Daum Kakao, Korea's leading mobile messenger and search engine company, has formed a consultative body consisting of top managers from different units, in a bid to strengthen its collective leadership power while retaining independence in individual business units.
This is also a move to fortify the management teamwork led by the newly appointed Lim Ji-hoon, a 35-year-old whiz kid who is former head of K-Cube Ventures, which will be launched on September 23 after a shareholders meeting and board of directors meeting.
The top management team will include as its members chief operating officer Hong Eun-taek, chief executive officer Choi Se-hoon, chief business officer Chung Ju-hwan, chief product officer Park Chang-hee, and chief technology officer Shin Jung-hwan, as well as chairman Lim. The CXO team of Daum Kakao will make decisions critical to the company.
For example, Lim will be responsible for deciding strategies related to advertising, games, branding, user experience, and new platforms. Choi and Chung will take charge of finance and taxi commerce and contents, respectively. As for Park and Shin, they will lead the areas including KakaoTalk, KakaoStory, and Daum apps, and R&D, respectively. Hong, who has led the content business, will be responsible for external relations, public relations, personnel, and management support.
An industry official commented, "Given the newly appointed chairman is young in his mid-30s with no experience in running an Internet company, this is a decision to complement him with experienced hands within the company. It is interesting to see all the CXO team members, except Choi Se-hoon, are from Kakao before the merger."
