theibcdaily executive summary 19 The connected economy
David Eun EVP Global Media
& CEO Advisor, Samsung Electronics Region: Global
Open to everything
Korean-American joined the electronics giant only in January this year, but he is their most key executive when understanding Samsung’s strategy of moving from being a leading maker of devices - from TVs and mobile phones to refrigerators and other consumer electronics - towards also being a company which integrates those devices with compelling content and services. “There’s a lot of momentum and expectation and investment at Samsung to get the hardware and software equation right,” says Eun, who recently moved his young family to Seoul but spends equal amounts of time in New York and Silicon Valley. With his background at both Google, AOL, NBC and consulting and venture capital, Eun has the experience to build a team to leverage Samsung’s momentum as a device maker into understanding and growing into the content and services business, including both games and advertising, the latter a new business which Eun is spearheading and hopes to grow into a multimillion dollar enterprise. Samsung smart TVs already count more than 2,000 apps on the Smart Hub and Eun says this will continue to grow, as will partner- ships with content makers and service providers from Hollywood studios to Facebook. “One of the aspects we have been talking to producers about is partnerships on 3D content,” says Eun. Eun admits that he was “blown away” by the opportunity Samsung has in front of it to create better user experiences for consumers because of all the devices it makes. “I’ve understood the importance of distribution and the importance of having proximity to the user,” says Eun. “At Samsung we have more tough points with consumers than virtually any other company on the planet.”
T
here are a number of unique things about David Eun, head of Samsung’s newly created Global Media Group and advisor to the Korean company’s most senior consumer products executives. The 45-year-old
By Kate Bulkley
Indeed, the Korean firm is the world’s number one seller of TV sets, the number one seller of smartphones (displacing Apple in the first quarter of this year, which has exacerbated the acrimonious patent dispute with Apple that played out in court over the summer) as well as many other white goods.
There’s a lot of momentum, expectation and investment at Samsung to get the hardware- software equation right
Eun sees Samsung already moving in a direction where Samsung displays are in a variety of places including refrigerator doors and windows that double as TV screens. And he is confident the $140bn Samsung empire with its 210,000 employees will witness change. Yes, Samsung will continue to build its own products internally (the company spent $9bn on R&D last year), but Eun is also on the lookout for both strategic acquisitions (for example, to create better user experiences on Samsung devices) as well more partnerships (like the recent alliance with Verizon Fios to embed its TV app into Samsung smart TVs). At AOL Eun was in charge of creating original content, but at Samsung he sees his primary focus as “enabling and inte- grating” existing content and services with Samsung’s devices. “We are looking at everything and we are open to everything,” says Eun. “We are going to do whatever it takes to provide the best user experience possible. And how do you accelerate and become an expert overnight? You have to partner. I’m at IBC to see what others are doing and to explore the kind of partnerships we could create together.” Eun is an advisor to Geesung Choi whose role spans the newly separated consumer and components business at the company. “I don’t really speak Korean but I am trying to pick it up. I have found that people speak English in meetings - and that is part of Samsung not just aspiring to be a global company but already being a global company.”