Jeongsina Kakao Sole CEO Nominee
Appointed as 'Icon of Reform' Relief Pitcher
Resembling Naver CEO Choi Suyeon
'Women, 40s, External Hires'
A wave of female CEOs in their 40s is sweeping through the information and communication technology (IT) industry. Following Naver’s appointment two years ago of CEO Choi Soo-yeon, born in 1981 (age 42), Kakao, currently under an emergency management system, has appointed Jung Shin-ah, born in 1975 (age 48), CEO of Kakao Ventures, as an 'icon of reform.' Although both are public recruitment hires, Choi Soo-yeon, who was highly regarded for her experience working at a law firm, and Jung Shin-ah, a former consultant, bear a curious resemblance.
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Jung Shin-ah is the only female CEO among more than 130 major Kakao affiliates. When she joined K Cube Ventures (the predecessor of Kakao Ventures) in 2014 and became sole CEO in 2018, she was noted as the only woman in the position.
Jung began her career as a consultant at Boston Consulting Group, working on IT and tech projects. Later, at eBay, she led market development in Japan and Thailand as the Asia-Pacific regional strategy manager. She also worked as a senior manager at NHN (now Naver) for three years. After joining K Cube Ventures (now Kakao Ventures), she transformed into a startup investor. Unfamiliar with the startup industry, she met with about 30 companies a week. Through this process, she realized that 'the most important thing is people.' No matter how good the business model is, it is people who lead it. This aligns with Chairman Kim Beom-su’s belief in 'trust in people.' After being appointed sole CEO of Kakao Ventures, she eliminated hierarchical culture, power dynamics, and internal politics within the organization. Park Tae-hoon, CEO of Watcha, said, "'Sina' (Jung Shin-ah’s English nickname) has helped us at various stages from early investment onwards. Having worked in the IT industry herself, she understands well and is a kind and personable figure." Watcha is one of Kakao Ventures’ representative early-stage investment companies, alongside Dunamu, Danggeun (formerly Danggeun Market), Korea Credit Data, and Lunit.
The immediate challenge is reform. Before revealing the CEO replacement card, Kim Beom-su, founder of Kakao and head of the reform committee, expressed his determination for reform at an employee meeting on the 11th, saying, "We must discard the inertia of the past 10 years and redesign everything from scratch." Jung also stated, "We will implement proactive responsible management, not just autonomous management for growth, to meet society’s expectations and standards, and focus more on future core business areas." She added, "Kakao does not have much time, so we will not miss the timing for change." The plan is to reset the expansion-focused management strategy and concentrate on technology and core businesses. The group governance will be reorganized to move away from loose autonomous management. Corporate culture will be reviewed, and existing executives will be replaced if necessary.
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CEO Choi Soo-yeon’s career is split evenly between Naver and the law firm Yulchon. Although she is the first CEO from the company’s public recruitment, she is effectively half an outsider, having moved between inside and outside the organization. At Yulchon, she handled mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and corporate law, and upon returning to Naver, she led the Global Business Support Department. During this time, she was evaluated for her overseas investment capabilities alongside Lee Hae-jin, Naver’s Global Investment Officer (GIO).
Choi was appointed CEO just four years after rejoining the company. At 41, she was the youngest female leader among 119 executives. In a situation requiring bold overseas market expansion while fulfilling social responsibilities, Choi was seen as the ideal candidate. She had a broad spectrum of experience, global sensibility, and M&A expertise gained both inside and outside the company. The possibility of generational change to a younger leader born in the 1980s was also considered an advantage.
Since her appointment, Choi has demonstrated stable management. Her first move was acquiring Poshmark, the leading secondhand marketplace in North America, and growing the commerce division. Riding the 'second Middle East boom' is also considered an achievement. In October, Naver secured a $100 million digital twin platform construction project in Saudi Arabia. It also launched 'HyperCLOVA X,' a super-large AI rivaling big tech companies like Google and Microsoft (MS).
Naver is on track to reach annual sales of 10 trillion won, posting record results in both the second and third quarters this year. As of the closing price on the 13th, the stock price rebounded 38% from the low point in October last year to 213,500 won. However, it remains lower than before Choi’s appointment, indicating a need for stronger upward momentum. The challenge ahead is to translate the generative AI business into tangible results and achieve concrete outcomes in the global commerce and content markets.
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