By Kim Yoo-chul
Park Yong-maan, the Twitter-loving Doosan Corp. chairman, has taken over as the group chairman.
The 57-year-old was credited for leading Korea’s oldest chaebol or family-owned conglomerate’s transformation in portfolio from light industry to heavy industry. He replaced Park Yong-hyun, a medical doctor who ran Seoul National University Hospital.
The outgoing chairman is the fourth among the reigning six Doosan brothers and older than the new chairman, who is the fifth. Both of them had held their respective positions since 2009.
The changeover is expected to expedite a global expansion plan of the younger Park, who commanded a series of M&A deals including Bobcat of the United States.
Park’s appointment was made and approved at the board of directors’ meeting, Friday.
``The board approved Park Yong-maan as chairman of the group,’’ the group said in a statement. A ceremony is scheduled for Monday. Park will speak to the media next week to unveil his new vision.
Current group Chairman Park Yong-hyun will lead the group’s corporate social responsibility programs.
``We need a man to lead Doosan on a global path,’’ the senior park was quoted as saying as saying in a news release.
The outgoing chairman saw Doosan adopt a holding company system.
Doosan sold noncore businesses, including profitable ones, to improve its financial status and realign for a new portfolio. ``That’s the end of my job,’’ the outgoing chairman said in the statement.
The new chairman is known as ``bulldozer’’ for his aggressive and charismatic leadership. Under the new chairman’s leadership, Doosan Infracore and Doosan Heavy Industries emerged as new revenue source.
This year’s revenue target for Doosan is set at 29.1 trillion won or some $26 billion _ up 11 percent last from year.
Doosan is planning to reap 2.2 trillion won in operating profit this year, up 29 percent from a year ago.
``The new chairman led the group’s business shift to business-to-business (B2B)-focused sectors and he was the `hidden factor’ to help Doosan clinch the `Bobcat deal’,’’ a Doosan official said.
Although Doosan has successfully solved major liquidity-driven problems and its latest decision to retire 700 billion won in treasury shares, the new chairman needs to strengthen its new earnings revenues, analysts say.
Park earned an MBA degree from Boston University after earning a bachelor’s at Seoul National University (SNU). He started working at Doosan in 1982.