GS Group Chairman Huh Chang-soo stressed the need for an organizational overhaul to cope with uncertainties and changes in a nimble fashion. Chairman Huh made the remarks at the 2017 GS Top Managers’ Strategic Meeting that took place at the Elysian Resort in Gangchon, Gyeonggi-do, from Aug. 25 to 26. About 50 GS group executives, including CEOs and heads of divisions of the group and its subsidiaries participated in the meeting.
“Explore new routes, not the given routes. To this end, change into an organization capable of coping with all uncertainties in an agile fashion,” Chairman Huh said. The meeting was held under the theme of “Coping with Uncertainties.”
“(Companies) with a conventional organization no longer survive in a rapidly changing management environment,” he said. Huh emphasized organizational overhaul, citing successful examples like not only Google and 4th Industrial Revolution companies but also ING Group and GE which have been transformed into digital innovation companies from conventional ones.
“When we change on our own, it is possible to gain trust from both market and customers,” he said. He called for them to keep an open mind in accepting changes and making an organization nimble and flexible enough to cope with greater uncertainties on top of the securing and nurturing of gifted manpower. He stressed the three elements for organizational changes as necessary to gain breakthroughs in an era of the 4th Industrial Revolution.
In this regard, GS Caltex has inaugurated the “we+dea” team designed to work out countermeasures to cope with rapid changes. Chairman Huh had already called for sustainable development and the exploration of new businesses in the energy sector to seize opportunities in EVs. It was learned that the meeting covered such topics as AI, charging infrastructure for EVs and logistics opportunities caused by the advent of internet banks with a focus on GS Caltex’s future survival strategies.
Innovation experts, including Director Jonathan Woetzel of the McKinsey Global Institute, gave lectures. They said the world is faced with an era of VUCA, short for volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. As Chairman Huh pointed out, they shared the view that the organization should be nimble, beyond the traditional method of vertical management. They citied such stumbling blocks including an organization tailored to meet the mantle of fast followers and good faith-oriented work environment.
Chmn. Hur’s Strategy to Rise to Integrated Energy Company Pays Off
GS becomes largest private utility in Korea with the recent dedication of the Dangjin LNG Combined Cycle Power Unit 4
GS Group has become the largest private utility in Korea with the recent dedication of the Dangjin LNG Combined Cycle Power Unit 4. GS Group’s ascent to the top position in the LNG power generation is owed to GS Group Chairman Hur Chang-soo’s efforts to build growth momentum by implementing new business strategies. On top of the refining and petrochemical business of GS Caltex, GS Group has secured a competitive edge in the power sector, moving it one step closer to the group’s vision of rising to an integrated energy company.
GS EPS, a private power utility unit of GS Group, held a ceremony to dedicate the Dangjin LNG Combined Cycle Power Unit 4 at the Bugok Industrial Complex on July 7. Among those on hand at the event were GS Group Chairman Hur, GS Caltex Chairman Hur Jin-soo, and GS EPS President Hur Yong-soo, CEO Isam bin Saud Al Zadjali of Oman Oil Company, and Oman Ambassador to Korea Mohamed Salim Alharthy.
GS Group Chairman Hur said in a speech on the occasion, “With dedication of the Dangjin LNG Combined Cycle Power Unit 4 and the operation of GS Donghae Power, GS has the largest power generation capacity among Korean private utilities.
“To GS Group, the power generation sector will become a new growth foundation,” he added.
