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7 out of 14 executives recruited from Samsung
By Kim Hyun-bin
Hanwha Solutions has been busy hiring outside experts in the solar, hydrogen and advanced materials sectors, the businesses it has identified as its next growth engines.
The group affiliate has recruited executives from top local companies such as Samsung, LG, Doosan and Coupang, in what officials say is its intention to explore growth opportunities.
According to the company's semi-annual report, nearly half of the newly appointed executives have been recruited from outside. There are 32 newly appointed executives, 14 of whom were recruited from different conglomerates, with seven coming from Samsung.
Former Samsung Electronics Vice President Hwang Jeong-wook has been assigned to handle Hanwha Solutions' future strategies. He has mostly worked in Samsung's wireless communication department since entering the company in 1990. He managed the development of hardware for mobile phones and is known to be one of the leading experts in the field.
In April, Hanwha Solutions, the group's rising star, established the Next Generation Materials and Devices Division (NxMD) and put it under the care of Jang Sae-yeong, who is also the first female vice president at Hanwha.
The NxMD department is in charge of finding new businesses in the next-generation electronic materials sector. Prior to joining the company, Jang was a director at Samsung Electronics' mobile division and in charge of developing Galaxy series batteries. She is credited with enhancing the battery lifespan for the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3 and was promoted to the director level in 2013.
In June, Koo Kyung-ha, a former Samsung Electronics smartphone division department head, was hired as a director for NxMD. Industry watchers are saying that Hanwha is keeping an eye on the materials business, as the expertise of the newly joined Samsung executives is focused on developing materials related to the semiconductor business.
In the first half of the year, two Samsung SDI employees were recruited to become executives in Hanwha Q Cells' new business and energy sectors. Since 2014, Hanwha Solutions has acquired Samsung's petrochemical and defense sectors and gone through a post-merger acquisition (PMI) becoming well aware and gaining understanding of Samsung's corporate culture, leading to more recruitments of Samsung personnel.
"Kim Dong-kwan was the hidden force in clinching several talent acquisitions from Samsung," an industry official said.
Recruitment of LG and Doosan personnel has followed behind Samsung. Park Jae-ho, director of Green Energy Solution (GES), previously worked for LG CNS. Newly appointed Hanwha Q Cells' new business sector director Yoon Joon-hwan worked at LG Electronics' solar business team.
From Doosan, the company hired M&A expert Shin Ju-hoon as a director of Hanwha Solutions' strategic and planning office, and appointed Lim Jae-hwan, director of Q Cells' Green Energy Solution (GES) department who previously worked for Doosan Heavy Industries, as the turbine generator business group head. Hanwha Solutions is aiming to expand its profile in the wind power business. Doosan is the leader in the country's turbine generator industry.
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