Derek Yoon

President & CEO

As President & CEO, Mr. Yoon leads Solasta Ventures (formerly known as Aju IB Investment), one of the leading venture capital firms in South Korea. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Mr. Yoon oversees Solasta’s investments with a focus on U.S. based life science companies and early stage start-ups with novel science. Mr. Yoon also leads multiple cross-border strategic partnerships by leveraging his relationship with top-tier pharmaceutical companies in Korea. Currently, he is involved in multiple overseas venture capital fundraising projects by interacting with Korean governmental institutional funds as well as various private investors in Asia.

Additionally, Mr. Yoon is a board member of Arcellx, Carbon Biosciences, EvolveImmune Therapeutics, and Trefoil Therapeutics, and a board observer at several private biotechnology companies. Prior to Solasta Ventures, he spent more than twenty years in alternative (VC/PE) investments and healthcare corporate banking where he took numerous responsibilities in portfolio management, deal structuring, and fundraising. His previous experience includes venture investment management at Kibo Capital, the first venture fund in Korea; portfolio management with RBS Healthcare Banking Group; and venture accelerator program at Berwind Private Equity, a multi-generational family office located in Harvard, Massachusetts. Mr. Yoon earned his M.B.A. from Babson College, M.S.F. from Boston College and B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea.