SNU Career Concert: EXEM CEO Jo Jong-am
“Study is Inspiration, Work is Legacy.”
- Jo Jong-am, CEO of EXEM, sharing his philosophy on life and career at the SNU Career Concert.
One June 9, 2025, Jo Jong-am, CEO of EXEM, an IT performance management specialist, was invited as a guest lecturer to the Career Concert hosted by Seoul National University Career Development Center. His journey – from graduating with a degree in Diplomacy to gaining practical experience at various companies including POSCO Data Planning, Oracle Korea, and POSDATA, and now leading a KOSDAQ-listed company with over 300 employees as CEO – delivered a profound message to students struggling with the choice between major and career.
From Career Transiting to Startup: “Study with Feedback” and Expert Duplication
In his lecture, CEO Jo candidly discussed his process of career transition. Frustrated by the difficulty of his major textbooks in college, he began searching for ‘study that offers quick feedback,’ and eventually regained his interest through economics and statistics. In particular, his encounter with the SAS statistical package during an econometrics course led him to step into the world of computer science.
After joining POSCO, he solidified his IT career by completing a Master’s degree in Software Engineering at POSTECH through an in-house company program. He then accumulated practical experience at Oracle Korea and POSDATA. He said that the database(DB) field is “an area where you can accumulate experience and knowledge even within an industry undergoing rapid change,” making it as his core competence.
In 2000, he founded EXEM with the ambition of making an ‘Expert Empire.’ He explained that “The essential vision of EXEM is to disseminate what I have experienced to employees, so that they can be other experts and propagate the knowledge further.” Currently, EXEM has the largest DBA (Database Administrator) organization in Korea and is growing under the value of ‘internalizing expertise.’
Philinnovator Declaration: Philosopher and Revolutionary in the Age of Technology
In his lecture, CEO Jo presented a new ideal of talent that is required in the technology-centric era. He introduced the concept of “Philinnovator,” a word made by combining Philosopher and Innovator, and emphasized that “Technology only gains meaning when combined with philosophy; it is not merely a tool.”
He also presented the common pattern of success as: ‘Tracing Origins → Discovering Patterns → Systematization.’ He characterized humans in the age of AI not merely as functional workers, but as “revolutionaries who awaken inanimate matter.” Furthermore, he encouraged students to pursue a life of growth through immersion, passion, and self-understanding, stating that “Genuine effort contains self-purification.”
Immersion, Inspiration, and the Meaning of Life
CEO Jo specifically shared his own experience of immersion. The nights spent solving calculus problems, the early mornings solving countless system failures, and the tears shed while tuning clients’ issues – he said that all these experiences ‘purified’ and ‘developed’ him. He stressed the connection between expertise and humanity with the phrase, “The level of technology is the level of humanity.”
Lastly, he defined true immersion in life as the moments when one encounters great intellect, stating “Study is inspiration. Study without inspiration does not last.” He concluded by adding a message to the students: “You are already the most likely candidates for the protagonist role. Now, contemplate how you will leave your own legacy.”
The lecture of CEO Jo was a record of deep contemplation that connected technology and philosophy, immersion and growth, humanity and the times. His message – that study and work are not merely means to an end, but a journey that purifies myself and becomes a legacy to be left for the others – became a warm beacon for many young people hesitating at the crossroads of their careers.
