Get to Know: Chief Financial Officer, Jay Kim
Jay Kim, joins Zum from Carbon Health Technologies where as CFO he helped scale the company’s footprint and operations. Earlier in his career, he spent 13 years as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank Securities. Kim will bring these experiences to bear in providing critical financial leadership as Zum continues to expand and serve students, families, and drivers in districts across the U.S.
“I am excited and inspired to join a team with such impressive growth and momentum alongside disruptive technology and a compelling vision and mission,” said Kim. “We are on a path to fundamentally change the student transportation status quo and make a meaningful difference in the lives of parents, kids, and educators. I can’t wait to see where it takes us.”
Kim will be responsible for the overall financial management of Zum, including financial planning and analysis, accounting, treasury, corporate development and capital formation.
Get to know why equity is top of mind for him and what’s on his summer reading list.
What’s the most recent book you’ve read?
(Re)Born in the USA by Roger Bennett. It’s a fun read about a well-known British soccer journalist who falls in love with American pop culture and society as a youth before making America his adopted home as an adult. It’s an always-funny, sometimes-poignant reminder of what makes America, with all its imperfections, still a beacon of hope and longing for so many people around the world.
What is your personal mission statement?
To live a life of empathy, compassion, open-mindedness, courage and integrity.
How did your career history help you rise to the Chief Financial Officer position?
I’ve always been a financial professional from the time I graduated from college. I spent 13 years as an investment banker in the first part of my career, immersed in the world of mergers and acquisitions and capital markets. I am indebted to two people for helping me become a seasoned CFO. First, my good friend Gideon Yu took a chance on a first-time CFO when he promoted me to the position at Bowers & Wilkins. Then later, Eren Bali hired me to be the CFO of Carbon Health, where we had an exciting journey building an important company in the tech-enabled health care space during the most acute health care crisis of our lifetime.
What excites you about your role being Zum’s new Chief Financial Officer?
I’m incredibly excited to work with a great team and to really scale Zum to the next level. This is a company with an important mission, making a meaningful difference in the lives of parents, kids and educators. The market opportunity is massive, and Zum has already demonstrated that its solution and user experience are light years ahead of anything else in the industry. With hard work and skillful execution, there is no reason Zum will not be the most significant company in school transportation and related services. I’m very grateful to be a part of what should be a very exciting journey.
Which Zum pillar resonated with you the most?
Zum’s commitment to equity resonates the most with me. I am learning that, unfortunately, as with so many institutions and aspects of our society and economy, student transportation has historically contributed to hardening and reinforcing the inequality experienced by those with lower incomes, less privilege and/or disadvantaged circumstances. It is inspiring to join a team working to leverage cutting-edge technology and operational know-how to alleviate this historical inequity.