Skip the team leader and appoint an executive immediately... Korea & Company, executive personnel appointments for 2027

Hankook & Company Group selected talent who had not been team leaders as executives and promoted five people who will lead core businesses such as artificial intelligence (AI) conversion (AX) to vice presidents. The personnel appointment period was moved about a month earlier than usual.

The purpose is to preemptively respond to uncertainties in the global business environment and seize future business opportunities.

Korea & Company Group announced on the 9th that it has carried out regular executive personnel appointments for 2027 with this in mind. A total of 49 people were promoted, including 3 from Hankook & Company, 27 from Hankook Tire & Technology, and 19 from Hanon Systems.

In this personnel appointment, seniority was boldly broken down and young talent was deployed forward.

For example, head Jae-Hyeon Jeong (43), who had accumulated expertise in the field of refining and manufacturing technology at Hankook Tire & Technology Co., Ltd.'s Safety Production Technology Division, was selected as an executive without being appointed as a team leader. This is the result of recognition of the technical expertise and project performance accumulated in the field.

Lee Min (41), head of the G. Pricing Strategy Team at the Marketing Headquarters, who established the global pricing system and operation strategy, was also promoted to executive within a year of taking office.

An official at Hankook & Company Group said, “Although there have been executives born in the 1980s, this is the first case in which they were promoted to executives by skipping the position of team leader altogether or shortening it to one year.”

This reflects the management philosophy of Chairman Cho Hyun-beom, who has emphasized 'cultivating proactive leaders', and the group's mid- to long-term growth strategy.

Chairman Cho has boldly opened opportunities to young leaders based on talent management that emphasizes individual capabilities and growth potential, and has emphasized 'bottom-up innovation' centered on autonomy and leadership in the field.

Five people who led the group's AX, including Kim Seong-jin, executive director of Korea & Company's Digital Strategy Office, Park Hyun-min, executive director of Hankook Tire & Technology Co., Ltd.'s purchasing division, Ahn Soo-jung, executive director of Marketing Division, Kim Heon-jun, executive director of G.OE Innovation Division, and Park Jeong-su, executive director of finance and accounting division, were promoted to vice presidents.

As the paradigm of the mobility industry is rapidly changing due to AI-based technological innovation, the purpose is to secure future growth engines by promoting key talents who have established business competitiveness and management foundation in each field.

Hanon Systems, now in its third year of acquisition, plans to expand personnel evenly to core functions such as research and development (R&D), strategic innovation, finance, and HR, as well as global regional business organizations, to increase execution of each management task and to focus on improving management efficiency and profitability.

This personnel appointment will take effect on December 1, about a month earlier than usual. This is a measure to quickly respond to the uncertainty of the global business environment and to quickly complete organizational reorganization in line with next year's business strategy.

Going forward, we plan to hire talented individuals who have proven their capabilities through challenges and achievements, regardless of rank or seniority, and continue to foster next-generation leaders who will lead field-oriented innovation.

An official from Hankook & Company Group said, "Through this executive reshuffle, we will strengthen talent management centered on performance and capabilities, improve Hanon Systems' management and create business synergies at the group level. We will proactively respond to the rapidly changing mobility industry environment through AI and digital transformation and strengthen global business competitiveness, and further solidify our status as a global high-tech company."