Kakao restructured its organization to consolidate capabilities by core business areas on the 27th. The establishment of a Chief Product Officer (CPO) organization, which integrates various business areas based on KakaoTalk, and the unification of the AI organization, which was divided into technology and service areas, are the key elements.
Kakao integrated key business capabilities such as technology, advertising, commerce, and design related to KakaoTalk into the CPO organization. The aim is to maximize synergy between KakaoTalk and various services and to accelerate user-centered innovation. Kakao plans to actively promote the business growth of KakaoTalk based on this organizational restructuring.
The newly established CPO organization will be led by Hong Mintak, who previously served as the CEO of Toss Bank. CPO Hong graduated with a bachelor's and master's degree in industrial engineering from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from INSEAD. As the first CEO of Toss Bank, he achieved results such as turning into profit and reaching 10 million customers through new market development and business structure innovation. CPO Hong plans to focus on strengthening the growth engine of KakaoTalk based on a deep understanding of users and expertise.
Kakao also restructured its AI-related organizations. 'KananaX' and 'KananaAlpha', which were responsible for AI services and development respectively, were integrated into a single organization called 'Kanana'. This is to accelerate the popularization of AI by quickly showcasing services through organic collaboration between areas. The Kanana organization will be jointly led by Kim Byunghak, the performance leader who previously headed KananaAlpha, and Kim Jonghan, the performance leader who has led the development of Kakao's core services. Meanwhile, an AI studio will be established to lay the foundation for new business opportunities in AI and technological collaboration for AI services, thereby enhancing synergy with partners, including OpenAI.
Jung Shin-ah, CEO of Kakao, noted, "Last year, Kakao focused on resolving liability and securing business competitiveness to strengthen our fundamentals and essence," adding, "Based on that achievement, this year we will actively pursue business growth centered around KakaoTalk and AI as our two core businesses."