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South Korean appliance giant LG Electronics replaced its CEO and a raft of other top leaders Thursday after net profits slumped more than 30 per cent in the third quarter and its smartphone division struggles.
The company is South Korea's second-largest electronics firm after Samsung, producing a range of products, from mobile phones to televisions and home appliances including air conditioners, washers and refrigerators.
CEO Jo Seong-jin, dubbed a "washing machine genius", was appointed in December 2016, and is respected in South Korea for his unlikely journey to the top without a college degree in the education-driven country.
But he has struggled to turn around the failing smartphone division, which last month announced its 18th consecutive quarter of losses.
As a whole LG Electronics' net profits plummeted 30.5 per cent in the July-September period from a year earlier.
Jo's term as vice-chairman was extended for three years in March 2018, but LG said Thursday he was being replaced as CEO by Brian Kwon, 56, with effect from Sunday.
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It also changed its chief financial officer and created a new post of chief strategy officer, while changing the presidents of its home entertainment and mobile communications units.
"We have judged we need a fast decision making process... rather than stick with management style drawn from past successes," the company said in a statement.
Insisting the change was amicable, LG said Jo had resigned and released a picture of him and his successor smiling and hugging each other.
Kwon, a graduate of top Seoul National University with a major in industrial engineering, has been with the firm for 32 years and has "in-depth experiences and skills" in areas including big data, artificial intelligence and cloud technologies, the company said.
