Kakao's New CEO Appointed as Jeongsin A, Kakao Ventures CEO
"The Right Person to Lead Kakao's Change and Secure Future Growth Engines"
Kakao has signaled a personnel overhaul by appointing Jeong Sina, CEO of Kakao Ventures, as the new captain. For the first time since its founding, the company will adopt a female sole CEO system to overcome the crisis. As someone who has experienced various stages of corporate growth, she is expected to lead changes suitable for Kakao, which has grown into a large corporation. Starting with this, a full-scale reshuffle of CEOs and key executives of Kakao's major affiliates is also expected to begin.
Female CEO Born in 1975 Appointed
On the morning of the 13th, Kakao held a nomination committee meeting and reported Jeong, who is in charge of overall business, as the sole CEO nominee. Jeong will be officially appointed as CEO after the board meeting and shareholders' meeting scheduled for March. Kim Beom-su, Kakao founder and management innovation committee chairman, explained, "After gathering various opinions, we concluded that Sina (Jeong's English name) is the right leader to lead Kakao's transformation into a new company," adding, "We judged that she can both solidify Kakao's fundamentals and secure future growth engines centered on artificial intelligence (AI)."
This is the first time Kakao has had a female sole CEO system. Since its establishment, Kakao has been led by male CEOs. In 2015, Im Ji-hoon, then CEO of K Cube Ventures (now Kakao Ventures), was appointed sole CEO, and except for the launch of a sole CEO system under Hong Eun-taek following the resignation of former Kakao CEO Namgoong Hoon this year, Kakao has had a male co-CEO system.
The reason for selecting Jeong is that she is considered the right person to lead Kakao's transformation. Born in 1975, Jeong joined Kakao Ventures in 2014 after working at Boston Consulting Group, eBay Asia-Pacific headquarters, and NHN (now Naver). Having moved between global companies, domestic large corporations, and venture ecosystems, she is highly regarded for her understanding of difficulties and conflicts at various stages of corporate growth. Although Kakao has grown into a large corporation ranked 15th in the business world, it is still criticized for remaining in the startup success model and corporate culture. Because Jeong has played diverse roles from reputation and brand management to discovering investment targets according to the corporate growth stage, she is evaluated as the right person to lead Kakao's transformation. Jeong has defined failure as "when one does not keep what must be morally upheld and feels no guilt about it," based on observing startup successes and failures.
Jeong is also an expert in artificial intelligence (AI) and healthcare, which Kakao has identified as future growth engines. Among the deep-tech companies invested in by Kakao Ventures, 75% are AI companies. She has invested in various AI startups accordingly. She has also actively pursued healthcare investments by consecutively recruiting physician evaluators. She is highly regarded for her understanding of the IT industry and services, having consistently handled new businesses at eBay and NHN. Chairman Kim introduced Jeong as someone who "has successfully conducted technology-centered investments in commerce, fintech, AI, and accumulated experience in various sectors."
Reshuffle Widens and Accelerates
Jeong is one of the figures highly trusted by Chairman Kim. When Kim appointed Jeong as CEO of Kakao Ventures in 2018, he reportedly persuaded her directly, saying, "Our country needs many CEO and startup stories," and "Let's create such an environment." Jeong joined the Kakao board in March this year and was mentioned as a candidate for the next CEO. At that time, she joined the board along with Bae Jae-hyun, Kakao's head of investment, but as Bae became embroiled in legal risks, Jeong's position grew stronger. Since last September, she has expanded her role by overseeing business within the CA Council, Kakao's group control tower. Currently, she is a standing member of the management innovation committee, discussing the direction of reform.
Starting with the replacement of the CEO at Kakao headquarters, leadership changes across the group are expected to accelerate. The scale of reshuffling among key executives, including CEOs of major affiliates, is expected to increase significantly. The terms of 77 Kakao affiliate CEOs are set to expire around March to April next year, accounting for more than half of all affiliates. Major affiliates such as Kakao Entertainment, Kakao Mobility, and Kakao Games are included. Attention is focused on whether the CEO of Kakao Entertainment, which is at the center of business risks, and Kakao Mobility, which has been embroiled in monopoly controversies, will be replaced. It is also anticipated that leadership changes will be completed before term expirations to speed up reform. On the 11th, Chairman Kim told employees in a meeting that "answers regarding the current management replacement will be provided within this month." In an internal notice on the 10th, he also announced a large-scale reorganization, stating, "We aim to establish leadership to lead a new ship, a new Kakao."
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