Samsung Biologics CEO

Dr. Tae Han Kim has held multiple leadership positions at Samsung Group, which he has been part of for more than four decades. Today, Dr. Kim serves as chief executive officer of Samsung Biologics.

Dr. Kim started his professional career with Samsung Group in 1979, and he began working on a doctoral degree not long after taking a position with the company. His academic work culminated in a doctorate in chemical engineering, which was awarded by The University of Texas at Austin in 1988. Since earning a doctorate, Dr. Kim has held multiple prominent roles at various Samsung companies.

Dr. Kim’s earlier leadership positions included serving as the executive vice president of strategic business development for Samsung Group and a principal at Samsung General Chemicals Co. Ltd. In his time with Samsung General Chemicals, Dr. Kim oversaw a substantial restructuring of the company.

After restructuring was complete at Samsung General Chemicals, Dr. Kim founded a joint venture between Samsung Group and Total (a French company). Samsung Total Petrochemicals, as the venture was named, has become a successful company in the petrochemical industry.

Dr. Kim’s other accomplishments have included opening a number of facilities. He oversaw the creation of styrene monomer and polypropylene plants, the production of an aromatic facility, and a naphtha cracking center. These were all well established when he moved on to Samsung Biologics in 2011.

The impetus behind Samsung Biologics was both a desire to grow Samsung Group’s revenue by entering a new industry and a personal interest in health care and life sciences. Over the past near-decade, the company has proven to be a massive success. Initial targets were to build a facility that would have a 120,000-liter capacity by 2020. The company exceeded that expectation with a 362,000-liter facility, which was completed in 2018 and is the largest of its kind in the world.

Dr. Kim continues to lead Samsung Biologics as it leads the world in bio-healthcare manufacturing.