Jin Lee Appointed TransPerfect Co-CEO After Rising Through the Ranks

Super Agency TransPerfect reported revenues for 2023 of USD 1.2bn on January 28, 2024, a 3% increase over 2022’s USD 1.16bn, the language service provider’s third consecutive year in the billion-dollar club. Also in the month of January, the company announced that Senior Vice President for Global Production at the company, Jin Lee, is now Co-CEO.

Jin Lee has been with the company for over 20 years and his new role became effective January 12, 2024. Lee first worked in the company’s New York office and has been based in the Atlanta office since 2021.

Lee started working at TransPerfect as a project manager, shortly after graduating from Middlebury College in 2003. He was in charge of the Asian language production team, and later joined the legal and patent translation teams. He describes the environment as high-paced and with very demanding job requirements and long hours. 

Lee attributes the longevity of senior leaders at the company to bonding and loyalty within the team that first took on those challenges. “We’ve essentially grown up together, and that’s been both rewarding and fun,” commented the Co-CEO. 

Later on, Lee took on the management of a single production department and then went on to manage international hubs in London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Seoul. In 2016, he began leading several specialized groups within TransPerfect’s legal and life sciences operations, and then DataForce AI solutions.

Company Philosophy

“At TransPerfect, we don’t ‘pay back’ managers that have helped along the way; we ‘pay it forward’ by teaching the next generation of leaders everything that we’ve learned,” offered Lee describing the company’s culture. “I have always seen my role as being responsible for ensuring that we continue to evolve and to pay forward what’s been given,” he added.

Lee told Slator that the average TransPerfect tenure of its executive leadership team is more than 20 years of service, with most promoted from within. “A record of continuity that is unprecedented in our industry,” as he put it.  

Founder and CEO Phil Shawe offered the Co-CEO opportunity directly to Lee. Lee told Slator that he wants to maximize the positive impact he can have on TransPerfect, “and the fact that Phil feels that Co-CEO is the role that best takes advantage of what I have to offer is a compliment of the highest degree.”

As to the distribution of responsibilities between the two executives, Lee told Slator that true to his background in production, his focus will be on company operations and production. Shawe will continue to be involved in all aspects of the business, focusing a larger portion of his time on technology, sales, and M&A.

Enthusiastic about AI

Lee believes that TransPerfect’s GlobalLink translation management and AI offerings are part of a solution and a mission to drive success.

“There’s so much I’m excited about — our industry is changing rapidly, and I’m proud that TransPerfect is on the leading edge of those changes. Everyone is enthusiastic about AI, and we’ve already introduced a number of AI-driven improvements within our production groups to create efficiencies that we pass on to our clients, many of whom are being asked to do more with less by their leadership teams,” said the Co-CEO. 

“Seeing our people and technology helping our clients to run their businesses better is the most rewarding part of my job,” he added.