- The SK hynix Newsroom is launching a series of interviews with the Top Team—the executives in charge of the company’s major business divisions. This series will provide insights into the business strategies, organizational culture, and more promoted by the leaders to achieve the company’s vision. The first interview is with Justin Kim, president and head of the new AI Infra division.
SK hynix—the world’s no.1 HBM provider. It took a lot of hard work from many people for the company to reach this position. The efforts of various departments, including developers striving to create high-performance products, engineers working day and night to improve yields, and business units strategizing to strengthen profitability, were combined to reach this goal.
One executive who played a key role in this process is Justin Kim. The strategist nimbly responded to global market changes and worked closely with customers to secure HBM market leadership. In January 2024, he became president and head of the new AI Infra division after helping SK hynix establish itself as the global leading AI memory company.
As head of the new division as well as Global Sales & Marketing (GSM), Kim is ready to ensure SK hynix continues to lead the global AI memory market. In a wide-ranging interview, Kim discusses how innovation, his industry expertise, and collaborations all played a part in the company’s journey to the pinnacle of the sector.
Breaking Free from Inertia to Achieve Innovation in the AI Age
New business divisions are akin to road signs as their goals signal a company’s direction. In the case of AI Infra, which oversees the HBM1 business and identifies future businesses, it shows that SK hynix’s direction is centered on AI memory.
1High Bandwidth Memory (HBM): A high-value, high-performance product that possesses much higher data processing speeds compared to existing DRAMs by vertically connecting multiple DRAMs with through-silicon via (TSV). There are five generations of HBM, starting with the original HBM and followed by HBM2, HBM2E, HBM3, and HBM3E—an extended version of HBM3.
Kim underlines the importance of innovation to ensure SK hynix continues to lead the AI memory market
“We have created a new division to expand SK hynix’s leadership in the AI infrastructure2 market,” he said. “AI Infra consists of GSM which is responsible for global business, the HBM Business Unit which brings together our HBM capabilities, and Memory System Research (MSR) which is in charge of pathfinding initiatives to explore future products and markets beyond HBM.”
2AI infrastructure: The hardware and software required to build, test, learn, and deploy AI-based applications and services.
The leaders and members of AI Infra collaborate with other SK hynix departments and divisions to plan AI memory and next-generation products, and proactively lead the AI memory market through sales. Specifically, SK hynix supplies specialty products tailored to customer needs, develops optimal memory by analyzing LLMs3, and proposes advanced memory solutions by refining the concept of custom HBM.
3Large Language Model (LLM): A deep learning algorithm that can comprehend and generate natural language using very large datasets.
“SK hynix is at the forefront of the AI business, which gives me a greater sense of responsibility. This is why I want to look at the business environment from a variety of perspectives and provide clear goals and visions for our employees so that we can make the best decisions,” he said.
It is as important to talk about how to reach a goal as it is to discuss the goal itself. In this respect, Kim emphasizes the importance of innovating to break free from inertia. Summing up this approach, Kim claims if there is something to throw away, it should be immediately discarded so employees can focus on issues that can create great value.
“In an environment where the market is rapidly changing around AI, we can’t achieve anything if we keep doing things the same way. We need to be flexible to make changes and identify and support customer needs,” he said.
“If we innovate to overcome inertia, efficiently reorganize work structures, and clearly identify customer needs and pain points, we can move the AI memory market in our favor. I expect our employees to cut down on unnecessary work and always think outside the box to innovate.”
Continuing 33 Years of Proven Results in AI Infra
Over the years, Kim has led the GSM department and demonstrated firsthand how innovation occurs when people break free from inertia. Some of his most notable achievements include developing the Memory Market Index (MMI), a market forecasting tool, and solidifying SK hynix’s position in the AI memory market by nimbly responding to HBM demand.
Kim’s market forecasting tool played a key role in enabling SK hynix to achieve HBM market dominance
“Historically, market forecasting was done sporadically across multiple departments, including development, manufacturing, purchasing, sales, and marketing, resulting in poor forecasting results,” he said. “As simply repeating the same process didn’t bring about a different outcome, I established a one-team structure and efficiently deployed company resources. This strengthened our ability to respond quickly to market changes and operational issues. Now we can stay more than six months ahead of the curve and respond to HBM demand in a timely manner.”
Achieving HBM market dominance was not only a result of introducing MMI, as Kim’s ability to form strategic partnerships and organizational collaboration also played key roles.
“We have established strong relationships with leading companies in the AI market,” he said. “By earning their trust and full cooperation, we were able to secure a stable demand of HBM. The collaboration of HBM-related departments as a team has allowed us to provide the best products, satisfying our customers and securing the number one market share.”
Kim was also influential in advancing DDR5 and other solutions. His early collaborations with server customers paved the way for SK hynix to take the top spot in the high-performance DDR5 market. In addition, Kim helped the company achieve the memory industry’s first 2023 quarterly turnaround in the fourth quarter by gaining an edge in the average selling price (ASP) of DRAM.
Armed with these experiences, Kim will now lead AI Infra and accelerate SK hynix’s efforts to remain the world’s leading AI memory provider.
“Strategic partnerships based on trust are crucial for our response to future markets. With such partnerships, we will quickly provide our customers with the products they want at the right time,” he said.
“In the short term, we will maximize our market dominance through our outstanding technology. We will also engage with our customers, particularly those that are growing rapidly, to identify and address their pain points, which will boost our profitability. In the long run, we will develop the next generation of memory solutions and ensure our technology and products become the market standard.”
Solidifying AI Leadership as a Trusted Strategist
Anticipation is building for Kim’s blueprint for the new division as a result of his significant expertise and leadership skills accrued during 33 years in the industry.
After joining SK hynix’s semiconductor fab production team in February 1991, he has worked in various departments. In 2017, he became Sales Lead of the GSM department where he helped to expand the company’s global market share. In particular, he devoted his time to securing SK hynix’s MCP4 market share in Greater China.
Since 2021, he has served as the head of both GSM and SK hynix America, where he played a crucial role in expanding the company’s U.S. presence. As such, Kim has secured market competitiveness across the DRAM and NAND sectors with his quick thinking and decisive execution. When asked about his secret, Kim cites communication and understanding.
4Multi Chip Package (MCP): Two or more chips stacked vertically to form a single package, such as mobile DRAM and NAND flash products stacked in a single package for smartphones.
Communication, grit, and ambition are key to business success, according to Kim
“We were able to make decisions and move faster than anyone else because we were in close contact with our customers and understood our situation perfectly. We went into the market with our senses sharpened,” he said.
Kim stressed that leaders need to take the initiative to achieve goals and bring everyone together as a team. He also stressed that ambition and grit play a big role in finding new customers and deepening professional relationships. They are traits he encourages SK hynix employees to embrace as well.
“Facing any challenge with ambition and grit, and never giving up, will earn you the trust of your customers and deliver valuable results,” he added. “I hope our staff will take this to heart and do their best to achieve their goals.”
Concluding the interview, Kim underlined his strong commitment to achieving the company’s future growth.
Kim claims AI Infra will play a key role in solidifying SK hynix’s market leadership going forward
“We will continue to maximize the value of our products by strengthening communication and partnerships so that SK hynix is the first AI memory company that comes to people’s minds,” he said. “AI Infra will help SK hynix cement its position as the global no. 1 AI memory provider.”
