'Mr. DRAM,' Dae-Je Chin
March 4, 2002 (NEW YORK) -- The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world's largest annual trade show of consumer electronics, began in Las Vegas in mid-January.
The person who delivered the keynote address for the CES opening ceremony was, contrary to all expectations, Dae-Je Chin, the 50-year-old president and CEO of the Digital Media Business of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Chin became the first Asian in CES's 35-year history to deliver the keynote address for the show's opening ceremony.
Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft Corp., gave the keynote address on the eve of the trade show, and Carly Fiorina, CEO of Hewlett-Packard Co., in the afternoon of the opening day. There is no gain in saying that Chin compares unfavorably with the two world-famous CEOs. Nevertheless, he performed an important role at CES. Why?
One opinion emerged among people in the industry who were suspicious about the selection of Chin. It was that Samsung pushed for Chin as the opening keynote speaker, aiming to introduce him to the industry as the successor to Jong-Yong Yun, the 58-year-old current CEO of the company, before Chin actually takes over the CEO post. A Samsung executive has admitted that Chin is the most likely candidate as the next CEO of the company.
After obtaining a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University, Chin joined IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center in the United States, and then switched to Samsung. With his international background, Chin is deemed a well-qualified and attractive candidate as the next CEO of Samsung.
His keynote speech, delivered in fluent English with a touch of humor, fascinated the audience. At the beginning of the speech, he talked eloquently about how Samsung Electronics grabbed the largest share in the markets of, for example, dynamic random access memories (DRAMs) and mobile phones based on the code division multiple access (CDMA) system, during the past 10 years.
After that, he introduced his company's new product lines. They included a new type of personal digital assistant (PDA) with a telephone function that the company released recently in the United States. Also included was a new product called "Home Media Center" that can be connected to and control all household consumer electronic devices, including digital versatile disc (DVD) players, TVs, and PCs. The products that Chin introduced in his speech were designed on the basis of novel concepts. Rival Japanese companies, which had an outstanding position in manufacturing products with designs based on new concepts, are now threatened by the South Korean company. Samsung's new products attracted great attention from visitors, and the company's booth was crowded with people interested in them.
A Major Contributor to Samsung's Grabbing the Largest Share in the World Market
Since Chin joined Samsung, he has been on the course for the elite officials at all times. He switched from IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center to Samsung in 1985. In only two years after he joined the company, he became a general manager in charge of the memory business. Chin, who was called "Mr. DRAM," played a significant role in the company's efforts to catch up with rival Japanese firms, which had been technologically ahead of his company in the field of DRAMs. On the strength of Chin's hard efforts, Samsung captured the largest share of the world's DRAM market in a short period of time. Chin became a managing director in 1997. After working as the chief technology officer, he became the president and CEO of the Digital Media Business in 2000.
As the head of Samsung's digital media division, Chin carried out a thorough review of not only the functions, but also the designs of the company's home electric appliances. Samsung's products were considered to be inferior in quality to those of Japanese manufacturers. About a year ago, he said in an interview with Nikkei Business that he had a sense of rivalry with Sony Corp. However, he showed flexibility and worked out a business strategy to form a partnership with Sony in the field of memory sticks. The two companies collaborated in the development of digital video cameras and other products that were equipped with memory sticks.
In the business year ended in December 2001, Samsung Electronics posted a net profit of 2,946.9 billion won (about 290 billion yen) on total sales of 32,380.4 billion won (about 3.2 trillion yen). Affected by a drop in DRAM prices, the company suffered a 5.6-percent, year-on-year decline in total sales and a 50-percent plunge in profits. However, the South Korean company still maintains far stronger competitive power than its Japanese counterparts. (1311.20 won = US$1)
It is needless to say that, whether Chin becomes the CEO of one of the largest companies in South Korea depends on the determination of Kun-Hee Lee, the 60-year-old owner and chairman of Samsung. Jae-Yong Lee, the 34-year-old eldest son of the chairman, who is an assistant managing director of the company, also will become the focus of attention as another candidate as the next CEO.
However, the candidates' ages and experience, as well as the fact that more than 50 percent of the investors in the company are foreigners, must be taken into consideration when selecting the next CEO. The new leader is required to have an international way of thinking and the experience to have achieved considerable results in business. From this point of view, Chin seems to be the most likely candidate.
(Ryohei Yamazaki, Nikkei Business New York Editorial Bureau) |
