Saewook Lee, senior investment manager at Applied Ventures, the corporate venture capital (CVC) arm of US-based semiconductor technology provider Applied Materials, has left to become CEO and managing director at KTB Ventures, the US operation of KTB Network, one of the largest Korean venture capital funds.
Lee, a GCV Rising Stars award winner this year with colleague Rajesh Ramanujam, joined Applied Ventures in 2019 after more than 16 years in strategic investment, new business development and strategic planning at technology groups including Samsung, SK Telecom and 3M.
At Applied Ventures, Lee was responsible for investments in inflections enabled by roll-to-roll web coating technologies. He also managed its Korea innovation fund and drives investments in disruptive startups in the region.
Before Applied Ventures, Lee worked as investment manager at 3M Ventures, the investment arm of 3M, covering various areas including display, energy and biotechnology. He began his career at Samsung Electronics followed by SK Telecom and Accenture, leading strategic investments and M&A projects in consumer electronics, semiconductor, software and internet services as well as telecommunication technologies.
