Choi Gee-sung (; born 2 February 1951) is President and Chief Executive of the digital media division at

Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (SEC; stylized as SΛMSUNG; ) is a South Korean multinational major appliance and consumer electronics corporation founded on 13 January 1969 and headquartered in Yeongtong District, Suwon, South Korea. It is curr ...

, overseeing the third-largest business group of the South Korean company, which includes

televisions A television set or television receiver (more commonly called TV, TV set, television, telly, or tele) is an electronic device for viewing and hearing television broadcasts, or as a computer monitor. It combines a tuner, display, and loudspeake ...

, flat-panel screens,

MP3 players A portable media player (PMP) or digital audio player (DAP) is a portable consumer electronics device capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, and video files. Normally they refer to small, Electric battery, batter ...

personal computers A personal computer, commonly referred to as PC or computer, is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as Word processor, word processing, web browser, internet browsing, email, multimedia playback, and PC ...

, and other consumer electronics. He was a

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

torchbearer for the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

relay.

Early life

Choi grew up in

Chuncheon Chuncheon (; ; literally ''spring river''), formerly romanized as Ch'unch'ŏn, is the capital of Gangwon Province, South Korea. The city lies in the north of the country, located in a basin formed by the Soyang River and Han River (Korea), Han R ...

, Gangwon Province, where he attended Chuncheon Middle School and Chuncheon High School. He graduated from

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the SKY (universities), SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities. The university's main c ...

's Department of Business in 1977.

Career

Choi had a stint as chief design officer and established Samsung's chip business in Europe in the 1980s. He is best known as a marketing expert, however, and is credited with having steered Samsung past Sony (SNE) to become the world's No. 1 TV brand in 2006. Choi took over the running of Samsung's mobile phone business in January 2007. By September 2008, the company's global market share stood at 17.1%—second only to Nokia and up from 14.4% in 2007.

References

1951 births Living people People from Chuncheon Samsung people Seoul National University alumni South Korean chief executives {{Korea-bio-stub