FOUNDER PROFILE
ANDREA CHUNG Founder and CEO of Go Global Art
Andrea Chung is an award-winning entrepreneur and, most recently, founder of Go Global Art, an online platform targeting a new generation of art collectors and delivering affordable contemporary art from countries around the world. Born in Scotland, Andrea has lived and worked in Europe, America and the Caribbean. In addition to working 9-5 as a structural engineer and then as a business executive, she developed a love for entrepreneurship. Over the past ten years, she has started up and successfully operated a bookstore and café, a management consultancy business and a dating service. She is a third-generation businesswoman, following in the footsteps of her grandmother and parents who have all owned businesses in retail, furniture manufacturing, food services, car rental and carpets – a broad spectrum of successful small businesses which were an inspiration for her own ventures. Prior to launching Go Global Art in 2015, Andrea worked for Digicel, an Irish telecommunications company headquartered in Jamaica, where she was responsible for implementing a multi-million dollar business process improvement project which focused on operational efficiencies and people development. She then accepted the challenge of transforming the Human Resources function, where she was responsible for the culture, wellbeing and development of over 1000 employees. Andrea worked for over fifteen years in structural engineering and project management, with experience including the design and implementation of various engineering projects in the United States and the development over 90 low-income housing projects in Jamaica. Go Global Art | tani@goglobalart.com | www.goglobalart.com
Go Global, a cultural side-step from past ventures, is a portal through which to experience the culture of different countries around the world and connect directly to the people who drive culture – the artists. Ultimately, Go Global will curate the best of art, crafts and cultural products, so that customers will be able to select a country, buy a piece of art or handmade jewellery, download a recipe for a traditional meal, listen to music, and even plan a dream vacation with a stay at a Go Global Villa. Go Global Art is the first phase of the business, an online platform and sales forum for the best emerging artists around the globe. While a broad range of culturally diverse artists is the fundamental content, Go Global Art is dedicated to presenting contemporary art which is appealing, affordable but, most importantly, investment-worthy. Truly global in its outlook and operations, Go Global Art meets a real need: connecting local artists and galleries with the overseas consumers that they need to grow their business. Go Global Art grows their revenue, while centrally handling the logistics of moving products around the world, the international marketing, customer service and management of the online platform. “Go Global Art is borne out of a desire to see artists and makers succeed. I wanted to shape a model which would give artists easy access to broader audiences, and create a secure platform for global artists to build their own business networks. It is vital that we provide great value for customers, as well as open up new markets for creative businesses around the world. “Each and every place has its own unique culture expressed through its art – visual arts, culinary arts, music, dance and literature. The initial idea for the venture arose from my own love of travel. and my appreciation of the uniqueness and diversity in the artwork found around the world.. There is just never enough time (or space in my suitcase) so I thought of creating a business that would meet the needs of people who are interested in art from different cultures.” Andrea Chung The number of persons buying art online is growing rapidly, with approximately 6% of all sales now being made online. There are several companies that are selling art online, but there remains a gap in the market for buyers to gain easy access to affordable art from different cultures, priced from £100 upwards. In this model, the buyer has all the prices and background information about the artist to make their own decision and can make the purchase instantly. “When you buy music, you don't need to take a class to learn about the musician or ask an intermediary whether it is good or not – you simply know instantly whether you like the sound - and if you like it, you buy it. Similarly with food, noone can convince your tastebuds of liking something you don’t. Visual art is actually much the same, but we have been made to feel insecure about our own intuitive preferences in art. However, there is a new generation of collector that wants access to art from cultures that they feel connected to, at affordable prices, topped off with an Amazon-stye purchase experience. This is what we hope to deliver.” AC
Go Global Art | tani@goglobalart.com | www.goglobalart.com
EDITOR’S NOTES EXPERIENCE Andrea has held a number of senior management positions during her career, such as Director, Human Resources and Organisational Development at Digicel, Director, Technical Services at the Ministry of Water and Housing and Assistant Vice-President of Strategic Planning and Corporate Development at Grace Kennedy.
EDUCATION & QUALIFICATIONS Stanford Graduate School of Business University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Georgia Tech in Atlanta University of Toulon
Executive Education in Finance Master of Science in Structural Engineering Bachelor of Civil & Environmental Engineering French Business and Economic Language
Professional Engineering License acquired in the United States. Languages: English, Spanish, French
BOARDS Andrea Chung has served on several boards, including: The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) The Public Health Committee, Jamaica The National Land Agency of Jamaica
AWARDS During her career Andrea Chung has been recognised with several awards, including: Minority Engineer of the Year in Florida UNIA Business of the Year (for Bookophilia Jamaica) NCB Nationbuilder Startup of the Year (for Bookophilia Jamaica)
MEDIA ENQUIRIES For further information, interviews or images please contact Tani Burns: T: 0207 377 5665 M: 07888 731 419 E: tani@goglobalart.com W: www.goglobalart.com
Go Global Art | tani@goglobalart.com | www.goglobalart.com