Hanwha Group recruits successive foreign talents to lead defense and shipbuilding overseas business

[Korea Financial Times, Shin Haeju] Hanwha Group (Chairman Kim Seung-yeon) is actively recruiting foreign managers. This is an expression of the company's intention to respond to global maritime and defense trends through global market expansion.

Hanwha Aerospace recently appointed Michael Coulter, the former president of Leonardo DRS Global, a U.S. defense contractor, as the CEO of Overseas Businesses.

He is the first CEO of Hanwha Aerospace’s Overseas Businesses Division. Through this, the existing strategy-business division CEO system will be changed to a three-person CEO system, including overseas business. Currently, Overseas Businesses is headed by Ahn Jang-hyuk, former CFO of Samsung Electronics.

Michael Coulter, a U.S. citizen, was born in 1974 and is 50 years old. He is 9 years older than Kim Dong-kwan, head of the strategy division (born 1983), and 9 years younger than Son Jae-il, head of the business division (born 1965). He most recently served as Global Corporate President and Senior Vice President of Business Development at Leonardo DRS. He also led global business development at U.S. defense contractor General Dynamics.

The appointment is seen by some as a move to prepare for the start of Donald Trump's second administration. Mr. Coulter graduated from the University of Maryland, a prestigious U.S. state university, with a degree in political science and has worked in the U.S. government since then. He served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense, and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. He has also served in the Navy, including NATO and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

He will oversee Hanwha Aerospace as well as Hanwha Group's overseas defense business.

A Hanwha Aerospace official said, “Michael Coulter will be appointed at the upcoming general shareholders’ meeting.” “There is nothing set in stone,” he said of whether he will also hold positions at other defense affiliates such as Hanwha Ocean.

Before Hanwha Aerospace, Hanwha Ocean, a shipbuilding and marine affiliate, also brought in a foreign executuve. In April, Hanwha Ocean appointed Philippe Levy, former president of SBM Offshore's U.S. operations, as its new president of marine business division. Born in 1968, Mr. Levy, 56, was born in France.

As Hanwha Ocean is currently seeking to transform into a “global ocean solution provider,” and the role of the marine business division has become more important than ever. In particular, since it is necessary to integrate the business cultures of Asia, America, and Europe, it seems that they decided that a foreigner with international business experience would be the right person for the job. Previously, Managing Director Kim Hyuk, who graduated from Seoul National University’s Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, had served aspresident of the marine business division.

Mr. Levy spent the last 25 years at SBM Offshore, a Dutch company specializing in floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels. He was promoted to President in 2020 and was based in Houston, USA.

He then served as a senior advisor to CNOOC in a joint venture between ExxonMobil, Hess and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) in the offshore development of Guyana, South America. In that role, he reportedly provided execution strategy for FPSO and liquefied natural gas (LNG) development.

Hanwha Ocean said, "Philippe Levy, president of the marine business division, is leading the innovative changes of Hanwha Ocean's marine business division based on his expertise in the global marine business and his experience in managing numerous oil and gas projects."

Meanwhile, Hanwha Ocean generates 54% of its marine and special vessel sales through exports, while Hanwha Aerospace's defense sales are more domestically driven at 60%. While Hanwha Ocean's board of directors includes Michael Best & Friedrich LLP partner George P. Bush, grandson of former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, as an independent director, there are no foreigners on the board of Hanwha Aerospace.

Shin Haeju (hjs0509@fntimes.com)