LG Chem's Shin Hak-cheol Selected as Co-Chair of World Economic Forum's 'New Champions Annual Meeting'

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Shin Hak-cheol, Vice Chairman of LG Chem. Photo by LG Chem

Shin Hak-cheol, Vice Chairman of LG Chem, has been selected as a co-chair to lead the Summer Davos Forum, becoming the first Korean business executive to do so.

LG Chem announced that Vice Chairman Shin Hak-cheol will participate in the 2024 Annual Meetings of New Champions of the World Economic Forum (WEF), held from the 25th to the 27th in Dalian, China.

Under the theme "Next Frontiers for Growth," this annual meeting will gather over 1,500 global leaders from business, government, and academia to discuss productivity improvements through technology, economic growth, strategies aligned with energy transition and evolving industry trends, and ways to drive actions toward a carbon-neutral and nature-friendly future.

Vice Chairman Shin was nominated by Børge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum, to participate as a co-chair of the Annual Meetings of New Champions. This marks the first time a Korean business executive has been selected as a co-chair.

The World Economic Forum emphasized the importance of Asia's participation in the development of the chemical and advanced materials industries and the achievement of Net-Zero goals. As the first Korean business executive elected as chair of the chemical and advanced materials industry council, Vice Chairman Shin is expected to lead cooperation among industry leaders, which led to his nomination as co-chair for this meeting.

This year’s co-chairs will include about ten global leaders such as Wen Shugang, CEO of China’s Huaneng Group; Bonnie Chan Yiting, CEO of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX); and Amina J. Mohammed, United Nations (UN) Deputy Secretary-General. Huaneng Group is a Chinese state-owned power generation company involved in power development, investment, production, and sales.

As the CEO of a leading global comprehensive battery materials company, Vice Chairman Shin plans to deliver a keynote speech on next-generation battery material technologies, a critical component of renewable energy systems, during the "Industry’s Energy Revolution" session.

Additionally, the World Economic Forum has appointed Vice Chairman Shin as the sole speaker in a session featuring startups in AI, energy, and healthcare, recognizing him as an industry guru. This session will include CEOs of leading startups ranging from unicorns to Series A, who will discuss corporate management, leadership, and industry trends with Vice Chairman Shin. He is the first Korean business executive to be appointed as the sole speaker in this session. Last year, Bob McCooey, Senior Vice President of Nasdaq, and Jin Yiting, CEO of HKEX, participated as co-speakers in this session.

As a representative of Korean chemical companies, Vice Chairman Shin is also scheduled to meet with key global leaders such as Chinese Premier Li Chang and Sinopec, a major Chinese state-owned petroleum company, to discuss important matters related to the global economy.

Vice Chairman Shin stated, "In response to the rapidly changing global business environment and the climate crisis, comprehensive cooperation across industries is essential to find sustainable growth solutions. LG Chem will accelerate its transformation into three new growth engines?battery materials, eco-friendly materials, and advanced chemical materials?by collaborating with global leaders in various fields including AI, energy, and healthcare."

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