Chris Lee had a cushy role. For a decade, he led the Asia Pacific division of Medtronic, a multibillion dollar business and one of the world’s largest manufacturers of medical devices, and consistently produced excellent business outcomes. Then, at fifty-six, he threw all of that away to start VentureBlick, an international fundraising platform matching healthcare startups and medical investors. Why did Lee do that?
Lee takes us through his journey as one of the youngest Asian leaders in an MNC (youngest director in Merck at age twenty-seven, youngest country manager at thirty, first Asia-Pacific leader reporting to Bayer HQ at thirty-nine), how he brought Asian leadership sensibilities into multiple global companies, and reveals why he believes it’s important for corporate leaders to adopt an Asian lens and think like a maverick.
“I recommend this book to anyone interested in a multinational career who wants to learn by example. Among his peers at the top level, Chris Lee has always stood out by both his visionary planning and a rigorous execution, second to none in aspiration and delivery of results. This has motivated generations of managers to follow his leadership and become successful themselves in the process.”
—Dr Ulrich Koestlin Member of the Board of Bayer Schering Pharma AG 2006-2011
Chris Lee is an entrepreneur, investor, startup advisor, and senior executive in the healthcare industry with extensive international experience. He is one of few Asians to rise to the global executive committee level in two Fortune 500 healthcare companies, with a strong track record in business growth, M&A, new market expansion, and innovation incubation.
Chris grew up in Korea and Japan, and started his career as a medical sales representative in the US, eventually working in more than ten countries across three continents. He was appointed country manager of Bristol-Myers Squibb at age thirty and became the first-ever executive committee member of Asian-descent in Bayer’s 150-year history at age thirty-nine. Chris has deep and extensive healthcare experience, having managed businesses across various healthcare segments in the last three decades, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, consumer health, animal health, and more.
In 2022, Chris founded VentureBlick, an international fundraising platform matching healthcare startups and medical investors. He aims to transform the healthcare fundraising building on his years of accumulated industry experience and professional network.
Chris is an advocate of inclusive leadership and workplace happiness. He wrote two bestselling books, Emotional Management and Marketing Works. He regularly contributes leadership articles to Forbes and actively shares his personal learnings on LinkedIn. He has won multiple leadership awards, including ‘Most Respected CEO’ for three consecutive years (2020-2022) by Great Place to Work, and ‘Executive of the Year 2021’ by Singapore Business Review.
