Foreign manager promoted to become Samsung's first president

By Lim Chang-won Posted : November 2, 2017, 17:22 Updated : November 2, 2017, 17:22

[Courtesy of Samsung]


Tim Baxter was promoted to become Samsung's president in charge of its U.S. business in a reshuffle of executive posts that saw the promotion of seven vice presidents in their 50s to presidents in a clear shift in generations.

The world's largest smartphone and microchip producer said the promotion of younger executives followed a change in top decision-making posts in its chip, mobile and consumer electronics divisions.

Among those promoted on Thursday, Baxter will continue to serve as CEO of Samsung Electronics America. He became the first foreign manager to cap on the tile of Samsung's president.

Along with a change in personnel, Samsung Electronics set up a new task force which will adjust group-wide issues among subsidiaries as its de facto head, Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee is still on trial for bribery and other charges after being linked to a scandal that led to the ouster of ex-president Park Geun-hye.

The son of Samsung's bed-ridden group head Lee Kun-hee was given a five-year prison sentence in August.

As Lee's imprisonment is expected to last for at least a year since his arrest on February 17, jitters are growing in South Korea's business community about Samsung's global competitiveness. Professional managers have settled into the structure of each Samsung affiliate, but Lee has exercised a broad influence on strategic issues.


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