BlackRock vs Kia: Founders, CEOs and History
BlackRock was founded in 1988 by Larry Fink, Robert S. Kapito, Susan Wagner and is led by Larry Fink. Kia was founded in 1944 by Kim Chul-ho and is led by Ho Sung Song.
Company facts
Founders
BlackRock
Larry Fink
Fink joined First Boston in 1976 and became one of its youngest managing directors, running a mortgage-bond desk that was highly profitable until a 1986 interest-rate move cost it about $100 million.
Robert S. Kapito
Kapito worked alongside Fink at First Boston and joined him in founding BlackRock in 1988.
Susan Wagner
Wagner ran many of the functions that let a small bond shop grow into a global firm, including strategy, corporate development and operations.
Barbara Novick
For roughly BlackRock's first two decades Novick ran its global client business, winning the institutional mandates that funded the firm's early growth.
Ben Golub
Golub led much of the quantitative work behind BlackRock's risk-first approach, building analytics for mortgage prepayment, interest-rate and credit risk that became central to Aladdin.
Hugh Frater
Frater was one of the mortgage specialists who helped launch BlackRock's fixed income business and held senior roles at the firm before leaving.
Ralph Schlosstein
Schlosstein brought corporate finance and public policy experience to the founding team; before Lehman he worked at the US Treasury and on the White House domestic policy staff during the Carter administration.
Keith Anderson
Anderson ran BlackRock's fixed income investing for two decades, the core of the firm until iShares arrived with the 2009 BGI deal, and sat on its executive committee. In 2008 he left to become Chief Investment Officer of Soros Fund Management.
Kia
Kim Chul-ho
Kia possesses a gritty, foundational founding story, rooted in the desperate industrial infancy of Korea, long before it became an automotive leader, starting entirely with the pragmatic, meticulous manufacturing of bicycle parts.
CEOs and their tenures
BlackRock
- Larry Fink1988–present
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Fink co-founded BlackRock in 1988 and has run it for its entire history, taking it from a bond boutique to the world's largest asset manager.
Source - Susan Wagner1988–2012
Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer and Vice Chairman
Co-founder who led strategy, corporate development and operations, including BlackRock's side of the MLIM merger and the BGI acquisition, before retiring from management in 2012 and joining the board.
Source - Robert S. Kapito2007–present
President
Co-founder who long ran BlackRock's Portfolio Management Group across fixed income, equity, liquidity and alternatives before becoming President in 2007, overseeing day-to-day operations.
Source - Rob Goldstein2014–present
Chief Operating Officer
Named COO in 2014 after running BlackRock's global institutional client business; oversees operations across the firm and sits on the management committee created in 2025.
Source - Martin Small2023–present
Chief Financial Officer
CFO since 2023; leads financial planning and investor reporting and has laid out the 2030 targets for private markets, technology and digital asset revenue on earnings calls.
Source - Adebayo Ogunlesi2024–present
Chairman and CEO, Global Infrastructure Partners
Founder of GIP who joined BlackRock's leadership when the deal closed in October 2024; leads its infrastructure business, including the Aligned Data Centers and AES transactions.
Source
Kia
- Euisun Chung2005–present
Executive Chair, Hyundai Motor Group; Kia Board Member
Credited with starting the design-led turnaround that changed how buyers saw Kia.
Source - Han-woo Park2014–2020
Former President and CEO
Serving as CEO from 2014 to 2020, he successfully navigated severe geopolitical tensions (like the THAAD missile crisis in China that crushed sales) while heavily upgrading Kia's global brand perception.
Source - Ho Sung Song2020–present
President and Chief Executive Officer
Revenue grew from about $41.9 billion (KRW 59 trillion) in 2020 to ~$81 billion (KRW 114.1 trillion) in 2025, and the operating margin peaked at 11.8% in 2024 before tariffs cut it to 8.0% in 2025.
Source
Timeline: BlackRock and Kia side by side
1944Kia
Founding of Kyungsung Precision Industry
Kim Chul-ho establishes a modest workshop in Seoul dedicated to the manufacturing of steel tubes and bicycle parts, laying the humble groundwork for what would eventually become a global automotive leader and a vital contributor to South Korea's post-war indus…
1974Kia
Launch of the Brisa, Kia's First Passenger Car
Kia launched the Brisa, its first passenger car, built at the Sohari plant that opened in 1973. Kia had built motorcycles and light trucks before this, and the Brisa made it a carmaker.
1986Kia
Launch of the Pride and Global Export Expansion
Through a partnership with Ford and Mazda, Kia returned to passenger cars with the Pride. Abroad it was sold as the Ford Festiva, and it gave Kia its first large export volumes.
1988BlackRock
Founded inside the Blackstone Group
Larry Fink and seven partners start Blackstone Financial Management, a bond and risk-management unit backed by a $5 million credit line from the Blackstone Group.
1992BlackRock
Renamed BlackRock
The business takes the BlackRock name and ends the year managing about $17 billion in assets.
1994BlackRock
Sold to PNC for $240 million
After a dispute over equity for new hires, Blackstone sells BlackRock to PNC, which becomes its long-term majority owner.
1998Kia
Hyundai Motor Acquires Kia
After Kia collapsed in the 1997 Asian financial crisis and went into court receivership, Hyundai Motor won the 1998 auction for it, beating Ford among other bidders. Kia stayed a separate brand within the new Hyundai Motor Group.
1999BlackRock
NYSE IPO
BlackRock lists on the New York Stock Exchange on October 1, 1999, at $14 per share.
2000BlackRock
BlackRock Solutions launched
BlackRock starts selling its internal risk analytics, later known as Aladdin, and advisory services to other institutions.
2006BlackRock
Merger with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers
The MLIM deal adds equity, retail and international businesses and gives Merrill Lynch a stake of nearly half of BlackRock.
2006Kia
Recruitment of Peter Schreyer
The enterprise makes the radical decision to hire former Audi design chief Peter Schreyer as its head of design, initiating a profound aesthetic revolution that introduces the well-known tiger-nose grille and elevates the brand from a budget alternative to a p…
2008BlackRock
Hired to manage crisis assets
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York hires BlackRock to manage the Maiden Lane portfolios taken over from Bear Stearns and AIG.
2009BlackRock
Acquires Barclays Global Investors and iShares
BlackRock closes its purchase of BGI on December 1, 2009, becoming the world's largest asset manager and taking over the iShares ETF business.
2011Kia
Launch of the Optima and the Design Renaissance
The Schreyer-designed Optima (K5) sedan brought Kia's new design language to a wide audience and helped it charge more and reach new buyers.
2020BlackRock
PNC exits its stake
PNC sells its roughly 22% stake in BlackRock, leaving the company without a large controlling shareholder.
2020Kia
Announcement of the 'Plan S' Strategy
Kia announced Plan S, its mid- to long-term strategy to move from a combustion-focused carmaker toward EVs, purpose-built vehicles and mobility services. In January 2021 it renamed itself Kia Corporation.
2021Kia
Launch of the EV6 and the E-GMP Platform
The company introduces the award-winning EV6, the first dedicated electric vehicle built on the modular E-GMP platform, showcasing ultra-fast 800-volt charging capabilities and groundbreaking design, instantly establishing the enterprise as a serious technolog…
2023BlackRock
Moves headquarters to 50 Hudson Yards
BlackRock moves its New York headquarters to the 50 Hudson Yards tower on Manhattan's West Side.
2023Kia
EV9 Launch
Kia launched the EV9, a three-row electric SUV on the E-GMP platform, which went on to win the 2024 World Car of the Year award.
2024BlackRock
iShares Bitcoin Trust launch and GIP deal
BlackRock launches the iShares Bitcoin Trust in January and closes the roughly $12.5 billion purchase of Global Infrastructure Partners on October 1.
2025BlackRock
HPS deal and record inflows
BlackRock completes the HPS Investment Partners and Preqin acquisitions, then ends the year with a record $698 billion of net inflows and $14 trillion in AUM.
2025Kia
FY2025 Revenue Reaches KRW 114.141 Trillion
Kia sold a record 3,135,873 vehicles and reported FY2025 revenue of ~$81 billion (KRW 114.1 trillion) (+6.2%). Operating profit fell 28.3% to ~$6.45 billion (KRW 9.08 trillion) as US tariffs cost more than $2.13 billion (KRW 3 trillion).
2026BlackRock
AUM passes $15 trillion
AUM reaches a record $15.3 trillion at June 30, 2026, and a GIP-backed consortium closes the $40 billion acquisition of Aligned Data Centers in July.
2026Kia
2030 Targets Set at CEO Investor Day
At its April 2026 CEO Investor Day, Kia set 2030 targets of ~$121 billion (KRW 170 trillion) in revenue, a 10% operating margin and 4.13 million sales. Q2 2026 revenue was a record ~$23.5 billion (KRW 33.04 trillion).
Acquisitions
BlackRock
- Preqin2025$3.2B
- HPS Investment Partners2025$12B
- Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP)2024$12.5B
- Aperio Group2021$1.1B
- eFront2019$1.3B
- Barclays Global Investors (BGI) and iShares2009$13.5B
Kia
- Takeover by Hyundai Motor (Kia acquired)1998Undisclosed
- Asia Motors1976Undisclosed
Questions about BlackRock vs Kia
Who is the CEO of BlackRock, Inc. and Kia Corporation?
BlackRock, Inc. is led by Larry Fink and Kia Corporation is led by Ho Sung Song. Both serve as the top executive responsible for the company's strategy, operations, and financial performance.
When was BlackRock, Inc. founded vs Kia Corporation?
Kia Corporation was founded in 1944 — 44 years before BlackRock, Inc., which was founded in 1988. Kia Corporation's longer operating history gives it a deeper track record but also potentially more institutional inertia compared to the younger BlackRock, Inc..
How many employees does BlackRock, Inc. have compared to Kia Corporation?
BlackRock, Inc. employs approximately 24,900 people, while Kia Corporation employs approximately 53,200. Kia Corporation has the larger workforce at 53,200 employees, compared to BlackRock, Inc.'s 24,900. A higher headcount does not necessarily imply greater efficiency — it often reflects differences in business model (e.g., manufacturing vs. software).
Where are BlackRock, Inc. and Kia Corporation headquartered?
BlackRock, Inc. is headquartered in United States and Kia Corporation is headquartered in South Korea. Their different home markets mean they may face different regulatory frameworks, tax regimes, and currency exposure.
Who founded BlackRock, Inc. and Kia Corporation?
BlackRock, Inc. was founded by Larry Fink, Robert S. Kapito, Susan Wagner, Barbara Novick, Ben Golub, Hugh Frater, Ralph Schlosstein, Keith Anderson. Kia Corporation was founded by Kim Chul-ho.
Which company has a longer operating history — BlackRock, Inc. or Kia Corporation?
Kia Corporation has been operating for approximately 82 years, making it the more established of the two companies. BlackRock, Inc. has been in operation for around 38 years. A longer operating history often signals greater institutional resilience and brand recognition, though it can also mean slower adaptation to new market conditions.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the BlackRock vs Kia overview