John S. Yi - Founder, Chairman & CEO

John S. Yi is Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for KES Incorporated. Under his leadership, KES has experienced tremendous growth since its founding in 1994. Mr. Yi has received several recognitions from organizations such as the Ernst & Young, Inc Magazine, San Diego State University Entrepreneurial Management Center, Union Tribune, the Asian Business Association and the California State Assembly for his innovating leadership.

The successful development of KES into the dynamic and growing company it is today is a solid manifestation of John Yi's well-honed and time tested business management skills. Under Mr. Yi's direction, KES has received numerous recognitions including being rated as one of the fastest growing companies in San Diego County by the San Diego Business Journal, Inc. Magazine, and by Deloitte & Touche. Mr. Yi attributes this success to his team of dedicated and hard working employees and to his own broad knowledge of and experience in high-technology business management, business development, sales, program management, and the highly competitive arena of government contracting.

Prior to founding KES, Mr. Yi served in the following key leadership positions from 1989 to 1994: President and Co-Founder for the Elitech Company; Director of Programs for the Galaxy Scientific Corporation; Program Manager with National Systems Research; and as a Software Engineer for General Dynamics.

Mr. Yi holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of California, San Diego, and a Master of Business Administration from the San Diego State University. Mr. Yi is a frequent speaker at CONNECT, Beyster Institute, Entrepreneurial Management Center and local universities on employee-ownership and entrepreneurship. Mr. Yi gives back to the community by volunteering at a homeless shelter and at a local church in San Diego. Together with his wife and their two sons, he lives in Poway, California.