[Asia Economy Reporters Hyewon Kim, Heungsun Kim, Hyeyoung Lee, Hyunjin Jung] Samsung Electronics boldly promoted young leaders in their 30s as managing directors and in their 40s as vice presidents in the executive personnel appointments following the president-level personnel changes. On the 9th, they carried out the 2022 regular executive appointments with key themes of 'young leaders,' 'diversity,' and 'top technology.'
Samsung Electronics announced on the 9th that it conducted the 2022 regular executive appointments, promoting a total of 198 people, including 68 vice presidents, 113 managing directors, 1 fellow, and 16 masters. Although the total number of promotions decreased compared to last year (214 people), the number of young leaders increased significantly. In this appointment, there were 4 managing directors in their 30s and 10 vice presidents in their 40s. The number of managing directors promoted in their 30s tied the highest record ever.
The youngest promotees are Vice President Kim Chan-woo (born 1976, age 45), head of the Speech Processing Lab at Samsung Research, and Managing Director Park Seong-beom (born 1984, age 37) of the SOC Design Team in the System LSI Business Division. Samsung Electronics explained that regardless of rank and years of service, those who demonstrated performance and growth potential were given positions as managing directors in their 30s and vice presidents in their 40s.
Samsung Electronics also maintained an expansion policy for promotion opportunities for female and foreign executives to strengthen diversity and inclusion, which are the foundation of organizational innovation and sustainable management. They promoted 12 women and 5 foreigners respectively. Additionally, to secure future core growth engines, many software experts were appointed as executives, and key positions related to customer experience (CX) were also promoted. To represent the company's technological prowess, they appointed 1 fellow and 16 masters in the research and development (R&D) sector, paying attention to their status as a technology company.
Starting with this appointment, Samsung Electronics simplified the rank system below vice president by integrating the vice president and executive director ranks into two levels: vice president and managing director. A Samsung Electronics official stated, "Going forward, vice presidents will be promoted based on their potential to grow as key executives regardless of age or seniority, and they will be assigned to core positions to expand their experience and cultivate managerial qualities as future CEO candidates."
New Vice Presidents Double Compared to Last Year... 15% of Promotees in Their 40s
This appointment is characterized by accelerating generational change based on meritocracy and strategically placing creative and challenge-driven talents in key positions. By also emphasizing technology experts in innovative products such as artificial intelligence (AI) and software, it is evaluated that the foundation of the 'New Samsung' emphasized by Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong was completed.
A total of 198 executives were promoted in this appointment, 16 fewer than last year's 214. However, with the organizational restructuring on the 29th of last month, which integrated the vice president and executive director ranks into vice president, the number of new vice presidents more than doubled compared to last year (31 people). The number of new managing directors also increased by 2 from last year's 111.
Among the new managing directors, four are in their 30s, tying the record for the highest number of managing directors promoted in their 30s since 2012. Park Seong-beom, managing director of the SOC Design Team in the S.LSI Business Division of the Device Solutions (DS) sector, aged 37, was the youngest promotee this year. As a mobile processor design expert, he was promoted to executive at an early age by contributing to improving the completeness of GPU design based on his high understanding of processors such as central processing units (CPU) and graphics processing units (GPU).
Other 30-something executives include Managing Director So Jae-min (38) of the VD Business Division's Advanced Development Group in the Set (finished products) sector, Managing Director Shim Woo-cheol (39), head of Security Lab 1 at Samsung Research, and Managing Director Kim Kyung-ryun (38) of the DRAM Design Team in the Memory Business Division of the DS sector. Ten vice presidents in their 40s were promoted from the VD Business Division and DS sector, including Vice President Ko Bong-jun (49) of the VD Business Division, who achieved notable results.
The youngest vice president this year is Kim Chan-woo, head of the Speech Processing Lab at Samsung Research (45). About 15% of all vice president promotees are in their 40s, highlighting the bold selection of those with growth potential regardless of seniority. Samsung Electronics explained, "Under the principle of meritocracy, we conducted a large-scale promotion to strengthen leadership for future sustainable growth."
17 New Foreign and Female Executives... Creative and Challenging Talents Placed in Key Positions
In this appointment, 17 new foreign and female executives were selected to strengthen diversity and inclusion aimed at organizational innovation and sustainable management. This nearly doubled from 10 foreign and female executives last December. Yang Hye-soon, managing director who contributed to the success of the customized home appliance 'Bespoke' in the Home Appliance Business Division, was promoted to vice president. The number of foreign and female executives increased not only in the Set sector such as mobile and home appliances but also in the DS sector, which showed remarkable performance improvement.
To secure future core growth engines, many outstanding personnel in software and customer experience (CX) fields were also promoted to executives. In the software field, Vice President Kim Du-il and five managing directors were included in the list of promotees. In the CX field, key position holders including Vice President Ahn Yong-il of the Design Management Center were promoted to solidify their position as market leaders.
Samsung Electronics also appointed 1 fellow and 16 masters in this year's appointments. Since 2017, they have consistently promoted about 15 technology experts. The fellow position, introduced by Samsung in 2002, is a title given to core technical talents with world-class technological capabilities and is called the 'Samsung Nobel Prize' within Samsung Electronics. The master system, operated since 2009, selects top research and development experts in key technology fields to focus solely on research. Among them, Kim Dong-won, the new fellow in the DS sector, is an expert in logic device development.
Samsung Electronics emphasized the significance of expanding the pool of future leaders by abolishing the director and assistant director ranks in 2001, eliminating the assistant managing director rank in 2008, and compressing the existing executive ranks of managing director, executive director, and vice president into two levels: vice president and managing director starting from this appointment.
‘Young Leader’ Trend Also Sweeps Samsung Electronics Affiliates... First Vice Presidents in Their 40s Appointed
The generational change trend at Samsung is not limited to Samsung Electronics but has also spread across electronic affiliates such as Samsung Display, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, Samsung SDI, and Samsung SDS. Under the policy of appointing young and talented personnel, the integration of vice president and executive director ranks led to the emergence of the first vice presidents in their 40s at all electronic affiliates.
Samsung Display, through the regular executive appointments on the 9th, selected Vice President Choi Yeol, head of the Module Development Team in the Small and Medium Display Business Division, a module process technology expert, via the Samsung-style fast track that can nurture young management early. On the same day, Samsung SDI promoted Managing Director Choi Ik-gyu, who led next-generation battery material development, to vice president. Samsung Electro-Mechanics appointed Vice Presidents Kim Jong-han and Cho Jeong-gyun, and Samsung SDS appointed Vice Presidents Kwon Young-jun and Seo Ho-dong. All of them are the first vice presidents in their 40s at their respective affiliates.
All four Samsung electronics affiliates explained that they boldly promoted capable next-generation leaders and appointed young executives early to nurture them. By placing many specialized talents in key positions to achieve results, they aim to produce a pool of future CEOs and build a foundation for the future.
The executive appointments at Samsung electronics affiliates saw many promotions of individuals who contributed to technological competitiveness and sales growth through their expertise. Samsung Display promoted a total of 24 people, including 8 vice presidents, 14 managing directors, and 2 masters. Samsung Electro-Mechanics promoted 20 people, including 5 vice presidents, 13 managing directors, and 2 masters. Samsung SDI promoted 21 people, including 6 vice presidents, 14 managing directors, and 1 master. Samsung SDS promoted 16 people, including 6 vice presidents and 10 managing directors. Samsung Display, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, and Samsung SDS also selected outstanding female talents who can demonstrate expertise and leadership to achieve results.
In the uncertain management environment, each affiliate explained that they promoted individuals who strengthened market dominance and contributed to securing future growth engines. Samsung Display stated, "We selected key personnel in research and development, manufacturing technology, and sales to prepare the foundation for the company's future growth and to diversify the business portfolio." Samsung SDI said, "We strengthened business competitiveness, built a dynamic organizational culture, and created a stepping stone for business expansion."
Each affiliate plans to complete management personnel appointments through this regular executive appointment and will soon proceed with organizational restructuring and position-related personnel changes. Earlier, during the Samsung president-level personnel appointments on the 7th, Samsung SDI promoted President Jeon Young-hyun to vice chairman and appointed Samsung Electronics President Choi Yoon-ho as the new CEO. Samsung Electronics also promoted Vice President Jang Deok-hyun to president and appointed him as the new CEO.
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