CJ Infuses 'Young Blood'... 8 Executives Born in the 80s, 5 in Their 30s

CJ Promotes 44 Executives in Regular Personnel Review
8 Born in 1980s, 5 in Their 30s
7 Female Executives, Making Up 16% of Total

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] CJ Group has maintained its policy of appointing 'young talent' in this regular executive personnel reshuffle as well. The average age of the 44 newly appointed executives is 45.5 years, with 8 of them belonging to the millennial generation born in the 1980s.

CJ Group conducted an early executive reshuffle on the 24th with the aim of strengthening future growth centered on the mid-term vision. Compared to recent years when regular executive reshuffles were held in December, this move was brought forward by about two months. With only one year left until the end of the 2021-2023 mid-term vision focused on the four growth pillars of C.P.W.S. (Content, Platform, Wellness, Sustainability), it is analyzed that the reshuffle was conducted earlier than usual to ensure more stable vision execution.

In this reshuffle, CJ continued its policy of appointing talent regardless of gender or age. Among the 44 newly appointed executives, 8 (18%) are millennials born in the 1980s, and 5 of them are in their 30s. CJ CheilJedang's business leader Lim Dong-hyuk and CJ Olive Young's business leader Kim Hwan are the youngest, born in 1985. In last year's reshuffle, 8 of the new executives were also born after 1980, with 4 of them in their 30s. A CJ official explained, "This personnel reshuffle strengthens the appointment of entrepreneurs and strategists focused on innovative growth centered on the mid-term vision and nurturing top talent for the group's future."

CJ Olive Young's new CEO Lee Seon-jeong. Photo by CJ Group

There are also 7 female executives, accounting for 16% of the total. Although this is somewhat lower compared to the record high of 11 in last year's reshuffle, it still represents a high proportion. Additionally, Lee Sun-jung, born in 1977 and business leader of CJ Olive Young, was appointed as the youngest female CEO within CJ Group and the first female CEO. This is interpreted as reflecting Chairman Lee Jae-hyun's intention to actively appoint young talent based on performance and ability rather than gender or age. When announcing the mid-term vision last year, Chairman Lee stated his talent philosophy: "Anyone can become a leader regardless of age, years of service, or rank, as long as they have capability and will."

Meanwhile, since last year's reshuffle, CJ Group has unified all executive ranks from president to senior managing director under the title of business leader. In this reshuffle, most affiliate CEOs were retained to accelerate the execution speed of the mid-term vision, and 44 new executives were appointed. CJ plans to begin preparations for executing the new mid-term vision strategy for 2023-2025 immediately after the executive reshuffle.