Boss change at Samsung’s mobile division could usher a new era for the company

Most people aren’t familiar with the CEOs of smartphone manufacturers beyond Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive. But those of us that follow tech news closely and watch official announcements live have become familiar with all of them and even have our favorites.

DJ Koh, Samsung Mobile’s top executive was one of them. It turns out, however, we won’t have the joy of seeing him present at Samsung’s Unpacked event next month. The reason? Samsung’s latest wave of executive changes has swept him away to a new position at the company.

A total of 9 position changes were announced by Samsung and according to the press release, DJ Koh and three other executives will now be more focused on creating synergy between the company’s divisions and developing new businesses. If that sounds vague to you, it’s probably because that was the goal.

But what’s more important is who’ll get behind the wheel of Samsung’s mobile branch. Enter Roh Tae-moon. Until now, he was responsible for the development of the Galaxy smartphone series. Knowing that, his promotion makes perfect sense and is representative for what Roh did right rather than something Koh did wrong.

In the last few years, Samsung’s Galaxy S and Galaxy Note smartphones have become a staple for quality and design and the preferred flagships for millions of Android users. But the competition from Chinese brands like Huawei and Xiaomi is fierce and Samsung can’t afford to take its foot off the gas pedal.

At 52, Roh is one of the youngest Samsung executives and his new purpose is to rejuvenate the Galaxy brand and take it to the next level. With these newly-acquired powers, there doesn’t seem to be anything in his way to do just that.

It will probably take a while for us to notice the results of his leadership but we’re eager to see which of Roh’s ideas were being hampered by Koh and will now get to see the light of day. The new CEO’s first major event will likely be on February 11 when the Galaxy S20 series and the foldable Galaxy Flip Z announcements are expected.