NH Investment & Securities officially appoints Shin Jae-wook, Bae Kwang-su as co-CEOs

Shin Jae-wook and Bae Kwang-su confirmed as co-CEOs at extraordinary shareholders' meeting Tuesday

'Clear accountability, unified results' — co-leadership model takes effect

New management targets industry-leading return on capital and sustainable earnings power

Bae Kwang-su, co-CEO of NH Investment & Securities [NH Investment & Securities]

Shin Jae-wook, co-CEO of NH Investment & Securities [NH Investment & Securities]

NH Investment & Securities held an extraordinary shareholders' meeting Tuesday and officially appointed Shin Jae-wook and Bae Kwang-su as co-CEOs, completing its transition from a single-CEO structure to a co-leadership model and formally launching a new management regime.

The appointments were made to strengthen sector-specific expertise and management accountability as the company enters a new growth phase, including the pursuit of its integrated management account (IMA) project. NH Investment & Securities finalized the appointments at Tuesday's shareholders' meeting after the candidates cleared a recommendation by the executive nomination committee and approval by an extraordinary board meeting.

In their inaugural addresses, the two new CEOs said the co-leadership structure "is not a framework that divides the company in two, but an operating model that keeps each leader's expertise and accountability clearly defined while driving the entire organization toward a single set of results." They added that "decision-making authority will be clearer and faster, while ultimate performance and responsibility will be shared."

They outlined five core management priorities under the goal of making NH Investment & Securities "a company with industry-leading return on capital and sustainable earnings power."

At the top of the list, the two CEOs identified synergy across business lines and improved capital efficiency as their foremost tasks. "The synergy we are pursuing is not mere cooperation," they said. "It is a virtuous cycle of integrated growth in which expanding customer assets leads to early access to quality investment opportunities in corporate finance and improved investment performance, which in turn drives further growth in customer assets." They said they would restructure the company's business model and institutional foundations around that synergy.

They also said that "to accelerate growth within this virtuous integrated structure, capital must be supplied without interruption," pledging to allocate capital boldly to high-risk-adjusted-return businesses while rigorously reviewing lower-efficiency areas to maximize the productivity of limited capital.

AI transformation was also named a core priority. The co-CEOs said "AI is not a simple automation tool but a core infrastructure that enhances employees' judgment and execution," and said they would raise AI utilization across all operations to create an environment where staff can focus on high-value work — while pursuing a responsible AI transition that strictly observes data privacy and internal control principles.

Rounding out the five priorities were strengthened internal controls and enhanced shareholder value alongside social responsibility. The co-CEOs pledged to build customer trust by embedding risk review and customer-perspective verification from the earliest stages of business, to pursue long-term shareholder value as a listed financial investment company, and to faithfully fulfill social responsibilities — including contributions to agricultural development and local communities — as a member of NH NongHyup Financial Group.

Closing their inaugural addresses, the new CEOs said, "The success of the new structure depends not on the structure itself, but on how it is operated," and pledged to "pursue necessary changes decisively while preserving organizational stability."

They added: "We will take responsibility from our respective positions and deliver results as one NH Investment & Securities — building a company that earns greater trust from customers, greater recognition from shareholders, and greater pride among our employees."

NH Investment & Securities also appointed An Seong-wook as an outside director at Tuesday's extraordinary shareholders' meeting. An, a legal expert, previously served as head of the narcotics and organized crime investigation unit at the Busan District Prosecutors' Office and as head of the trial and litigation division at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, and currently serves as managing attorney at law firm Seongmun. The company said it expects An to draw on his legal expertise and extensive practical experience to strengthen internal controls and risk management under the co-CEO structure.

NH Investment & Securities' board decided in April to shift from a single-CEO to a co-CEO structure in order to expand the scale of operations — including securing a foundation for the IMA project — respond to changing market conditions, and reinforce sector-specific expertise and management accountability. Shin was born in 1970 and Bae in 1972, marking a generational shift from former CEO Yoon Byung-woon, who was born in 1967.

th5@heraldcorp.com