Macrogen Appoints Former CTO Kim Chang-hoon as CEO of Domestic Business

Changhoon Kim, CEO of Macrogen Korea.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Macrogen announced on the 17th that it has appointed former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Kim Chang-hoon as the CEO of its domestic business. CEO Lee Soo-kang has been appointed as the CEO of the overseas business, and Macrogen will have separate CEOs for its domestic and overseas operations.

CEO Kim Chang-hoon graduated from the Department of Genetic Engineering at Kyungpook National University and earned his master's and doctoral degrees in bioengineering from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). After serving as a senior researcher at the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, he researched bioinformatics algorithms for six years at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the United States. He is a bioinformatics expert who conducted machine learning research at the Molecular Design Institute.

Since joining Macrogen in 2012, CEO Kim has been deeply involved in various fields of genome research. In 2016, he co-corresponding authored the paper "Completion of the Korean Reference Genome," published in Nature. Until last year, he served as the head of Macrogen's Bioinformatics Research Institute and CTO.

Macrogen plans to accelerate digital transformation in the healthcare sector by appointing regional CEOs with expertise, combining AI analysis technology with big data such as personal genome information and medical data. Domestically, the company will enhance its core competencies by advancing expertise in R&D and continue to expand its aggressive business portfolio, including personal healthcare. For overseas business, efforts will focus on continuous sales growth and expansion of new bases.

CEO Kim said, "Macrogen is a deeply rooted company celebrating its 25th anniversary in the fiercely competitive bio industry. Through corporate innovation with the new management system and mid-to-long-term vision 'Macrogen 2.0' this year, we will increase business agility in the rapidly changing global market and emerge as a leading company in integrated healthcare solutions based on genome technology."