2009 Hall of Fame Recipient

Yang Ho Cho - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Korean Air

Yang-Ho Cho is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Korean Air, one of Asia's largest airlines and the world’s largest commercial airline cargo carrier.

Mr. Cho was named Chairman and CEO of Korean Air in April 1999, having served as President and CEO since 1992. Prior to that, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Korean Air. Mr. Cho began working for Korean Air as a manager in the Americas Regional Headquarters in 1974.

He worked his way up in the company ranks by continually adding various departments to his overall responsibilities - including maintenance, marketing, purchasing, information systems and corporate planning.

After receiving a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Inha University (Incheon, Korea) in 1975, Mr. Cho received an MBA from USC in 1979, and a doctoral degree in business administration from Inha University in 1988. In 1998, he received an honorary doctorate degree in aviation business administration from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida.

Mr. Cho. is also Chairman of the Hanjin Group – one of the world's largest transportation conglomerates. He was named to this post in February 2003 after having served as the Group's Vice Chairman since 1996. He is also the director of various subsidiary companies including Korea Airport Service (KAS), and HIST.

In addition to his corporate responsibilities, Mr. Cho was elected Vice Chairman of The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) in 1996 and has held the title of honorary consulate-general to Ireland in the Republic of Korea since 1995. He was named Chairman of the Korea-French High Level Businessmen's Club in October 2000 and in June 2008, he was re-elected to the Board of Governors for the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for the fifth time.  He is currently serving as Chairman of the Korea Defense Industry Association since 2004. He has been on the USC Board of Trustees since 1997, and is Chairman of the Board of trustees at Inha and Hankuk Aviation universities.

As Chairman and CEO of Korean Air, Mr. Cho has lead Korean Air to new heights. In June of 2000, anticipating the alliance trend of the aviation industry, Mr. Cho took the initiative in forming SkyTeam, the world’s first global airline alliance created around the customer, along with Aeromexico, Air France and Delta Airlines.

Mr. Cho's commitment of serving the public with transportation has been widely recognized. In 2004, he received the title of "Commandeur" in the Legion D'Honneur, the highest civilian honor awarded in France. In 2005, Mr. Cho was awarded the title of Mongol's Polaris, the highest civilian honor granted by the government of Mongolia.

Mr. Cho is married, and has one son and two daughters.