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Samsung announces record profits amid leadership shakeup
Samsung has announced a new leadership team consisting of three new co-CEOs. The new CEOs, Kim Ki-nam, Kim Hyun-suk, and Koh Dong-jin, will replace the current Samsung Electronics CEO Kwon Oh-hyun. Kwon unexpectedly announced his plans to step down earlier this month saying that the company needed new leadership during a period of “unprecedented crisis”.
Each of the new co-CEOs will have their own area of focus. Kim Ki-nam will lead the components business, Kim Hyun-suk will be charged with looking over the consumer electronics business, and the ever popular DJ Koh (Koh Dong-jin) will be in charge of mobile and IT. Koh is a popular figure and will be recognizable to anyone who has watched the company announce a new phone in the last few years. He’s been the de-facto leader of the mobile division since 2015 and will now officially take it over. Under his stewardship, the mobile division has seen highs like the launch of the Galaxy S7 and lows like the recall of the Galaxy Note 7.
The news of the leadership shake-up comes as Samsung releases its Q3 2017 financials. It made just over $13 billion (14.53 trillion won) in the three months that make up Q3 2017 off $55.4 billion in revenue. This quarter’s profits breaks Samsung’s previous record of 14.1 trillion won that it set just last quarter.
Despite the negative press Samsung saw from recalling the Galaxy Note 7, the company remains a juggernaut. Not only has its mobile division rebounded with the release of the Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8 Plus, and Galaxy Note 8, but the rest of the company is strong as well. The main driver of the record-setting profits this quarter is the semiconductor business which had its profits soar nearly 200 percent. The business is facing strong demand for its chips for its own mobile devices, but also from rivals like Apple who use the chips in its phones as well.