Samsung appoints new co-CEOs

Fresh off its release of the Galaxy S4, Samsung Electronics has named two new co-chief executive officers. The Korean electronics maker now has three chief executive officers, after naming its mobile lead JK Shin and consumer electronics head Boo-keun Yoon to join current CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon.

Shin and Yoon will continue to lead their respective departments, the company said in a statement. The reorganization is meant to make the two departments more independent, Samsung said.

Gallery

With Galaxy S4, Samsung ups ante in fight against Apple: With the March 14 unveiling of its latest smartphone, the Galaxy S4, Samsung sent a message to Apple: It’s on. Not only did the South Korean company want to tout the phone’s new features, but it also wanted to do it in Apple’s home market — New York. Here are some photos from the event.

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Under Shin’s leadership, Samsung’s mobile business has grown to become the world’s leading smartphone maker, thanks to the success of the Galaxy S II, Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note line. Shin was a featured speaker at the company’s flashy launch of its latest smartphone, the Galaxy S4, tapped to outline the all-important argument of how the company distinguishes itself from Apple and other Android handset makers.

In his remarks at the event, Shin made a point of saying that Samsung relies on feedback from its customers as it designs its phones, crediting that user feedback for the company’s success.

Samsung has reported five consecutive quarters of record profit and $52.6 billion in sales in January.

The company is projected to continue its lead in the worldwide smartphone market, though it is in a close race with Apple for the first place in the U.S. It trails the Cupertino, Calif. firm with 21.4 percent of the U.S market to Apple’s 34.3 percent ,comScore reported in January.

Shin told the Wall Street Journal that the company chose to stage its release in New York in order to generate more excitement in the U.S. market for Samsung phones.

“I don’t dwell on market share numbers,” he told the Journal. “[But] I’m not satisfied with our market share in the U.S.”

When asked how the company’s legal troubles with Apple have affected the company’s development, Shin said only that Samsung has been working on coming up with new features such as motion-controlled menus to distinguish its products.

Shin also said that Samsung, which is the dominant manufacturer using Google’s Android smartphone platform, will be releasing its first phone on its own Bada platform later this year.

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