POSCO chief wins S&P Global's CEO of the Year award

POSCO Group Chairman Choi Jeong-woo walks to the platform after winning the CEO of the Year at the 10th Global Metal Awards hosted by S&P Global Community Insight in London, on Oct. 27. Courtesy of POSCO Group

By Kim Jae-heun

POSCO Group Chairman Choi Jeong-woo has been selected as CEO of the Year at the 10th Global Metals Awards held by S&P Global Commodity Insight in London, on Oct. 27, the company said Sunday. Choi is the first East Asian to win the honor, which has, up until now, been exclusive to American and European CEOs.

Choi was highly praised for management structure innovation by converting POSCO to a holding company, driving the group's new core growth engines, implementing strategic investments and achieving record-high performance since the holding company's establishment in 2021.

“POSCO Group was founded in 1968 in a small fishing village in Pohang and it has grown into one of the most competitive steelmakers in the world today,” Chairman Choi said. “We switched to a holding company system this year to become an eco-friendly future material company. I think the CEO of the Year award is an accomplishment that all POSCO Group executives and employees made together with their dedication. I will share this honor with them.”

In addition, the chairman changed his company into a leading environmental, social corporate and governance firm by steadily practicing the Corporate Citizenship ideology, which he declared during his inauguration in 2018. He continuously improved the company's credit rating from BBB+ to A-. He was also widely recognized for his leadership in the global market, such as being appointed as the president of the World Steel Association.

S&P Global Commodity Insight is the world's largest information analyst in steel, raw materials and energy. It has been awarding private companies and individuals who have achieved remarkable performance in 17 categories including steel, non-ferrous metal, rare metal and aluminum. S&P Global is an American financial service firm that owns S&P Global Community Insight, credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings and S&P Dow Jones Indices as subsidiaries.