Young-mi Youn

Young-mi Youn first became a CEO in 1999 when she was appointed to head the Korean branch of Ronald A. Chisholm Ltd., Canada’s number one food merchant. Later that year, she founded Highland Foods, a Korean importer and distributor of foods from various countries.  

Her entrepreneurial streak continued: In 2003, she founded Wellborn, a meat processing company with a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) certification, with customers ranging from military bases to department stores. In 2015, she established Wellborn Foods, which launched its own brands in food service, such as Highland Grill, Yukdaessam and Seogayeon.  

With the purpose of remaining competitive and achieving sustainable growth, Highland Foods is constructing a logistics complex to deploy a one-stop system for importing, processing, distribution and logistics. The firm is also building a food materials trade hub in Korea’s Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone by forming a JV with global partners.  

Through these efforts, Young-mi aims ultimately to get Highland Foods to become a general food company that moves beyond being simply an exporter and distributor. She aims to make Highland Foods an organization that is worth working for, doing business with and is admired by customers – bringing prosperity to employees, partners, and local communities.  

“Through sound management, Highland Foods seeks to become a company that works well for our employees, is easy for our partners to do business with and is admired by our customers.”