Second Innovation with Manpower... Coupang Hires Over 10 Executives This Year

Accelerating Global Talent Acquisition... Comprehensive Reinforcement in Management, Technology, and HR

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Coupang is accelerating the recruitment of prominent domestic and international figures. This year alone, more than 10 individuals with global competitiveness in various fields have joined Coupang as executives. The areas receiving manpower influx span management, technology, human resources, safety, and government relations. Despite a significant increase in orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic leading to soaring sales, the company still maintains a deficit. This is interpreted as a strategy to resolve pressing challenges such as the initial public offering (IPO) and new business ventures through 'manpower.'

According to the e-commerce industry on the 3rd, Coupang plans to continuously recruit competitive executive-level talent in the second half of this year and next year. In addition to existing business areas, recently formalized ventures such as the courier business and online video services (OTT), considered new growth engines, also require specialized personnel. Coupang recently added video content-related business to its business objectives and filed for trademark rights, completing groundwork for entering the OTT business. For the courier business, it submitted an application for a freight motor vehicle transportation business to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport last month.

◆More than 10 Executives Recruited This Year Alone = Coupang has already recruited more than 10 executives this year who have proven global competitiveness. Tuan Pham, former Uber Chief Technology Officer (CTO), was hired as the new CTO, and Kang Han-seung, who served as legal secretary at the Blue House, judicial cooperation officer at the U.S. Embassy, government representative to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), and government representative at the Hague International Judicial Conference, was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Management and Administration. In the second half of the year, Jeon Jun-hee, co-founder of ESTsoft who worked at Google and Uber, was recruited as Vice President of Development, and Kim Ki-ryeong, former CEO of Mercer Korea and other global HR consulting firms, joined as Vice President. Additionally, Yoo In-jong, former Samsung C&T Resort Division executive director, and Park Dae-sik, former head of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency's Northern Gyeonggi branch, were recruited as Vice President and Executive Director in the safety management field, respectively. Former Seoul City Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Chu Kyung-min joined Coupang as Vice President of Government Relations.

Last year, executives such as Alberto Ponnaro, former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the global gaming company IGT PLC; Jay Jorgensen, former Walmart Chief Legal Officer and Chief Compliance Officer (CCO); Michael Parker, former Nike Chief Accounting Officer (CAO); and Lee Jun-hee, former Hyundai Card financial legal expert and Vice President of Legal Affairs, joined Coupang. The newly joined executives unanimously cited 'growth potential' as the reason for choosing Coupang. CTO Tuan Pham said, "Coupang is literally a company that changes the way people live," adding, "Joining a company with a grand vision to change the lives of people worldwide and creating change together is an opportunity." Vice President Jeon Jun-hee also stated, "In the ongoing COVID-19 situation, the world is paying attention to Coupang's fast and accurate innovative delivery system."

◆Challenges Including IPO and New Business Initiatives = Industry insiders believe Coupang is continuously recruiting prominent figures to solve numerous domestic and international challenges and secure new growth engines. Coupang achieved record-breaking sales exceeding 7 trillion won last year. Although it continued aggressive deficit management resulting in large operating losses as in previous years, the loss scale is decreasing. Moreover, this year, orders have surged due to COVID-19, anticipating even steeper growth.

According to a domestic e-commerce platform data analysis report released by Incross recently, Coupang ranked first in September with 16.895 million unique users of its e-commerce app. The number of unique users increased by 25.5% compared to October last year, showing a significant gap with the second place, which did not reach 10 million users. A Coupang official explained, "We are entering a phase of explosive growth," adding, "The number of product types customers can choose from has increased to 400 million, and services such as Rocket Delivery guaranteeing next-day delivery, as well as dawn delivery and same-day delivery, are available."

Industry consensus is that to reduce deficits while maintaining such growth, Coupang needs to secure funds through a Nasdaq listing and find new growth drivers. There will be continued demand for proven experts to proactively solve various pressing challenges. An e-commerce industry insider analyzed, "Coupang's Nasdaq listing and OTT business are still in the early stages, and problems to be resolved in existing businesses remain, so continuous talent recruitment domestically and internationally will continue."