Samsung mobile chief fills leadership void in device division

Samsung Electronics Co. has appointed TM Roh, president and head of its mobile eXperience (MX) business, as the new chief of its device eXperience (DX) division, filling a leadership vacuum left by the South Korean tech giant’s late Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee’s sudden death about a week ago.

Roh’s appointment signals Samsung’s more aggressive push in artificial intelligence across its set business, encompassing smartphones, TVs and other home appliances.

Samsung on Tuesday announced the new leadership at the DX division, which oversees the company’s smartphones and consumer electronics business.

The division unexpectedly lost its chief Han, who was also vice chairman and chief executive of Samsung, to a heart attack in late March, just six days after the world’s No. 1 memory chipmaker officially reinstated a dual leadership structure alongside Vice Chairman and Co-CEO Jun Young-hyun, who oversees Samsung’s semiconductor business.

Following the leadership reshuffle, Roh will double as the acting head of the DX division while continuing to lead the MX business, which oversees the mobile device business that also covers smartphones, tablets and wearable devices, as its head.

He will also assume late Vice Chairman Han’s role as head of a newly formed committee last November, which focuses on strengthening product quality across Samsung.

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With Roh, a two-decade veteran corporate manager, Samsung has promptly returned to a dual leadership structure, which Samsung last November announced to reinstate to retain ground in the technology space.

But Roh was not promoted to co-CEO this time.

“Once Roh proves his excellence in maneuvering the company’s TV and home appliance businesses, he is expected to be named the company’s co-CEO,” said an unnamed Samsung official, adding that the president will undergo his leadership evaluation for a while.

After successfully launching Samsung AI phones in February last year, Roh, an engineering maven with three decades of experience in mobile device development, is expected to focus on enhancing AI features across Samsung’s broad set business, including TVs and other home appliances.

Under his leadership, Samsung has seen a rise in global sales of its flagship Galaxy smartphone series powered by AI, the world’s first AI smartphone claimed by the Korean tech giant.

Roh was appointed as an insider director of Samsung Electronics during the company’s general shareholders’ meeting in mid-March.

FIRST-EVER FOREIGN DESIGN LEADER AT SAMSUNG    
             

During the latest leadership shakeup, Samsung Electronics also appointed PepsiCo alumnus Mauro Porcini as its president and chief design officer (CDO), marking the Korean tech giant’s first foreign design head since its inception in 1969.

Born in Italy, industrial design veteran Porcini previously held key leadership roles at PepsiCo and 3M, according to Samsung, expecting his extensive expertise to further enhance Samsung’s “user-centered approach to design innovation.”

With Porcini on board, Samsung will strive to further strengthen its design capabilities across all business areas, including mobile, TV and home appliances, said the company.

The company also created a new position of chief operating officer (COO) at the MX business.

Choi Won-joon, head of the R&D Office and head of the global operation team of Samsung DX business, will take over the COO role. He has led the development of the Galaxy AI phone.

Kim Cheolgi, executive vice president and head of the strategic marketing office of the MX business, will serve as head of the digital appliances business, which was previously led by late Vice Chairman Han.

Write to Jeong-Soo Hwang and Chae-Yeon Kim at hjs@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.