Major reshuffle shakes up SK Group's c-suite

Industry

Published: 07 Dec. 2023, 18:25

Major reshuffle shakes up SK Group's c-suite

Chey Chang-won, the new chairman of SK Supex Council [SK GROUP]

SK Group has rolled out a major reshuffle that brings a generational shift to the company's leadership.

A total of seven SK companies received new CEOs in their reshuffle. The average age of the newly appointed executives is 55.

Chey Chang-won, 59, a cousin of SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won who was previously vice chairman of SK Discovery, has been appointed as the new chairman of SK Supex Council, the conglomerate's top decision-making body.

Vice Chairman Chey's appointment was made upon a consensus that he will “roll out board-centered management and build on the group's 'separately and together' management culture,” SK Group said in a release Thursday.

SK Inc.'s new CEO, Jang Yong-ho [SK GROUP]

SK Inc., SK Group's holding company, appointed Jang Yong-ho, previously CEO of SK siltron, as its new chief. SK Innovation also appointed Park Sang-kyu, who was head of SK Enmove, as its new CEO. SK On, a battery subsidiary under SK Innovation, appointed Lee Seok-hee, former CEO of SK hynix, as its new chief.

SK siltron appointed Lee Yong-wook, and SK Energy appointed Oh Jong-hoon as CEOs. SK Inc. Materials and SK Enmove now count Kim Yang-taek and Kim Won-ki as their chief executives.

SK On's new CEO, Lee Seok-hee [SK GROUP]

“Each company rolled out a 'prepared reshuffle' to open opportunities for the new management, in which the members have been trained in a group-wide CEO fostering program for a long time.”

Cho Dae-sik, 63, who has served at the helm of SK Supex Council since 2017, will step down from the post and act as a vice chairman of SK Inc. to advise on the group's global investment strategy.

SK Innovation's new CEO, Park Sang-kyu [SK GROUP]

SK Inc. Vice Chairman Jang Dong-hyun, SK Innovation Vice Chairman Kim Jun and SK hynix Vice Chairman Park Jung-ho, all of whom acted as major pillars of the group's management along with Cho, are all either stepping down from their CEO posts or switching roles.

Jang, who is vacating the role of CEO at SK Inc., will maintain a vice chairman post at the company but will double as the vice chairman of SK ecoplant, co-heading the energy affiliate with Park Kyung-il.

SK Innovation's Kim is also stepping down from the company's CEO post. Park, of SK hynix, will also step down as the chipmaker's CEO but will manage SK Group's partnerships with global Big Tech companies in AI as a vice chairman of both SK hynix and SK Inc.

SK hynix, as a result, will solely be lead by Kwak Noh-jung.

The memory chipmaker said Thursday that it is newly setting up a division called AI Infra which will oversee the company's high-bandwidth memory chip business as well as global sales and marketing. Kim Ju-seon, who has been heading the company's global sales and marketing team, will lead the sector.

A new team called AI&Next, which is dedicated to finding new markets related to the AI boom, has been established within the AI Infra division.

SK Group Chairman Chey promoted his eldest daughter, 34-year-old Chey Yoon-chung, to become an executive at SK Biopharmaceuticals.