Bon-joon
Koo was born in 1951. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer
Science and Statistics from highly-regarded Seoul National University in South Korea
in 1978 and later earned an MBA degree from the University of Chicago in the
early 1980s.
Koo
worked for a while at AT&T in the U.S. He then returned to South Korea and
joined the global electronics giant LG Group.
There was something beyond the ordinary when he joined the company. Koo after
all was the grandson of LG Group founder In-hwoi Koo. He is also the younger
brother of LG’s current chairman, Bon-Moo Koo.
Koo
while obviously having the inside track he has proven his worth in the early
part of his career. He managed the joint venture, LG Philips LCD from 1999 to
2006. It is said when he took the job he encouraged employees to adopt the
motto “Let’s Become No. 1”, and when this goal was achieved, “Let’s Keep Our
No. 1 Title”. Koo has been given credit for leading the way for what is now LG
Display to be a global leader in its field by securing a large and risky
investment in LCD technology ahead of the competition.
He was appointed CEO and Vice Chairman of LG Electronics in October 1, 2010 and has been Head of Business Innovation Office since November 2010. Before his appointment to Vice Chairman of LG Electronics Koo was the Vice Chairman and CEO of LG International.
Early
in his career Koo held numerous executive roles overseeing semiconductors, PCs,
IT and chemicals. He returned to LG Electronics where he worked from 1986 to
1995 across a range of business areas. In
assuming the top executive position at LG Electronics Koo was tasked with turning
around the faltering mobile business. He
has focused on developing their own smartphone range. The reshuffling of
managers at LG Electronics also continued. Cost cutting measures have also been
implemented.
There
is still a long way to go for LG Electronics to become a highly competitive
giant once again but Koo has taken the tough and painful actions on the road to
recovery.
