Kakao announced that the company will be led by co-CEOs;Yeo Min-soo, executive vice president of advertising and Joh Su-Yong, head of Kakao Brand Center.
The company explains that the management change toward co-CEOs system is meant to create synergetic impact among different business units and to strengthen its Kakao Talk-centered platform competitiveness.
Yeo has joined Kakao in August, 2016 as an executive vice president of advertising. Since then, he has played a vital role in presenting digital marketing paradigm tailored to the era of mobile and AI. In particular, the Kakao advertisement platform, which was launched at the end of last year, is gathering positive reviews from both advertiser and consumers thanks to its focus on data-based personalized advertisement
Joh joined the firm as a vice president of brand design in December, 2016. Since last September, he has been leading an in-house center for integrated branding to support effective marketing and brand management. He played a pivotal role in designing strategies and launching iconic brands that contributed to Kakao’s growth including Kakao bank, Kakao T and Kakao mini.
Kakao, under its ‘choice and concentration’ strategy, rearranged its service portfolio after its 2014 merge with Daum. At the same time, the company acquired LEON Entertainment and Podotree and individually developed major business units such as Kakap friends, Kakao pay, Kakao mobility and Kakao games. All of these helped the firm to secure a new growth base.
The head of Kakao Rim Ji Hoon said that he will serve as a leader of the company until March in which his term is over. He added that his decision was made with the belief the firm needs a new leadership for another leap as the primary works such as securing profit base and rearrangement of business structure are done successfully.
Yeo said that he feels great responsibility and excitement to assume the important role in the time when Kakao is bracing for another leap. He also added that he will strive to make more convenient and exciting world by cooperating and growing with various partners and by connecting services with technology.
Joh said that he feels a heavy sense of duty to start preparing for a new leap with 5600 Kakap employees. He also showed his confidence by saying he will do his best to spread Kakao’s brand value and service value as a pioneer of Korean mobile industry.
The appointment will be confirmed at shareholder’s and board of directors’ meetings scheduled in March.
