokyo and London branches. He later held executive roles as the Korea head of Credit Suisse, Barclays and RBS, and co-headed Goldman Sachs Korea.

He then afterward lectured at his alma mater, Seoul National University’s College of Business Administration, for three years and served as president of the corporate sector at Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance, then as an adviser at Meritz Securities.

The Korean bio firm also recruited Han Ki-won, former commissioner of Invest Korea, as president to expand into the Asian healthcare market including Japan. Han spent 25 years at Daiwa Securities, serving as global head of investment banking in Tokyo and London and worked for four years as commissioner of Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency’s Invest Korea. 

BY LEE JAE-LIM [[email protected]]