To find out the answers to these questions and more, the SK hynix newsroom interviewed two marketers from the company’s U.S. and South Korean offices.

In South Korea, Jay-hyun Chu is taking on more varied tasks in her sixth year at the company. In addition to her usual role of being a contact point for clients, Chu has put aside much of her time to coming up with attractive proposals for her company’s products while managing negotiations with clients.

Across the ocean at SK hynix America, Jong-rak Hyun of the Commercial Marketing team has also seen considerable changes to working methods. Recently, taskforces and working groups have been set up to spearhead efforts to systemize the work process in the U.S. office.

Amid economic instability, geopolitical issues, and the industry slowdown, it is clear that marketers’ roles and skillsets are developing to take on these challenges. Especially at a time when semiconductors are playing such a crucial role in essential technologies, it is important to consider how marketers help get these key technologies into the hands of those who need them most.

In a wide-ranging interview, Chu and Hyun discuss why their work is essential for companies to thrive no matter the situation.

Adapting to a Rapidly Changing Environment

Chu has been a sales representative ever since she joined SK hynix six years ago. Her daily tasks at the Global Sales & Marketing (GSM) department have included managing the annual planning of the company’s supply and revenue in addition to acting as the contact point for external clients. However, as client demand for products changes frequently during times of economic instability, it is the role of Chu to keep up with this fluctuation.

“While it is fundamental to match the client’s demands, it is my job to promote our products in various ways,” she said.

“We have also become more proactive in our sales approach as demand has been falling,” said Chu. “This has required us to be more thorough with our market analyses to make better proposals and negotiations with clients.”

Out of the 12 years that Hyun has worked at SK hynix, the last four years have been spent in the marketing and sales division. Some of his tasks have included analyzing markets, verifying customer demand, identifying potential businesses, and maximizing corporate sales. He also contributes to the establishment of marketing strategies in the U.S. by gathering market intelligence on clients in the server, automotive and consumer markets.

Working in the U.S. has meant that Hyun experienced relaxed COVID-19 restrictions much sooner than Chu in South Korea, but some changes in the work culture made as a result of the pandemic have remained and helped to improve productivity for the U.S. office.

For example, SK hynix has introduced a flexible work system which allows employees to freely adjust their mandatory working hours. As for employees in South Korea, they may also choose to commute to the office closest to their homes as there are multiple offices they can work in.

Training to Take Employees to the Next Level

As a global semiconductor company with offices and plants around the world, SK hynix is often faced with numerous unforeseen challenges. Therefore, marketers at the company ensure that they are always prepared for any eventuality by taking essential education and training for employees. Such programs help staff develop the skills they need to perform their duties effectively.

“I am thankful that our company is continuing to invest in training and educating our workforce even during such challenging times,” said Hyun.

Program for Improving Language Skills

As the GSM department deals with global clients, language skills are also an essential part of employee’s duties. “The company provides opportunities to hone language skills as we need to deal with international clients and companies,” Chu said. “For languages like English and Chinese, we even have in-person classes and online courses.”

Gaining a Global Perspective Through the GXP

Foreign language skills can also come in handy for the recently launched Global eXperience Program (GXP), SK hynix’s work abroad program which introduces employees to new working cultures and methods. The program gives employees the chance to work at one of the company’s overseas branches or at the office of an international partner. Chu was one of the participants of the first GXP class last year and explained how the program opened her eyes to a new way of working.

“I got to meet face-to-face with international clients who previously I only could call from across the ocean. It really broadened my knowledge of different work tasks as I got to directly experience how our global colleagues were working in their offices,” she said, talking about her time working for five weeks at the company’s U.S. office.

“It was an eye-opening experience to see how staff in a different office work and discover what types of skills and manners they used for negotiations with clients,” she added.

Building Win-Win Partnerships That Last

With a global network of partners, SK hynix looks to move forward and develop innovative solutions collaboratively even in the face of challenges. Working closely with global partners who are renowned for their high standards has also helped to bring out the best in SK hynix’s employees.

“We have a variety of technical and business collaborations based on our strategic partnerships with leading tech companies. Such world-class businesses always demand our best efforts and performance, which is sometimes challenging,” Chu said. “But we feel that our company’s technology and business competitiveness are improving as we work with partners who expect only the best.”

SK hynix also has a strong partnership with leading consumer electronics companies. “Throughout our partnerships, we have always been extremely committed and collaborative,” said Hyun. “We provide our partners with not just memory products, but also the solutions they need.”

Hyun adds that while the company looks to “continue building win-win partnerships,” it is most important to always maintain a customer-first attitude. As Chu reiterates: “To become the number one technology company in the world, you can’t forget about the customer. Recently, SK hynix introduced a new CoC (code of conduct) for employees with an emphasis on customer relationships.”

This focus on the customer has helped the marketers to navigate the current downturn, which has brought down prices and impacted sales figures. ”As the contact point for customers, we need to relay a message of hope,” Chu said. “Even in such challenging times, we can attract new customers and expand our market if our technologies and advancements are distributed efficiently.”

The same applies for Hyun’s office in the U.S. “Even if tough times still lie ahead for us, we will feel immense pride when we work to spread awareness about our technological prowess to secure new customers and expand our reach in the market,” said Hyun.

Heading for a Brighter Future

As highlighted from talking with Chu and Hyun who work thousands of miles apart, SK hynix’s marketers around the world are giving their all to keep the company moving forward regardless of external circumstances.

Through a focus on adaptability, partnerships, and training, SK hynix is making sure that it remains a leading memory solution provider for its customers. As Chu said: “Employees voluntarily and willingly come up with innovative solutions to propel the company to become a global institution with a world-class competitive edge.”

Amid expectations that the global semiconductor industry will begin to recover later in 2023, SK hynix’s marketers will continue to give their utmost to ensure the company capitalizes on the upturn and reaches unprecedented heights in the future.

The post Overcoming the Downturn: Meet the SK hynix Marketers Tackling External Challenges first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

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SK hynix held its 73rd General Shareholders Meeting on March 30th at the SUPEX Hall of the SUPEX Center at Icheon Campus, South Korea.

The meeting was held simultaneously both online and offline this year for the first time as an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Shareholders who signed up for participation in advance were able to join the meeting by watching a video webcast in real-time.

At the meeting, SK hynix introduced its Financial Story during a separate session, in addition to general procedures such as approval of financial statements, appointment of executive directors and non-executive directors, and approval of directors’ remuneration limits. Through this session, shareholders were able to hear detailed explanations from the SK hynix CEO Seok-hee Lee about the company’s willingness to increase the shareholder value, as well as the future plan pursued by the company.

Meanwhile, the shareholders of SK hynix decided on all the agendas at the meeting.

Financial Results Improved under Challenging Conditions in 2020

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CEO Lee, as the chairman of the meeting, said in the business report, “Amid difficult conditions including COVID-19 and the rapidly changing global business environment, SK hynix achieved KRW 32 trillion in sales and KRW 5 trillion in operating profit in 2020, which is highly improved compared to the previous year, through rapid development of leading technology and flexible response to demand.”

Also, CEO Lee cited some notable accomplishments last year, including growth in server DRAM, improvement in portfolios of NAND Flash products and customers, and establishment of foundation for mid- to long-term growth. He explained that with excellent quality competitiveness, the sales of 1Ynm-based high-capacity DRAM modules increased. In case of NAND Flash, cost competitiveness was enhanced through rapid mass-production of 128-layer products, and solid state drive (SSD) sales targeting data centers increased compared to the previous year. For mid- to long-term growth, he explained that SK hynix signed a contract to acquire the NAND and SSD business from Intel, established foundation for mass-production using EUV at the M16 fab, joined the RE100 initiative, and continued preparation of the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster project.

CEO Lee concluded the report by highlighting the targets for this year to ensure that these achievements pave way for SK hynix’s sustainable growth. The targets include maximizing the market position for high value-added strategic products based on quality competitiveness, improving production efficiency by building smart fab environment, innovating cost structure through increasing efficiency of investment and asset, successfully implementing the first stage of the Intel NAND and SSD business acquisition contract, and enhancing fundamental capabilities to create synergy.

CEO Lee Shares Financial Story with Shareholders as “The Exciting Vision of the Future”

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“SK hynix will evolve into a ‘Great Company’ that contributes to humanity and society with technology.”

At today’s General Shareholders Meeting, CEO Lee presented the “Financial Story” along with the company’s future vision.

CEO Lee said, “The goal of ‘boosting the corporate value to KRW 100 trillion’ that I presented when I was appointed as CEO two years ago was achieved earlier this year, earlier than expected. Now, we want to aim higher. Based on the Financial Story, we will promote the company’s growth with two main pillars of DRAM and NAND Flash, and accelerate the growth of shareholder value.”

Major affiliates of SK Group are communicating with their stakeholders to incorporate SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-Won’s “Financial Story” into the companies’ future growth direction. SK hynix reflected in this story its direction of enhancing the corporate value by focusing on ESG management, while strengthening the competitiveness in the DRAM and NAND Flash businesses. CEO Lee said, “We will focus on creating social values on top of economic values.”

CEO Lee announced that the company will focus on improving the profitability of the NAND business, in terms of economic values. SK hynix invested in KIOXIA Holdings Corporation (formerly Toshiba Memory) in 2018 and signed a contract to acquire the NAND and SSD business of Intel in October 2020. Regarding this contract, CEO Lee said, “As SK hynix has strength in mobile NAND Flash and Intel in enterprise SSD (eSSD), potential synergy is expected from this acquisition. The completion of the acquisition process will allow us to leap forward to becoming one of the global leaders in the NAND business, as well as DRAM business.”

In addition, CEO Lee presented SSD as an example of business that can create both economic and social values. CEO Lee said, “If hard disk drives (HDDs), one of the representative storage devices, are entirely replaced with low-power SSDs, carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by 93%. As well as economic values created through the technological prowess of SSDs, social values can be created by contributing to solving environmental problems.

At the shareholders meeting, CEO Lee also introduced the direction for the future investment. He announced that the company will invest intensively in three areas including R&D, ESG management, and discovery of future growth sources.

CEO Lee said, “SK hynix is envisioning a plan to establish infrastructure for intensive R&D development in various regions including the U.S. and Europe. In terms of strengthening ESG management, we will faithfully prepare for RE100 initiative, a goal to procure 100% of the power consumed with renewable energy, and the ‘Carbon Net Zero’ declaration. Also, the company will discover and invest in promising companies in the innovative fields like AI, autonomous driving, and 5G.”

Finally, CEO Lee stressed that SK hynix will prepare new growth sources thoroughly while pursuing ESG, and urged the shareholder to join “the journey of SK hynix growing into a ‘Great Company’”.

Shareholders Welcome Online Meeting As CEO Gives Answers Directly

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SK hynix also listened to shareholders’ opinions proactively, by receiving questions in advance from those who attended the meeting remotely.

Many of the questions that arrived in advance included inquiries about the company’s dividend policy. Regarding this, CEO Lee said, “The ‘2019-2021 Dividend Policy’ informed through the public notice in January 2020 specifies that, in each fiscal year, the company will provide cash dividend that includes 5% of the free cash flow (the calculation standard is established by excluding the acquisition amount of tangible assets from the operating cash flows in the consolidated cash flow statement) created during the year, in addition to the fixed dividend of KRW 1,000 per share. Until the dividend at the end of the term of 2021, the company plans to calculate the dividend in accordance with that policy. For the dividend policy after that, we will transparently communicate with shareholders, by comprehensively considering and reviewing the industry conditions, earnings volatility, and the possibility of shareholders’ dividend predictions.”

There were also many questions on the likely positive effects of the planned completion of the deal to acquire Intel’s NAND and SSD business. CEO Lee answered the questions in accordance with his explanation of the Financial Story.

One of the shareholders who attended the online meeting said, “I was very hesitant to go to the meeting due to COVID-19, but was able to attend it online for the first time. I appreciate that the CEO answered my questions directly, and the fact that even a minority shareholder like myself could exercise shareholder rights easily via electronic voting.”

The post SK hynix holds General Shareholders Meeting Online and Offline Simultaneously to Share ‘Financial Story’ and Willingness to Increase Shareholder Value first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.