New Naver CEO to reshape firm into platform giant
By Lee Min-hyung
Han Seong-sook, CEO appointee at Naver
New Naver CEO Han Seong-sook will focus on reshaping the firm’s identity in a way to make it the nation’s largest technology platform provider. This comes as part of her first and foremost strategy to turn the local portal service operator into a trailblazer creating an open environment for small- and medium-sized business operators here.
Last October, the 51-year-old executive was promoted to head the firm, in recognition of her decade-long efforts as a de facto control tower managing its various internet-based services.
Upon Han’s appointment, her first pledge was to realign its portfolio to become a tech platform firm by investing more on emerging technologies ― such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data.
In her first public appearance at the firm’s annual developers’ conference in late November, she said the company would focus more on strengthening alliances with more partners here by remaining more agile and transparent with open corporate policies.
“We realized that Naver benefits a lot when more people achieve success using our platform,” she said in the Naver Connect 2017 conference, last year. “In the past, there had been an internal barrier to distinguish inside and outside the company, but we will tear down the wall to form more relationships with a variety of partners.”
At that time, she pledged that Naver plans to invest a total of 500 billion won ($424 million) over the next five years into small businesses and the local content industry, helping them expand their presence globally.
She will officially take office as the first female chief of the company after receiving approval at the upcoming shareholders’ meeting scheduled in March.
Naver expects the new female CEO to bring new momentum to the firm. Naver founder Lee Hae-jin previously called on Han to “change everything” in its management structure to pay more attention to the voices of its partners.
Han’s nomination last year made headlines in the IT industry here, as she was the first female chief to lead such a portal giant.
She studied English literature at Sookmyung Women’s University. As a non-engineering graduate, she decided to tap into the IT industry in the early 1990s, working at firms such as local search engine operator Empas which was later acquired by SK Communications.
She then moved to Naver in 2007, managing search quality services and mobile businesses.
As part of her bid to build a more transparent and open environment within the company, she abolished the position of executives ― such as managing directors or vice presidents. The move is aimed at rooting out Korea’s decades-long rigid top-down corporate culture. The company explained that anyone ― regardless of their titles or age ― can become a team leader under the new performance-based management structure.
“The leadership shift will create momentum both for employees and the company at a critical time when challenges for conformity and status quo are highly encouraged,” a Naver spokesman said.