Early Personnel Moves Starting Late This Month to Proactively Address Domestic and International Uncertainties
Hanwha Group Kicks Off on the 28th... Chairman Kim Seung-yeon's Eldest Son Promoted to President
[Asia Economy Reporter Sung Ki-ho] Major domestic conglomerates are advancing their year-end personnel appointments to proactively respond to domestic and international uncertainties. Hanwha Group took the lead with its September personnel moves, and accordingly, other companies that typically conduct executive and president-level appointments from late November to late December are expected to accelerate their schedules.
According to the business community on the 29th, Hanwha Group made a surprise president-level personnel announcement on the 28th, becoming the first among major groups to do so. Typically, Hanwha Group announces its regular president-level appointments around October, but this year, it conducted the appointments early to proactively establish next year's business strategies and stabilize the organization.
Among the newly appointed CEOs in this round are those for Hanwha Solutions, Hanwha Global & Defense Division, Hanwha Precision Machinery, Hanwha Defense, Hanwha General Chemical Business & Strategy Division, Hanwha Total, Hanwha Estate, and Hanwha History, totaling 10 companies. Kim Maeng-yoon, head of the European Business Division of Hanwha Solutions Q CELLS Division, was appointed CEO of Hanwha Global Division, and Kim Seung-mo, Vice President, was promoted to CEO of Hanwha Defense Division.
This year's appointments notably marked the full-scale launch of "third-generation management" with the promotion of Kim Dong-kwan, eldest son of Chairman Kim Seung-yeon and Vice President of Hanwha Solutions, to president. Earlier this year, Kim served as an inside director of Hanwha Solutions, which was formed by merging Hanwha Q CELLS, Hanwha Advanced Materials, and Hanwha Chemical, overseeing the holding company's strategy and solidifying the succession structure. With his appointment as CEO, he is expected to take on full responsibility for management.
Among the 10 newly appointed CEOs of affiliated companies, besides President Kim, three others in their 40s were selected, and the group also appointed its first female CEO. Kim Eun-hee, head of the Planning Division at Hanwha Galleria and appointed CEO of Hanwha History, became the first female CEO in Hanwha Group's history. Born in 1978, Kim is 42 years old. This lowered the average age of Hanwha Group's CEO team from 58.1 to 55.7 years, which is interpreted as a generational shift in preparation for the full-scale third-generation management.
It is also notable that executives from solar energy-related affiliates led by President Kim were selected. As Hanwha Group pursues generational change centered on President Kim, this trend is expected to continue in subsequent executive appointments.
Hanwha's decision to advance president-level appointments by more than a month compared to previous years has strengthened expectations that other major conglomerates such as Samsung and Hyundai Motor Group may also move up their personnel schedules.
Samsung Group, which has traditionally conducted appointments in December, is now expected to bring forward its regular personnel moves due to recent judicial risks. The prosecution has indicted Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong and other current executives of major Samsung affiliates on allegations of illegal succession of management rights. Given past cases where Samsung executives resigned taking responsibility after trials, the scale of generational change could be much larger than anticipated.
Hyundai Motor Group, which switched from year-end regular executive appointments to an ad hoc personnel system last year, conducted one round of appointments in July and is currently recruiting future talent. On the 24th, Hyundai Motor Group announced the recruitment of Tomaso Poggio and Daniela Rus, renowned scholars in artificial intelligence (AI) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), as technical advisory committee members. The following day (25th), Allen Raposo, who has over 30 years of experience in the powertrain field at PSA and Renault, was appointed Vice President of Hyundai-Kia Motors' Research and Development Headquarters. With the upcoming launch of the dedicated electric vehicle platform brand 'IONIQ' next year, Hyundai Motor Group appears to be accelerating related personnel recruitment.
SK Group is expected to conduct personnel appointments in December, following its annual CEO seminar scheduled for the third week of next month. There are expectations that the scale of appointments at SK Group could be significantly large. Especially since Chairman Chey Tae-won presented "enhancing corporate value" as the group's management theme for this year at the '2020 Expanded Management Meeting' held at the SKMS Research Institute in Icheon in June, a major reshuffle and large-scale appointments are anticipated depending on the seminar outcomes.
LG Group may see large-scale renewal appointments similar to last year. In particular, with LG Energy Solution set to launch in December as a spin-off from LG Chem's battery division, this is expected to be heavily reflected in personnel decisions. Additionally, following last year's CEO change with LG Electronics Vice Chairman Cho Seong-jin stepping down, attention is focused on how subsequent appointments for generational change will be carried out this year.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
