Today Samsung has announced that its head of mobile communications, Shin Jong-Kyun, and another co-chief executive officer, B.K. Yoon, will be stepping back from day-to-day operations. Kyun, a nine year veteran at the company, will be replaced by Koh Dong-Jin, who was involved with the launch of the Galaxy S6 and Note 5.
Shin Jong-Kyun was involved with a lot of the early success of the Galaxy smartphone line and his time at Samsung isn’t over. Kyun will remain as president and co-CEO of the main Samsung electronics mobile division, working on longer term strategies rather than day-to-day operations. Former head of Samsung’s consumer electronics division, Koh Dong-Jin, is making a similar move and will also stay on as a co-CEO of Samsung’s main electronics business.
Galaxy smartphones:
The announcement comes after another questionable year for Samsung’s mobile division. Although well received by critics and consumers, this year’s Galaxy S6 series has not set a new record for mobile shipments as Shin had expected. In fact, Samsung saw a 38 percent drop in its mobile profits for the launch quarter of the Galaxy S6, as more expensive components and excess unsold stock drove up the division’s costs.
Read more: Samsung’s Q3 2015 guidance report: big money maker57
Coupling this misjudge demand with a shrinking global market share and increasing competition from lower cost Chinese rivals, Samsung’s mobile revenue has missed the mark repeatedly in 2015. Although, the company still managed to post a notable boost in overall revenue in Q3, mostly due to its booming semiconductor business.
Samsung’s latest management reconfiguration is the latest in a string of shake-ups in the past twelve months, which also saw three marketing executives resign last year. Perhaps these changes will lead to better fortunes next year.