LG Electronics Promotes 56 Executives in Total... Organizational Restructuring Focused on 5 Major Business Divisions

(From left) Sang-gyu Lee, President of LG Electronics Korea Sales Headquarters; Jae-cheol Ryu, Vice President of H&A Business Headquarters; Dae-hwa Jung, Vice President and Head of Production Technology Institute

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] LG Electronics announced on the 26th that it held a board meeting and carried out executive personnel changes and organizational restructuring for 2021.

LG Electronics promoted a total of 56 executives, including 1 president, 3 vice presidents, 9 executive directors, and 43 managing directors. This is an increase of 7 from last year's promotion scale (49 people).

LG Electronics explained that it selected talent based on strict performance principles, focusing not only on short-term business results but also on strengthening fundamental business competitiveness. They discovered young talent and female talent who can lead innovation and change, and recruited external talent. In particular, the proportion of executives born after 1970 among the new executives increased significantly from 57% last year to 72% this year.

Lee Sang-gyu, head of the Korea Sales Headquarters, was promoted from vice president to president. Since joining in 1988, Lee has gained diverse experience in sales, strategy, distribution, and marketing at the Korea Sales Headquarters. Since the end of last year, he has been leading the Korea Sales Headquarters, establishing mid- to long-term strategies and building a sales foundation for sustainable growth.

Three new vice presidents were appointed. Baek Seung-tae, head of the Living Appliances Division, was promoted in recognition of achievements such as securing business soundness by strengthening cost competitiveness and product portfolio.

Oh Se-gi, head of the H&A Research Center, was promoted to vice president for strengthening research and development capabilities through differentiated new technology development and the integration of DX (digital transformation) technologies.

No Jin-seo was promoted to vice president for establishing a business foundation centered on robot solutions under the CSO division and building a market-leading image for the robot business.

A total of 9 were promoted to executive director and 43 to managing director. Managing Director Lee Jeong-seok, who contributed to differentiation and securing competitive advantage of OLED TVs, and Managing Director Kim Dong-wook, who expanded new business areas through service platform development, were promoted to executive directors.

Two new female executives emerged: Gu Ji-young (female, 41), who contributed to differentiated product development by identifying future trends such as space appliances and healthcare, and Lee So-yeon (female, 45), who enhanced product competitiveness and development efficiency through TV modular design and virtual verification.

Manager Woo Jeong-ho was promoted to managing director by leading positive evaluations from customers and the market through differentiation of smartphone camera UX and image quality optimization. Manager Woo is the youngest among the new executives, born in 1980.

Company-wide Capability Concentration on Future Preparation and Customer Value Innovation

In this organizational restructuring, LG Electronics maintained a business division-centered responsible management system while focusing on customer value innovation, future preparation, and diversification of growth engines.

For company-wide future preparation, LG Electronics established the North America Innovation Center under the CSO (Chief Strategy Office) division.

The North America Innovation Center discovers new business models in Silicon Valley, USA, and collaborates with industry-leading companies. LG Electronics appointed Executive Director Lee Seok-woo, former Deputy Director of the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), as the center head. Lee, recognized as an expert in IoT (Internet of Things) business development, served as a Presidential Innovation Research Committee member for the IoT sector at the White House.

Additionally, LG Electronics established the Biz Incubation Center under the CSO division to nurture and support various forms of new businesses.

The CTO division established iLab directly under the division to develop innovative technologies related to new businesses and discover creative ideas in a startup-style approach. Under the Materials Technology Center, the Next-Generation Display Research Institute operates to accelerate technology development and business related to Micro LED.

LG Electronics established the MI (Market Intelligence) department within the Global Marketing Center to analyze customer and market-related data and derive insights. Also, to identify customers' pain points and reflect them in product planning, development, sales, and overall management, the Customer Value Innovation Office was elevated to the Customer Value Innovation Department and transferred to the CSO division.

LG Electronics reorganized the Advanced Design Research Institute and established the CX (Customer eXperience) Lab directly under the CEO. The CX Lab strengthens design capabilities based on customer experience. Professor Hwang Sung-geol, head of the Industrial Design Department at Hongik University, was appointed as the CX Lab head.

Strengthening Responsible Management Centered on Business Divisions

LG Electronics maintains the existing five business division system. Advanced R&D functions closely related to the business divisions are transferred to the divisions, and the advanced research organization is reorganized to strengthen future preparation of the business divisions.

The H&A Business Division is led by Vice President Ryu Jae-cheol, who has led the Living Appliances Division. Vice President Ryu has increased LG Electronics' market dominance in the global home appliance market and was appointed as the new suitable leader of the H&A Business Division due to his excellent ability to read customer and market changes.

To build a business-complete R&D organization, the H&A Business Division integrated research and development organizations such as the Appliance Research Institute and Air Solution Research Institute and newly established the Kitchen Appliance Research Institute, Living Appliance Research Institute, and Air Solution Research Institute under each business unit.

LG Electronics transfers the Robot Business Center to the BS Division. The BS Business Division plans to accelerate the robot business by utilizing its global sales infrastructure and capabilities. To develop future technologies and market-leading products and solutions, the BS Business Division established the BS Research Institute directly under the division.

The Korea Sales Headquarters elevated the Rental Caring Business Department to the Rental Caring Business Center to strengthen rental business and care solution services.

The Production Technology Institute is led by Vice President Jung Dae-hwa, who concurrently serves as head of the Battery Production Technology Center. Vice President Jung was promoted last year for internalizing core technologies in the battery equipment field and enhancing production capabilities.

The Design Management Center is led by Executive Director Lee Cheol-bae, former head of the Advanced Design Research Institute.