Comings and Goings: Gregory Lee Named President, CEO of Samsung Electronics North America

Gregory Lee was recently named the new president and CEO of Samsung Electronics for the important North American market. The company said in a statement that Lee will be responsible in part for “strengthening its leading positions in the smartphone and wireless markets in the U.S.”

Therefore, it’s no accident Lee’s background is in marketing. A few years ago he was global chief of marketing for Samsung Electronics. That expertise and experience is no doubt important as Samsung competes with Apple, Microsoft and other top brands in such lucrative markets now under his watch as the United States and Canada.

Samsung globally is an impressive company. Samsung Electronics had about $190 billion in sales during 2012. The New York Times reports that amount reaches the totals of Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft combined.

In the all-important smartphone sector, Samsung shipped 215 million smartphones in 2012. That represents about 40 percent of the global market share, The Times reports. By the end of this year, it will likely ship more than 350 million smartphones.

Also, Samsung was ranked by Interbrand as the eighth-most-valuable brand globally. Still, Apple has the top spot, followed by Google at No. 2, IBM is No. 4, and Microsoft is No. 5. But if Lee and his colleagues continue to be successful, at least some of these brands could find themselves knocked down a place and be replaced by Samsung.

The company also announced that Lee will remain president of Samsung Telecommunications America (STA). Lee was named president of STA in Texas earlier this year. Previously, he was president of Samsung's Southeast Asia and Oceania operations.

In his new post, Lee replaces YK Kim, who will become an advisor to Global Marketing Operations at the Samsung Electronics headquarters in South Korea.

Samsung is known for its televisions, smartphones, personal computers, printers, cameras, home appliances, LTE systems, medical devices, semiconductors and LED solutions. The Times notes how it makes its own makes chips, display panels and electronic parts – unlike many other companies which purchase these elements from other businesses. It also is noted for how it assembles products in its own plants rather than sending the work out to other firms.