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The 67-year-old is a technocrat CEO with a Ph.D in chemical engineering from University of Wisconsin, Madison.
Hur worked at Chevron Research Company in California before he joined GS Caltex, then Homan Oil, in 1973.
“GS Caltex, Korea's first private oil company, has been successfully operating in oil and petrochemical businesses as well as diversifying into other energy sectors over the past 40 years,” he says.
Based on his expertise, Hur is now trying to transform his oil refinery in order to branch out into other fields in the energy industry. His effort resembles that of Chevron. Hur’s new theme is green energy.
His firm is now investing in research and development of fuel cells and “super capacitors” using carbon materials.
“We at GS Caltex will exert every effort to provide the finest-quality products and services to our customers to achieve our vision of being the leader in providing total energy service,” he says.
As one of the most vocal supporter of green energy’s future, he has been serving as chairman of the Korea Business Council for Sustainable Development since 2002.
Honam Oil, the predecessor of GS Caltex, was established in 1966 as a joint venture between Caltex of the United States and the LG Group of Korea. Later in 2005, the GS group was spun off from the LG Group, taking the oil business with it under a new name, GS Caltex.
In 1966, he went to the United States to continue his studies, and earned an M.S. and Ph.D within five years at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.
He began his professional career as a research engineer at Chevron Research Company in California. In 1973, he came back to Korea to help the fledgling oil industry of Korea with Honam Oil.
There, he has held various positions, such as production, planning, marketing, supply and distribution and research and development. In 1994, he became the CEO of the company.
Since 2009, Hur has been the head of Business Dialogue, Presidential Committee on Green Growth.
Like many in the oil industry, he is known as having a down-to-earth attitude.
It is well known that he often takes the subway and walks a few kilometers home after work.
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