Former MetLife CIO tapped KB Data Systems CEO
By Kim Bo-eun
Choi Jae-eul
KB Financial Group appointed former MetLife Chief Information Officer (CIO) Choi Jae-eul as CEO of the group's systems integration unit, Thursday.
A recommendation committee put forward Choi as the candidate for KB Data Systems' CEO a day earlier, citing his expertise in the field.
Choi, 53, also served as CIO at Hyundai Card, Hyundai Capital and Hyundai Commercial, after obtaining a bachelor's and master's degree in management from Seoul National University.
“We recommended the candidate considering various factors including the drive to establish a next generation system for key group affiliates and devise joint IT projects within the group," the committee said.
Choi was appointed after a general shareholder meeting of KB Data Systems was held the same day.
Earlier this month, KB scouted a former Hyundai Card executive as its chief data officer (CDO). CDO Yoon Jin-soo also serves as managing director of data strategy for Kookmin Bank and Kookmin Card.
Yoon headed Hyundai Card's big data unit and was also with Samsung SDS as a data scientist.
The latest appointments of IT experts to key positions within the group reflect KB Financial Group Yoon Jong-kyoo's commitment to digitally transform the group.
At the end of last year, KB added a new digital innovation division and tapped KB Kookmin Bank CEO Hur Yin to lead the division.
The group is seeking to boost capabilities in the IT and digital sector including in artificial intelligence, blockchain and cloud computing.
KB is the number two financial group here, after Shinhan, in terms of net profit.
Other financial groups are also taking measures in line with this trend. In March, Woori Financial Group appointed Noh Jin-ho, former chief executive of Hancom, as the group's chief information officer and head of the group's new ICT unit.