Samsung SDS President Hong Won-pyo declares “2020 Vision” to his executives and staff members at the 1st floor lobby of Samsung SDS building in Jamsil, southeastern Seoul, on Jan. 31.

Hundreds of Samsung SDS staff members assembled at the 1st floor lobby of Samsung SDS building in Jamsil, southeastern Seoul, on Jan. 31. There, President Hong Won-pyo, who took office as CEO last November, unveiled the “2020 Vision” to his executives and staff members. President Hong chose to preside over the event as if it were a talk show in the building’s lobby, an unusual, open-space location, which is visible to outside passers-by. 

When the “Vision & Talk” event started at 10 a.m. the lobby was filled to capacity with about 400 Samsung SDS executives and staff members. 

The 2nd floor balustrade overlooking the lobby was also full. Many participants stood during the event. President Hong let nine working-level, vice president-level executives in charge of mainstay businesses, including blockchain, smart factory, cloud and smart logistics take the stage to present their visions and future plans.

President Hong asked them such questions as “How will our company capitalize on block chain, a current much-talked-about topic?” and “How is innovation possible in the logistics sector?” He let the executives explain their vision and action plan before the 400 executives and staff members. 

The event was unusual for Samsung subsidiaries, whose CEOs tend to keep a low profile. Some participating staffs took pictures of the event, while some passers-by peeked into the lobby. 

President Hong, with a doctorate in electronics, held stints as a researcher at Bell Research Institute, executive vice president of KT, and Samsung Electronics president. Hong enjoys a wide network with executives overseas and in IT circles. He stresses free and open communication. 

Samsung SDS is stepping on the gas to develop new markets based on such platforms and solutions as block chain, AK, cloud, and big data analytics that will lead innovation of the IT sector in the advent of the 4th Industrial Revolution. The company plans to expand global businesses. 

In his New Year’s message, President Hong designated the year 2018 as a year in which the company will lay a foundation “to become Samsung SDS for a new era.” He set four management tenets, including innovation synergy and platform growth. President Hong unveiled a plan to ramp up businesses based on platforms and solutions to maintain solid growth. 

Samsung SDS boasts Nexledger, a blockchain solution optimized for enterprises. The company has already employed Nexledger in such areas as logistics, manufacturing, public entity, and financing. It is leading blockchain infrastructure businesses. Samsung SDS offers services tailored to meet customers’ needs like On-Premise for blockchain platform, PaaS for cloud platform and SaaS for cloud services. The company plans to evolve convergence technologies of AI. Cloud, big data analytics, and IoT into integrated platforms will lead full-fledged IT innovation.