LG Electronics announces new leadership team to aggressively tackle 2022 and beyond

LG Electronics announced that William Cho, who is the current Chief Strategy Officer, will also take on the new responsibility of Chief Executive Officer effective December 1 2021. Other notable changes include the appointment of Kim Byoung-hoon as Chief Technology Officer, Jang Ik-hwan being elevated from SVP to EVP, assuming the top position at Business Solutions Company and SVP Eun Seok-hyun hired to lead the Vehicle Component Solutions company.

William Cho has a bludgeoning portfolio at LG, with his stints includes working at multiple offices of LG in different leadership capacities. He started his career with Goldstar in 1987 and counts leadership roles of LG Canada, Australia and US in his career. Cho was responsible for establishing LG’s Business Incubation Center and fostering new business opportunities in the form of in-house ventures as well as startup partners during his six-year tenure as president of LG North America.

Kim Byoung Hoon is currently the head of Future Technology Center and would simultaneously assume responsibilities of the Chief Technology Officer. He is also tasked to lead the Informations and Communications positions too.

31 year old veteran Jan Ik-kwan would assume the top position of EVP after growing the IT business portfolio to make LG one of the fastest-growing brands in the electronic business. As SVP, Eun Seok-Hyun was previously responsible for growing the smart business division under the same company.

Going forward, the new leadership team would be tasked to accelerate changes focusing even more on customer value in pursuit of growth with each business unit assuming greater responsibility. Toward this end, LG will reorganize its Customer Satisfaction Management Center into the new Customer Value Innovation Office (CVIO) with oversight by the CSO. The role of the CVIO will be to more effectively identify and incorporate customer feedback and pain points into the product planning, development and sales processes. In addition, the Customer Experience Innovation Department under the Home Appliances and Home Entertainment Companies will be upgraded to Customer Experience Innovation Division. 

Also, to discover potential growth engines and expedite future innovations, the M&A department under the umbrella of the Chief Strategy Office will be elevated to division level for more resources. Similarly, to increase its focus on future trends and customer needs, LG’s Life Soft Research (LSR) department will be promoted to Life Soft Research Lab to increase its influence within the Design Management Center. And to speed up its digital transformation process related to customer experience, LG will elevate the AI Big Data department to division level under the watchful eye of the new Chief Data Officer (CDO).

All appointments are effective Dec. 1 with promotions going into effect on the first day of the new year.