Kolon Group, the nation’s 30th-largest conglomerate, appointed its first female chief executive officer when it carried out a major reshuffle of executives of its affiliates on Friday.

Group officials said Lee Soo-young, 44, senior vice president of Kolon Water & Energy, was named to head the company. It is the first time that Kolon will have a female CEO in its 55-year group history.

Lee, who entered the Kolon Group in 2003 as a senior manager for the Wellness TF, has been on the fast track in climbing up the corporate ladder.

In 2005, she was promoted to director, skipping the general manager position. Since then, she has been responsible for strategic business projects in the group’s strategy development headquarters.

By Seo Jee-yeon (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)