Hyundai to replace design, R&D presidents for future mobility

Hyundai Motor Group, South Korea’s top automaker, may replace its presidents of design as well as research and development in a bold leadership reshuffle as it aims to lead the global future mobility markets.

The country’s No. 2 conglomerate, which houses Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp., is considering replacing Peter Schreyer, president and head of design management, and Albert Biermann, president and head of the R&D division in its year-end reshuffle to be announced later this week, according to industry sources on Dec. 12.

The auto group had been scheduled to unveil the changes on Dec. 10 but postponed this for about a week to expand the management reshuffle.

“Apparently Hyundai Motor Group deemed that its originally planned management change was not extensive enough to allow it to take the lead in the global auto market,” said one of the sources. “The delay means the group needs time to increase the extent of the reshuffle.”

RETIREMENT OF LEGENDS

The group plans a major overhaul of its design and R&D units, including the retirements of Schreyer and Biermann, who have greatly contributed to Hyundai Motor Group’s success in the global automobile industry.

Biermann is considered a key executive that improved the vehicle performance of Hyundai and Kia. Their cars have been well received in global markets since he joined the group in 2015. Under Biermann, the company launched Hyundai N, the company’s high-performance car brand.

It is not clear who will succeed Biermann, with talks of scouting an outsider swirling. Park Chung-kook is currently vice head of the R&D unit, but he is set to lead the hydrogen fuel cell business unit that was set up last month.

Peter Schreyer has been focusing on establishing the design identity of Hyundai and Kia since he joined the group in 2006. He designed the tiger-nose grille that raised Kia’s brand awareness in global markets. Once he steps down, other executives such as the head of Genesis Global Design Lee Sang-yup will play a bigger role.

“Biermann and Schreyer are top contributors who escalated Hyundai and Kia to global brands,” said a source. “But the group has decided to replace them with new people to dominate the future mobility markets.”

KEY AFFILIATES CEOS TO REMAIN IN OFFICE

Chief executive officers of key affiliates such as Hyundai Motor and the group’s auto parts units Hyundai Mobis Co. and Hyundai Wia Corp. are expected to remain in office since most of them were appointed at the year-end reshuffle in 2020. Only some affiliates including Hyundai Transys, another auto parts maker, will have new leaders.

“It is hard to make a major reshuffle since CEOs of core affiliates were replaced in the management change last year,” said another industry source.

The group is predicted to promote some presidents to vice chair positions since chairman Chung Euisun took control of the group last year. The group has been reducing the number of vice chairs.

OUTSIDERS, YOUNG TALENT

Some industry sources speculated that the group would recruit talent from other companies, especially from the information technology sector. The group in 2019 appointed Ahn Dong-il, an ex-executive of POSCO, as president and CEO of Hyundai Steel Co, rather than promote from within the company. 

Hyundai Motor Group is expected to carry out a major reshuffle of mid-tier executives as the group is known to consider promoting talented young employees to executive levels. Some affiliates are understood to ax about 30% of the current executives.

Earlier this month, Samsung Electronics Co. promoted a dozen employees in their 30s and 40s to executive levels, accelerating its push for a generational change in both top-level and second-tier leadership.

Hyundai Motor Group is also predicted to reorganize its business units. The group reshuffle and consolidation of domestic and overseas business units – reducing the number of business sectors to five from nine – is part of a groupwide push to revitalize markets that had been sluggish. For example, it will manage the Asia-Pacific markets, excluding China and India, from its home office, while combining business units for the North and Latin Americas.

Write to Byung-Uk Do and Il-Gue Kim at dodo@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.