Min is my boss for the past 3 years.

I was one of his small Equity Ops team members at the beginning, small team, big energy. And later, one of his big team members.  


I think i might be the first employee Min recruited after he joined MS. 


Before he went to SZ office for interviewing the candidates for his open in Chicago,I had already worked with him for few months, he had so much knowledges and so experienced on equity data and data process,he understood every points in my mails quickly, what i meant ‘quickly’ is to reply my long mail in few minutes, which i wrote 1-2 hours to answers all his questions, he replied with futher precise questions which i need to dig deeper to check things out. you got to understand that was some kind of pressure on me as a new promoted team leader 2 months ago, i needed to work OT sometimes. The big benefit was i tried to catch up with his professional opinions on equity data or process in a more mature way, some of them we hadn’t thought about before, and got improved.  


In 2011 Sep, it was my first time met Min in SZ, he was tall, a little baby fat, very warm smiles on his face, very friendly.There were 2 things I remembered very well about Min’s trip:  

One was he was a food lover.i didn’t remembered much what questions he had asked me in the interview, what i remembered best, he is super food lover.I didn’t cook myself and went out for lunch every day, so i knew all kinds of restaurants round SZ office. almost in the whole week as he happened to sat next to me, i brought him to different restaurants for lunch, i was shocked that he almost knew all kinds of Chinese food. We chatted a lot about food, on news, investment, opinions on work and sports in lunch time, he was so humorous with tons of funny stories. Maybe because of my professionals on food, he hired me eventually.  


The other thing was he shared a PPT with SZ Ops team on Equity data industries, where MS equity data in the market. He told everyone, there was billions equity data market there, and we currently ate that cake less than 5%, there was hug business opportunities. He wanted everyone to know every data entry DA collect, is mattered and important. We will keep growing, big and prosperous future of MS equity data is ahead, we will get there. This inspired the team a lot, knowing what we were doing something more than collecting data, but something big and great!  


In early 2012, officially i transferred to work in Chicago office. As my direct manager, Min helped me so much, not just work, also daily life, I was not that good at the beginning as new comer, need to catch up a lot things. Min was always there to help, say no problem and no worries, and coached me what was the right way to do it and achieve the goal, he is kind of person always making things so much easier with directions, in passionate and positive way which is so special. When i grew a little, he was just so happy for me sincerely.  

With Min's lead, I keep accumulating professional knowledges and experiences on equity data, tries my best to contribute to the team as i can with confidence.    


I want to say, Min, thanks you for bringing me to Chicago, you had no idea how much i appreciated the God for all the experiences working for/with you, with every great people in equity ops team. And truelly because of you, I became a much much better person.  


May you rest in peace, you are being missed, as great manager and great friend.

One summer, many, many years ago, Min and Erin and I all met as German language students in a place in Germany called Prien. I remember Min treated a whole bunch of us students to a banquet at the local Chinese restaurant. He was always doing generous things like that. After benefitting from his generosity a number of times, Erin and I - as well as her friend Megan and some others - put our heads together and said, "Min is always treating us and almost never lets us pay for anything ourselves, much less for him. Let's surprise him with a gift that will show him how much we appreciate the things he is always doing for everybody."

So we collected whatever money people were able to donate to the cause from everyone who had benefitted from Min's generosity (as well as his fun and warm nature). In the end we had enough to buy him a gold cigarette lighter. (I don't remember if it was also inscribed or not, but maybe Erin remembers, since I think she actually picked it out). When he was given it, he was very pleased, but also really surprised. He seemed to think that just having other people along with him, enjoying the things he enjoyed, was enough. He was genuinely astonished, and touched, that we would go so far as to give him any kind of special gift.

As far as I could tell he was always that way. He would go out of his way for other people to enjoy things, because then his enjoyment was all the greater; And it never occurred to him that he should receive anything in return for that, other than his enjoyment with those people. What he never quite saw, was that he gave people more than he ever realized, not just by buying dinners and being so fun and funny, but by being really amazingly good company, in a way that is unusual to find, but was very natural to him.

There is a saying that some people hide their light under a bushel. Min was the type who says, "Whatever light I do have, let me share it around." Which is a good thing, because if he had tried to hide it under a bushel, it would probably have started a forest fire. And Min himself would have been the first to be surprised by that.

By the way, when I say it was a long time ago...Erin was 16, I was 20 and Min was somewhere around my age - I think.

Min's an adventurer when it comes to food. When he visited our Morningstar Shenzhen office a couple of times, we always spent quite bit of time in figuring out what new food to try and where to eat. We've been to many places with a lot of choices like Korea nooddle, Sichuan spicy chicken, Hunan cusine, Korean barbecue...I was always a bit surprised that Min did not eat much, though he always said "It's great...awesome...perfect"...such great passion in food.

Until one day, I found out that his favorite food here in Shenzhen is probably Yunnan mushroom hotpot, served in a small restaurant close to Morningstar Shenzhen office within 10 minute walk. Later on then, it came into our conversation a lot of times, regardless of the topic we were on, and we were always able to find a connection between our topic and the mushroom hotpot. One time, when we were chatting about our company's tightening of costs in international travel and possibly his next travel to Shenzhen. we were joking about "adding a bit of budget into the proposl so that we could go out for a good mushroom hotpot dinner". Even before he started the heavy therepy in summer 2014, he's still thinking about his favorite "mushroom hotpot", like it says in the following memo (again we diverted from our suject of discussing the global data values award program, and found a connection to his lovely favorite food, like in many other cases).

Min - you are being missed, my friend. 

From: Min Park
Sent: May 08, 2014 11:10 PM
To: David Du
Subject: RE: Global Data Values Award Program 

Doctors are thinking July and no delays, I hope. Getting excited and nervous at the same time. Dude, I just cannot wait to get healthy and eat some mushroom hotpot with you! 

Take care.

From: David Du
Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2014 5:17 AM
To: Min Park
Subject: RE: Global Data Values Award Program 

I totally understand your situation – no frustration from me at all. Has your schedule for implant finalized? You will must do great!!

When I first heard Min's voice in conference call, I feel it is man full of energy, passion to work, and always laughing. He is replying email almost every minutes, 100% dedicated to work, and always stand behind to help others.

I remember when the Korea DA of Shenzhen office is on leave, I took the task to research on how to download documents from Korea exchange website. I just learnt a little Korean, so the complicated language got me there. The only Korean colleague I know was Min. So I sent email to Min for support. But I knew he was soo.. busy ans with so many BIG issues to handle, so I was not sure how long and how detail he could feedback me. To my surprise, Min replied me soon with a long email with many screenshot and explanation, taught me how to locate the documents step by step. It was so nice of him to do it for me!

And every time Min traveled to Shenzhen office, he would ask us if we need anything from US and Korea, he could buy for us. He searched those comestics which a guy is not familar was, and brought long way to China. So considerate!

I still remember it was a coincident that Min and I flied from Seoul to Shenzhen in the same day, but in different hours. Min was so surprised and tell me next time if I was in Korea, I should contact him. He would bring me to the best tasted food in Seoul.

And there are many many other warm and happy memories with Min.

Min, you will in our memory forever as a considerate boss, colleague and friend. We will miss your laugh and funny stories forever :)

Below I shared email Min sent out to inform everybody of his health status, express his gratitude to others. It’s touching and we can see Min’s strong minded and optimistic attitude toward work and life.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Min Park
Sent: 2014年7月3日 12:50
Subject: From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU

Hello everyone. First of all, I might have missed some folks in this email, so please feel free to forward to anyone who might be interested.

 I believe most of you know the story by now. I was diagnosed with MDS (blood cancer) back in January 2013. It was a big shock to me and my family, but we did a good research (the dieses, doctors, treatment options, hospitals and so on), and also one promise my wife and I made at that time – we will live our lives at the full strength as we had always have, and once the time comes to fight the full battle, we will share it with our family and friends, so we can do it together.

 It has been around 17 months, and one thing we are very proud of is that we have given our very best – I had a blast at work (relatively a new job at that time), getting things done, making great friends and oh, did I say I got a promotion?!, and my wife and I had tons of fun with 2 beautiful kids in the great city of Chicago (moved from NY in July 2011). But at the same time, the time has come now for me to face this crazy dieses. Since October, I have been in and out of hospital more than 5 times, and recently, I have realized that I am experiencing more bad days than good days. We have decided that it is time to focus on my health to get better and prepare for the big transplant which is tentatively scheduled sometime in late July.

 So, as of this week, I am officially out of office for the next few months. I really hope this is not a big surprise or has a big impact on anyone’s work. My team has worked very hard and gone above and beyond to pick up my slacks last few months, and by now, most of things are set up nicely in place. In a nut shell, Jo (Fundamentals) and Kam (all non-Fundamentals) will be reporting to Haywood while I am out and take care of the team. My very proud equity operation team has many talented and greatly capable members, and I have no doubt the team will be there for you whenever you need them.

 Now, more importantly, I would like to say BIG THANKS to everyone who has supported me and my family last few months. I do not even know how to express my gratitude, but one thing I want you to know – every single card, email, gift card and meal deliveries, they sincerely mean so much for us. In one of those bad days, my wife brings medicines and some of those deliveries to my bed or the hospital, and we laugh and cry together reading them. We apologize for not getting back to all of you, but we really want you to know they mean so special to us. I really cannot figure out what I did to deserve all this, but it gives me the motivation to come back healthy, and make it up to you however I can.

 Once again, thank you very much!!! I really cannot say it enough. I know I have a tough road ahead of me, but me and my family know we can go through this because of you. Your support means everything to me – THANKS.

 PS: Not sure how active I will be with the work email, but please call my mobile (347-721-6193) if you would like to catch up on anything urgently. Also adding my personal email address (minecon@gmail.com).

 ________________________________
Jung-Min Park
SVP, Global Equities Operations
Research

Morningstar, Inc.

In July 2011, we learned that there would be a great guy to join our team. Till then we were always hearing this man via emails or conference call, day and night, week day and weekend. He impressed us by his positive attitude, deep and sharp insights, kindness and encouraging words at everywhere to everyone.

4 months later, in Nov 2014, It was so excited that I could meet him face to face in Delhi during the business trip. I was impressed one more time because of his warm smile. He introduced me to everyone in Delhi who had help me much there, and I got a lot of special treatment during that trip because of Min. That trip was very short, only five days, but that it made me remember Min forever.

In coming 3 years, we worked together in tons of projects which improved equity data much. I know equity data means a lots to him, so does him to equity.

It is very painful to say goodbye to this great human being. But he won’t be forgotten forever.

I remember Min always being so generous, funny, and warm, with a giant smile on his face.  I remember the first time I really hung out with him was the summer my sister Amy, her now husband Chris, and I went to New york to visit Erin. I remember him really really wanting to see that Keanu Reeves football movie that has ads up all over the city. It was all he could talk about, and I thought it was funny anyone could be that into a movie. He was so welcoming and happy And excited to show us around the city... Like the restaurant in Chinatown he took us to and probably insisted paying for even though he had the tiniest apartment Id ever seen. I'm so amazed by how everyone he seems to have talked to across the world has these memories of him. If one thing is for sure its that he did not waste his life being unhappy. 

My husband's favorite memory of Min:  Jeremy's favorite story about Min is how one Christmas when we were all in Oklahoma, he was joking about his dream of moving to this country and buying a mini-van.   He had a whole routine about it, and had everyone in hysterics.  Jeremy said that as sad as we've all been this week he keeps thinking that he is really glad he got to marry you, have two beautiful kids, and buy the min-van he always dreamed about.    

I first met Min around 2004 in New York, but I only started to know him from 2006 when Min, Jo and I picked up an overseas assignment in Beijing.  Since then we’ve been on a decade long friendship.  This is the Min I know.

Min can light up a room as soon as he walks in.  His ability to make people around him feel upbeat is uncanny.  He is passionate – dare to dream; dare to share his dreams; and dare to fulfill his dreams.  He is authentic – he treats everybody with true kindness and respect; he can glue together a team of different characters because everyone believes in his truthfulness.  He is courageous – he is not afraid of change; he embraces it.  After he was first diagnosed with cancer he simply stared at it in the eye and refused to let it change his life…

All of these sums up to one word – strength.  Underneath this gentle giant is the will power to live his life his way to the fullest; to enjoy the world instead of being altered by it; to treat everyone and everything truthfully his whole life.  To use a data business terminology that Min is familiar with – this is consistency.  True strength is to do something consistently his whole life.  This is Min’s strength; this is the Min I know.

Min and I share many similarities – similar cultural background; similar age; similar American dream; our sons were born merely two weeks apart; we even bought our first homes in same town around same time…  But the strength of his, underneath that gentle surface, is everything I wish to have.  I am sure many of Min’s friends will say the same.

A little funny story about Min, we all know how much Min enjoys all kinds of food.  The only time I remember Min used the word ‘horrible’ to describe a food item is some kind of salty (horse) milk tea in a Chinese-Mongolian restaurant in Beijing (西贝莜面村).  I still remember the authentically painful expression on his face when he first tried it.  And almost everybody at the table agreed.

I still remembered when I met with Min first time. There was a  tall man, with a big smile in his face. From then on, that smile becomes his logo.

We once talked about on-time financial data providing. He asked 3 questions –
Why we can’t remove schedule limits?
Is it possible to let data come to products immediately after collection?
Even it’s hard, can we have a plan for it?
Later, that became my first thing when I could decide what to improve to our data processing.

We once chatted about markets expansion requested by Microsoft deal. He showed me a very long list, and there were 2/3 of markets we had not touched yet. He asked me to do a favor-
Please give us statistical results on data points requested per markets every day. Then we know we can do it.
In following months, things just happened like he expected.

That’s Min - be positive on everything.

Compared with others in Chicago, I don’t have many chances to know him. However I remember he mentioned ‘Barbecue Garden’ was his favorite restaurant in Shenzhen as it reminded him the flavor of hometown. And in Pacific Café, he told us that funny story about his traveling between Indian cities without conscious.

That’s Min - always bring happy and warm to everyone.

From: Min Park
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2012 11:53 PM
To: Sharon Murphy
Subject: Out of here

Well, from this cyber space to go to bed.

Did I tell you that I worked briefly on a quick presentation on the trip to Toyota plant? Just few impressions I had, and wanted to share with the team (our small operations team in Chicago).

Like many things, only worked on 3 pages or so, and it got pushed out by the migration and stuff. Then, yesterday Kunal asked me, Edna and Frannie to make a quick presentation to Joe in a couple of weeks on the trip. I really did not think I have any time to work on that next few weeks, but could not say no, and since I have a few slides, I am ready to go, right?

So, I took a look at the slides I worked on a month ago. I actually had 6 total already! But quickly realize, I am not sure if I can use this. Please take a look at a couple of slides….

PS: the other 4 slides are not that bad, I think…. 

I am fortunate to have been able to find some of my favorite funny emails that Min sent to me during our time working together.  I thought I'd post a few of them here for everyone to share.  

He will be so very missed...

From: Min Park
Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2011 11:33 PM
To: Christopher Mendoza; Jeffrey Manczko; Sam Kasserman; Toan Tran; Sharon Murphy; Jo Guo; Alex Teixeira; Sam Padrul; Ruchi Kumar; Kunal Kapoor
Subject: restatement

Yeah, I think I need to make a restatement.

Tonight, my wife and I had a date night. My wife watches every dance ever made, and she has been waiting for the remake of Footloose for about 10 years, so no choice. I tempted her with sure-Oscar-best movie-contender ‘Real Steel’, but she was not having any. Well, at least I get a huge pop corn, large drink and secret snacks my wife packed for me from home in her purse, and that is good for me.

This afternoon, Sam, Toan and I had a brief chat about this move, and Sam simply put it – ‘it was not necessary to remake this movie.’ Can’t agree more. Was Kevin Bacon going to be in the movie – no. Was anyone in right mind have audacity to recreate the greatest dance scene of all time (just in case you do not have a taste for dance, it is the scene in the empty factory. It is debatable if you say it is the Patrick Swayze jumping up in Dirty Dancing, but you will lose) – no. Even with all the special effect, can they regenerate the tense moment of playing chicken with tractors – no. This was going to suck.

Oh, I was wrong. I was very wrong. My wife asked me how the movie was. I told her it was lame even though I was dancing in my heart. I told her they should not had remade this even though I was playing the last dance scene in my brain over and over again. I told her it was waste of money even though I was planning to sign up for line dancing class on the weekend (I was going to tell her that I am signing up for tennis lessons). Yes, I lied.

So, why I am writing this to you at 11:28 PM? Because I feel guilty I lied. Because I cannot stop dancing in my heart, and I need a distraction. Because I just want you to experience this thrill and overwhelming joy that I am going through right now.

My friends, please go watch this movie and please, cut loose, footloose…..

________________________________
Jung-Min Park
Database Product Manager – Fundamentals Equity
Global Equity Operations

Morningstar, Inc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGTncigvhTs


 

I did not work very closely with Min. But we had a few things in common. The most notable one was our birthday ... we were both born on 27 April. And that is how I will always remember Min. 

27 April! Not because we shared our birthdays!. But because Min is defined by the life he lived.. and not his passing away. Min lived a shorter life than us, when measured in time. But his life was, perhaps, richer than what most of us live! 

I have never seen someone who was so exuberant, vivacious, and adventurous. Min was a "foodie".. and he would tell me how he would try out restaurants in Mumbai, places which I ( a hard core Mumbai lover) would never dare to enter. Min lived his life to his fullest. He dared to dream, and stood tall even in his toughest days. 

True to Min's personality, he touched us dearly, even as he weathered a  battle where the odds were stacked against him.. sharing stories, sharing his humor, making us laugh, alleviating our worries about him. 

Celebrate his birthday...  

Leah & Noah... your Dad is an unforgettable man. We have learnt from him the beauty of living... and that is, perhaps, one of the biggest gifts he leaves behind for you.

Min arrived at Morningstar in July 2011, charged with helping build our equity data effort. He took on more and more responsibility in a short period of time, and before his illness, rose to running the entire team. His impact was widespread, as he oversaw teams in the United States, Canada, India, and China. Wherever he went, he brought a strong sense of community and friendship, and a clear vision for making Morningstar the market leader in this space. Those of us who worked with him were delighted by his humor, infectious good nature, and can-do attitude. An immigrant from his beloved Korea, Min fell in love with the United States, and often said that he was “living the dream.”

It is hard to believe we won’t hear and see him around our offices anymore, but thisGangnam Style video will always be there among the many reminders of the cheery, happy person who had such a deep effect on so many of us. We were lucky to have him as a friend and colleague.

We are setting up a fund in Min’s memory to support Erin, Leah, and Noah. Morningstar will make a donation in Min’s memory. If you’d like to contribute, please make out a check payable to Morningstar, Inc. with “Min Park Memorial” in the memo. If you’re in Chicago, please leave your check with Ty Otis at 7th floor reception. If you’re outside of Chicago and would like to make a donation, please mail your check (with the same information) to your local HR business partner.

Below are some memories from some people who were closest to Min. If you’d like to share your thoughts, please feel free to comment below. We’ll share these stories with his family.

Here’s mine:
When I interviewed Min for the first time, I remember leaving the interview and thinking “outlier.” So, in fine Morningstar tradition, we hired him, and what a fortuitous decision that was! Min was a great colleague, but our families also grew close together; I saw a side of him outside work that only reinforced all the wonderful things we were discovering at work—he was an amazing husband, a father with boundless, childlike energy, and a devoted son and brother. He had big dreams, big ideas, and was on an unending quest to discover Korean restaurants. I also learned never to sit with Min in the quiet car of our Metra train!

You will be missed, but never forgotten, my friend.

Sharon Murphy, head of Morningstar Direct and Reporting Solutions
Min was eternally positive and persistently kooky. As I look back on my archive of emails it strikes me how time and time again they are full of encouraging words to his team and funny stories for me. He loved leading his team and gave freely of his time to help mentor and develop people in his organization. Without Min, we simply wouldn’t have achieved all of the coverage expansion goals required to meet Microsoft’s demanding schedule. He worked tirelessly with the teams in the United States, China, and India and never wavered in his enthusiasm and focus. He was smart, dedicated, and honorable. You could always count on Min to accomplish whatever he committed to do.

Min was very afraid of flying, but loved traveling to China and India to work with our global colleagues. He would eat any local delicacy under the sun, including a mango lassi from a street vendor in Delhi, which was considered risky even by his Indian colleagues. That ill-advised lassi resulted in Min’s “disappearing” for a few days.

He loved working for Morningstar—who else but Min would have “M*” shaved into the back of his head when he was losing his hair from chemo? He made an indelible impact on everyone who had the luck to know him, and I speak for all of us who worked with him to say we are fortunate to have had the chance. Working with Min was simply a joy, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to be his manager and his friend. He will be profoundly missed.

Jo Guo, head of fundamentals data
The world has lost an amazing human being. One who lit up the room when he enters, and brought joy and laughter wherever he goes. One who was so generous, kind, cheerful, positive, hardworking, and a lot of fun. One who made any mountain scalable and every star within reach. One who made the world a better place because he was in it. One who will be remembered fondly and sorely missed.

I speak for the team that he will always be our “one-of-a-kind” manager. For Min, it’s always about the people. He was tireless in helping us be the best we could be and no matter how busy he was, he always made time for us.

And second to his passion about people and making things better, was his passion for food. We made many fond team memories over steak, fine dining, dim sum, banana pudding, and all things Korean.

It is my great blessing to have known him over the past decade, meeting this Korean from New York, first in Singapore and then spending almost every day together in Beijing for the next 6 months. It has been a whirlwind. He and Erin transformed what could have been just a short stint, into a friendship of a lifetime.

Min, I am a different person because of you. I am honored and humbled to have known you as a colleague and friend. Thank you for being in my life.

Kam Shekhawat, database product manager
When Min told me about his disease, almost a year before he publicly announced it, it took me two months to believe that he was not kidding… Imagine someone joking about having an inoperable disease with you and no sign of fear on his face—how could you believe it? But one day he really wanted me to know about it so he showed me his medical report and Googled for me to explain it. I don’t think I’ll ever meet such a brave and spirited person in my life again!

I will miss our lunch hour fun time, which was mostly nonsense debate on Korean pop versus Bollywood movies (he was crazy about Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif, though!) or planning for our ‘once-in-a quarter’ ritual of going out to casinos. I will miss you, my friend!

Kishore Nair, former Morningstar technology leader
Of all the hires I was involved with, Min’s certainly tops my pride list. We had a late lunch interview in a rather obscure Chinese restaurant in New York while I was out on my very first client visit. We talked about a lot of things, but the clinching story was about how he personally attended to the delivery of his baby at his home with gloves made from a Walmart plastic bag. I wasn’t sure whether I should be impressed by his creativity or concerned about his planning, but in those early days of Equity Data it meant a lot to know that he would do what it takes to go for the impossible.

It truly pains me that we have lost a wonderful human being.

Jeremy Diamond, head of global buy-side solutions
When the Data team danced to “Gangnam Style” with Min (Psy) as our leader (a spoof for the 2012 Company Meeting), it wouldn’t have been possible if Min’s humor wasn’t so contagious. My kids still watch it and think Min is the real Psy!

When we all led the Equity Data group, we were faced with mountains of challenges. Min would attack the challenges with the energy, humor, and ease of a true professional. He didn’t walk up mountains, he ran.

Heather Coleman, head of alliances and redistributor solutions, the Americas 
I feel fortunate to have worked with Min because he brought passion to team bonding and client service. Personally, I was affected by his endless optimism and remain inspired by his joie de vivre. Min gave his positive energy to everyone. His “Gangman Style” appearance makes me think of him—funny (really funny), commanding, and on board.

David Du, data operations leader
Min has a humble leadership character that will be missed by a lot of us. In May 2014, he left me a message after receiving a package of handwritten blessing cards and a photo album with pictures taken with various people in China…”Dude, I received this amazing package few weeks back from Jo from Shenzhen office. I still have not sent back any email because I do not even know where to start. It is one of the most amazing things I have ever received in my life. So encouraging and so much caring and most of all, so much FUN!!! Let me draft something to you soon, and hope you can help communicating to all the teams – HR, Quality, Tech, Equity, and Funds! It just blew me and my wife away. I do not think I deserve all this…” Min’s health then deteriorated so much he did not have a chance to get that draft message to me, but hope I can pass on his earlier message as an appreciation to all of you folks who were in it.

Joanna McGinley, head of global redistributor solutions
I first got to know Min when we worked on solving a big client’s problems with equity data in Direct. What really stood out to me about Min was that no matter how confusing the issues were, and believe me, they were confusing (data that was right in research database, wrong in EXOI, and still different in Direct—how is that even possible?), Min didn’t panic and always had a positive attitude, an idea for a solution, and a great sense of humor. In addition to trying to resolve many equity data questions, Min helped us manage this client’s expectations around global coverage. The client repeatedly asked us to add Russian coverage—and Min repeatedly told us that he needed resources; one of my favorite quotes from him was when he told me that if we could get resources, he would make my ‘wildest dreams come true’ and we would cover Russia, Brazil, and everything in between! Ever after, when I think of global equity coverage, I have to reconcile it with my wildest dreams.

At some point during his treatment, Min was on steroids, as was one of my kids. We traded many stories about some of the strange side effects of steroids and he was a great support for me. This is emblematic of his kind and giving spirit and I will always be thankful for his generosity in trying to help me when he was the one who was more in need.

Frannie Besztery, head of managed investment, equity, and fixed-income data
To know Min was to love Min. I didn’t work with Min as long as many others, but it didn’t take many interactions to appreciate his passion and humor. One particular memory that brings a smile to my face is the following: One afternoon, I instant messaged him “hey Min! I have a quick question.” His immediate response back was “I’m married”…that is perfect Min! Always bringing a laugh or a smile to the day. And of course, I’m not sure many can hear Gangnam Style and not be reminded of him. He’ll be missed!

Scott Cooley, head of public policy research
I remember laughing with him when a few people flew to visit the Toyota plant in Kentucky. He was terrified of flying, but he had this almost childlike excitement. But then he’d be terrified again, and then excited. He did not speak to anyone during the flight. When I think of him, I also remember his incredible level of energy and infectious enthusiasm for what he was doing. Whatever task he was doing or whatever story he was telling, he put his whole heart into it.

Anna Nordseth, relationship manager
Min, to put it simply, was one of the happiest people I had ever gotten a chance to know. I have countless memories of going to his desk for help with what seemed like the most catastrophic equity data problem in the world. I’d come seeking help and a five-minute answer, and 30 minutes later I would leave, having talked about life stories and laughed, and barely remembering how terrible my data problem had seemed. One of my favorite memories of Min was from an Equity Data white elephant holiday exchange. In the pile of gifts were not one, but two, Justin Bieber electric toothbrushes. Lucky guy that he was, Min ended up with one, and I’ve truly never seen anyone more excited about Justin Bieber, or oral hygiene. He went on and on about how he would use it, and show it to his kids, and even try to learn some of Bieber’s awesome dance moves. Min’s joy, enthusiasm for life, and profound love for his family were his best traits, and are what I’ll always remember about him.

Jamie Wickham, head of data and research products
Some of my last interactions with him were for a presentation to sales on equity data at the last Global Sales Forum. Even though he was in the hospital and not well, he was desperate to present and helped put together the deck. Whilst he wasn’t able to present in the end, it struck me how committed he was and how much he cared. Mark of the man.

Haywood Kelly, head of research
Min made it a mission of his to keep us all smiling. He cracked me up too many times to count. I just wish we had had more time together. When we started working together on Equity Data, he and I planned a trip to Mumbai and Shenzhen, with a short stop in Hong Kong, where he promised to show me all the sites of his “all-time favorite city.” Unfortunately, by the time the date came, Min was too ill to travel, but he sent me regular notes and what to do and where to eat (and what not to eat). We also shared many memories of Oklahoma (where Erin has family and where I’m from). I’ll miss your jokes, Min, but my life is a richer one for having known you.