'Longest-Serving CEO' Baek Bok-in, KT&G President, to Lead for 3 More Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] KT&G announced on the 19th that it held the 34th regular shareholders' meeting at the Talent Development Center located in Daejeon Metropolitan City and confirmed the appointment of the current KT&G CEO Baek Bok-in. The CEO Baek, appointed through this shareholders' meeting, will lead KT&G for the next three-year term.

CEO Baek Bok-in is the first CEO from the open recruitment of Korea Tobacco & Ginseng Corporation, the predecessor of KT&G. Since joining in 1993, he has accumulated diverse work experience by holding key positions in major businesses such as strategy, marketing, global operations, production, and R&D for 29 years.

Last year, by focusing on global business, KT&G surpassed 100 countries in overseas expansion and secured a 'mammoth-scale' export contract worth 2.2 trillion KRW over seven years with a Middle Eastern importer, opening the era of 5 trillion KRW in sales for the first time since its founding. In addition, significant achievements were made, such as securing an export contract for the heated tobacco product 'lil' with the global tobacco company Philip Morris International (PMI).

CEO Baek is known as a field expert with excellent market understanding based on various know-how cultivated domestically and internationally. His strengths are evaluated as planning skills that apply new management theories such as 'ambidextrous management,' which grew both cigarettes and electronic cigarettes according to market conditions, and rapid execution ability that successfully led global business expansion in a short period.

CEO Baek Bok-in said, "I feel a heavy responsibility to lead the company amid an increasingly uncertain global management environment," and added, "I will further sophisticate overseas business to strengthen our status as a global company and devote myself to securing new growth engines through business diversification." He also stated, "We will do our best to contribute to creating social value based on ESG management."

Meanwhile, at the shareholders' meeting, Bang Kyung-man, head of the Strategic Planning Headquarters, was appointed as an inside director. Additionally, Lim Min-gyu, former CEO of SK Materials, was newly appointed as an outside director, and Baek Jong-su, former Busan District Prosecutor, was reappointed as an outside director serving as an audit committee member.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.