Establishment of CX Center... Leading Innovation in 'Customer Experience Journey'
Company-wide Integrated Operation of 'LG ThinQ'... Accelerating DX Transformation
[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] LG Electronics announced on the 24th that it will apply next year's organizational restructuring, which includes creating a new 'CX (Customer Experience) Center' responsible for overseeing 'customer experience journey' innovation, starting from the 1st of next month.
It also decided to apply next year's executive appointments from January 1st, including promoting Ryu Jaecheol, head of the H&A (Home Appliance & Air Solution) Business Division, who has been leading LG Electronics' home appliances as the 'washing machine barrel,' to president.
Focus on 'Future Preparation'... Catching Two Rabbits: 'Growth Engine' and 'Customer Value'
Ryu Jae-cheol, President of LG Electronics H&A (Home Appliance & Air Solution) Business Division. (Photo by LG Electronics)
LG Electronics' organizational restructuring and executive appointments for next year carry the message of capturing both the company's growth engine and differentiated customer value. The company plans to select young talents with growth potential to lead innovation and change by transforming the organization. The policy is to select talents who will strengthen future business competitiveness as well as achieve short-term results.
LG Electronics stated its organizational operation policy as "strengthening a fast and responsible decision-making system centered on business divisions." It will gather refined capabilities by division to induce synergy at the company-wide level.
Establishment of a Headquarters-Affiliated 'CX Center'
Lee Cheol-bae, Vice President and Head of LG Electronics CX (Customer Experience) Center. (Photo by LG Electronics)
A notable point in LG Electronics' organizational restructuring is the establishment of the CX Center directly under the headquarters. The CX Center is an organization responsible for overseeing company-wide innovation, product, service, and business model planning throughout the Customer Experience Journey (CEJ). It will concentrate capabilities to comprehensively and proactively research the customer experience of LG Electronics products. The center will be responsible not only for research but also for proposing strategies and roadmaps.
To this end, the CX Center will have a CX Strategy Department to discover and promote customer experience directions and key tasks from a company-wide perspective. The LSR Research Lab (Life Soft Research Lab.) under the Design Management Center will be renamed the 'LSR Customer Research Lab' and transferred to the CX Center. Vice President Lee Cheolbae, who served as head of the Design Management Center, will be appointed as the head of the CX Center.
Kim Young-rak, Vice President and Head of Korea Sales Division at LG Electronics. (Photo by LG Electronics)
LG Electronics' representative home appliance platform, 'LG ThinQ,' will have its planning, development, and operation capabilities consolidated into the 'Platform Business Center.' This is to unify capabilities that were previously dispersed across business divisions. The Platform Business Center, established in July last year, has been leading the creation of LG Electronics fandom based on data. The center head will remain Vice President Jung Ki-hyun, who was recruited last September. Vice President Jung has experience at eBay, Google, and served as Meta Korea's representative.
The Purchasing & SCM Management Center will transfer the production planning function under the Production Technology Institute and change its role and name to the 'Global Operation Center.' The Global Operation Center will lead the strengthening of capabilities and synergy across operations such as production, purchasing, and SCM, and promote fundamental organizational improvements based on DX (digital transformation).
Strengthening 'Responsible Management' of Four Business Divisions
Eun Seok-hyun, Vice President and Head of LG Electronics VS (Vehicle Components) Business Division. (Photo by LG Electronics)
The H&A Business Division will operate by changing the existing 'Living Appliance Division' and 'Kitchen Appliance Division' to the 'Living Solution Division' and 'Kitchen Solution Division,' respectively. This is to expand comprehensive content and services experienced by customers. The HE (Home Entertainment) Business Division will establish an 'Indonesia Development Department' under the HE Research Institute to strengthen efficiency and synergy between overseas R&D and base production facilities.
The VS (Vehicle Components) Business Division will establish the 'VS Operation Group,' which performs integrated operation management of vehicle components, to strengthen purchasing, production, and SCM capabilities and synergy. The BS (Business Solutions) Business Division will establish an 'EV Charging Business Department' directly under the business division to accelerate the full-scale growth of the electric vehicle charging solution business.
Executive Appointments Focused on the 'Future'
The most notable point is the promotion of Director Ryu from vice president to president. He is the key figure who contributed to LG Electronics surpassing Whirlpool to become the global number one in home appliances. Since joining in 1989, he has held various roles in R&D, production, and served as division head and business division head, making him an expert in home appliances. Since last year, he has been leading the H&A Business Division, continuing its sales growth. Within the company, he is recognized as the 'washing machine barrel,' with extensive experience overseeing the entire home appliance sector.
Seokhyun Eun, head of the VS Business Division and the main figure behind the division's return to profitability, was also promoted to vice president. Director Eun will be responsible for stable operation and future preparation of the vehicle components business, including profit and loss improvement and portfolio advancement.
Kim Youngrak, head of the India subsidiary, was promoted to vice president and appointed head of the Korea Sales Headquarters. Based on his successful experience in overseas markets such as Vietnam and India, he will lead the domestic premium strategy. Lee Cheolbae, head of the CX Center; Lee Cheonguk, head of the Europe region; Jung Kyuhwang, head of the Latin America region; and Kim Dongsu, CEO of LG Technology Ventures (affiliated with LG Science Park), were also promoted to vice president.
Jung Kyu-hwang, Vice President and Head of Latin America at LG Electronics. (Photo by LG Electronics)
Director Ryu was promoted to president, and six others including Director Eun were promoted to vice president. Seven were promoted to executive director, and 40 to managing director. Key executive director promotions include Hwang Wonyong, managing director and head of the VS North America subsidiary, who contributed to the vehicle components business's return to profitability based on the North American network, and Kim Jinkyung, managing director and CTO of the SIC Center, who expanded the 'chip portfolio' centered on TVs to home appliances and vehicle components.
Among the key managing director promotions is Woo Jeonghoon, the youngest new executive born in 1983 and senior specialist. Senior Specialist Woo was recognized for improving the data governance (planning, development, operation) process of home appliances and LG ThinQ application development. He accelerated DX within the company by establishing a 'data-driven innovation culture.'
LG Electronics stated, "We selected young talents with growth potential and outstanding capabilities to prepare for the future and innovate customer experience, leading innovation and change. In particular, we boldly selected young executives in their 30s with excellent capabilities in DX fields such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data to lead innovation and change."
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