삼성전자가 경쟁업체인 애플의 수석 디자이너 를 영입했다고 월스트리트저널(WSJ)이 18일(현지시간) 보도했다.
WSJ에 따르면 삼성전자는 최근 애플 스토어 디자인에 참여한 팀 거젤을 소매판매 사업부 부사장 겸 총괄 매니저(general manager)로 영입했다.
신문은 삼성의 애플 디자이너 영입에 대해 “애플과 특허 소송전을 벌이는 삼성전자가 최근 재판에서 패했지만 인사 전쟁에서는 승리했다”고 평가했다.
업계 관계자들은 이번 인사 이후 삼성의 소매 전략에 관심을 기울이고 있다.
삼성은 현재 한국을 비롯해 해외에 일부 소매 매장을 갖고 있다. 하지만 미국에 서 입지는 전자제품 유통업체인 베스트바이와의 협력 관계로 제한돼 있다고 WSJ는 전했다.
거젤은 지난 2008년 3월부터 애플에서 디렉터로 일했으며 유명 건축가인 프랭크 게리가 설립한 게리파트너스에서 6년 동안 근무한 경력이 있다.
그는 뉴욕 맨해튼 어퍼웨스트사이드에 있는 애플 스토어의 곡선 모양 유리지붕을 디자인했다.
<관련영문기사>
Samsung eager to recruit talent from rivals
Korea’s electronics giant hires former senior Apple designer
By Kim Young-won
Samsung Electronics has recruited Tim Gudgel, who used to work for its archrival Apple Inc., as a retail store designer, as part of its strategy to hire talented personnel worldwide.
Gudgel is well-known for having designed an Apple store with a curved glass roof on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. He was named a vice president and general manager of retail-sales operations in the United States, according to news reports.
Industry watchers said his tasks at Samsung will include managing retail stores, especially the 1,500 mini-stores at Best Buy locations across the United States.
The recruitment is the latest in Samsung’s efforts to hire foreign talent to gain an upper hand in its overseas competition with global rivals.
Samsung recruited a batch of personnel from BlackBerry, including Ryan Bidan, a former product manager for the Canadian firm, and Brian Wallace, BlackBerry’s former vice president of digital marketing and media.
The Korean firm also recruited Rob Orr, BlackBerry’s former managing director for the U.K. and Ireland.
Orr took on the post of vice president of business-to-business for Samsung European Telecommunications Operations.
Hiring personnel who have work experience, especially in managerial positions, in other companies is surely nothing new for the Korean tech giant, which aims to retain its leading position in the global market.
“It is natural for a firm to want to hire an expert in a certain field,” said a Samsung official, adding “And employing officials from other players in the same business field is nothing new.”
(
wone0102@heraldcorp.com)
