POSCO Chooses New CEO
01/29/2014 - POSCO president Kwon Oh-joon has been selected as the company’s next CEO, following Joon-Yang Chung’s resignation.
POSCO held a board meeting on 16 January 2014 and unanimously carried a resolution to nominate Oh-joon Kwon as the candidate for CEO.
When CEO Joon-Yang Chung tendered his resignation on 15 November 2013, POSCO held a special board meeting to establish a Succession Council to select the next CEO candidate, and has since been carrying out an in-depth search of candidates. The Succession Council, comprising three outside directors, including chair Young-sun Lee, carried out a transparent and fair procedure using multiple search firms to review a broad range of candidates covering both internal and external POSCO Group personnel. Five candidates were selected in the process, and all were suggested to the board of directors on 15 January 2014.
The POSCO Board of Directors decided to form a CEO Nomination Committee, comprised of external directors only, as an independent organization to carry out qualification evaluations and determine a candidate. The CEO nomination committee carried document screening of candidates for two days, on 15 and 16 January, and two interviews, including an in-depth interview. After examining the final qualifications for the eight capabilities POSCO requires of its CEO, including vision, outcome production competence, steel and related industry expertise and leadership, president Oh-joon Kwon was finally chosen as the CEO candidate.
“The entire steel industry, including POSCO, is facing an environment wherein margins are squeezed due to steel oversupply and intensification of oligopoly in the raw materials market,” said Young-sun Lee, chair of the POSCO board of directors. “We need someone to reinforce the POSCO Group’s financial stability by promoting a strong reorganization of the group’s business structure, and to ultimately enhance the POSCO Group value in the long run.”
He added, “We selected Kwon as CEO candidate because we consider him to be the right person to take the initiative in reengineering POSCO Group by enhancing original steel competitiveness through technology and marketing convergence, and fostering long-term company mega-growth opportunities through development of unique new growth technologies.”
Born in 1950, Kwon graduated from Seoul National University, where he specialized in metallurgical engineering, and earned his master’s degree in the same department at the University of Windsor and a doctorate at the University of Pittsburgh. He joined POSCO in 1986, and served as a member of RIST, assistant director of the POSCO Technology Research Institute, head of the European office, head of the Technology Research Institute, and head of RIST. He served as chief technical officer starting in March 2011, and was promoted to president in March 2012.
Kwon secured exclusive technological competitiveness by leading development of the company’s “World Best, World First” technologies as a technical steel expert serving as research institute and director of RIST, while also playing a key role in securing and maintaining a competitive advantage in technology in the general materials field. Another advantage is his network of global steel companies and global competence through his experience serving as head of European office.
Upon his selection as CEO candidate, Oh-joon Kwon stated, “I would like to thank the directors who have selected me as the candidate to be POSCO’s new CEO despite my flaws. If I am selected as the next CEO after the general meeting of shareholders, I will rally the strengths of all POSCO employees to lead our company to the world’s best competitiveness. I will ensure we do our best to solidify POSCO’s status as a company that makes people proud and contributes thoroughly to the development of the national economy.”
Kwon will officially take office as CEO on 14 March 2014, after the regular shareholders meeting and board meeting.
When CEO Joon-Yang Chung tendered his resignation on 15 November 2013, POSCO held a special board meeting to establish a Succession Council to select the next CEO candidate, and has since been carrying out an in-depth search of candidates. The Succession Council, comprising three outside directors, including chair Young-sun Lee, carried out a transparent and fair procedure using multiple search firms to review a broad range of candidates covering both internal and external POSCO Group personnel. Five candidates were selected in the process, and all were suggested to the board of directors on 15 January 2014.
The POSCO Board of Directors decided to form a CEO Nomination Committee, comprised of external directors only, as an independent organization to carry out qualification evaluations and determine a candidate. The CEO nomination committee carried document screening of candidates for two days, on 15 and 16 January, and two interviews, including an in-depth interview. After examining the final qualifications for the eight capabilities POSCO requires of its CEO, including vision, outcome production competence, steel and related industry expertise and leadership, president Oh-joon Kwon was finally chosen as the CEO candidate.
“The entire steel industry, including POSCO, is facing an environment wherein margins are squeezed due to steel oversupply and intensification of oligopoly in the raw materials market,” said Young-sun Lee, chair of the POSCO board of directors. “We need someone to reinforce the POSCO Group’s financial stability by promoting a strong reorganization of the group’s business structure, and to ultimately enhance the POSCO Group value in the long run.”
He added, “We selected Kwon as CEO candidate because we consider him to be the right person to take the initiative in reengineering POSCO Group by enhancing original steel competitiveness through technology and marketing convergence, and fostering long-term company mega-growth opportunities through development of unique new growth technologies.”
Born in 1950, Kwon graduated from Seoul National University, where he specialized in metallurgical engineering, and earned his master’s degree in the same department at the University of Windsor and a doctorate at the University of Pittsburgh. He joined POSCO in 1986, and served as a member of RIST, assistant director of the POSCO Technology Research Institute, head of the European office, head of the Technology Research Institute, and head of RIST. He served as chief technical officer starting in March 2011, and was promoted to president in March 2012.
Kwon secured exclusive technological competitiveness by leading development of the company’s “World Best, World First” technologies as a technical steel expert serving as research institute and director of RIST, while also playing a key role in securing and maintaining a competitive advantage in technology in the general materials field. Another advantage is his network of global steel companies and global competence through his experience serving as head of European office.
Upon his selection as CEO candidate, Oh-joon Kwon stated, “I would like to thank the directors who have selected me as the candidate to be POSCO’s new CEO despite my flaws. If I am selected as the next CEO after the general meeting of shareholders, I will rally the strengths of all POSCO employees to lead our company to the world’s best competitiveness. I will ensure we do our best to solidify POSCO’s status as a company that makes people proud and contributes thoroughly to the development of the national economy.”
Kwon will officially take office as CEO on 14 March 2014, after the regular shareholders meeting and board meeting.
