When Savanrith (Savan) Kong attended Lakeside School, a prestigious private school with famous alumni such as Bill Gates and Paul Allen, he entered a world he only saw on television.
In this episode, while exploring the theme of privilege, Savan also notes that luck sometimes comes into play, and grit. He talks about the limited access to resources and people his Khmer friends had compared to those in his alternate more privileged world.
As a child of Cambodian parents who fled to Thailand as a result of the Khmer Rouge then settling in Seattle, Washington, United States he felt the pressure to exceed the highest expectations.
A keener, go-getter, and always having a hard time slowing down, Savan's resume spans the private sector, where he built, scaled, and optimized innovative products across technology, real estate, and consumer industries.
As the first employee at Redfin (NASDAQ: RDFN), he co-authored a patented (US9436945B2) interactive, map-based search and advertising technology that helped define modern real estate search. He contributed to medical software development at Kareo, led consumer design at Amazon, and held executive roles at Conenza and BlogTalkRadio during their early stages.
Most recently, Savan served as the first Customer Experience Officer (CXO) for the United States Department of Defense, where he led the Customer Experience Officer Portfolio Management Office. He played a critical role in shaping strategies that modernized digital services and customer interactions across the defense enterprise. His impact in the field of defense innovation was recognized with the 2024 DefenseScoop Industry Leadership Award.
Savan is currently in the process of writing a memoir and releases short stories on his website SavanKong.com.
Connect with Savan:
- LinkedIn Savanrith Kong
- Instagram @halfway_light
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