Ecopro Materials said on March 23 it has appointed Lee Kyu-bong (이규봉) as its new chief executive officer. The company plans to speed up efforts to raise its self-sufficiency rate for precursors and diversify its customer base by putting an expert in the secondary battery field at the helm.

Lee graduated from Hanyang University’s Department of Inorganic Materials Engineering. He then served as head of strategic planning at Samsung SDI’s research centre before building most of his career at Ecopro affiliates. He previously held posts including executive director in charge of research planning at Ecopro BM and senior executive vice president heading the business operations division at Ecopro EM. At Ecopro Materials, he previously served as COO and vice president. Born in 1970, he will now lead the company as CEO.

The company said the appointment will help it strengthen technological leadership and expand its customer base in the global battery materials market.

Lee said, "I will make Ecopro Materials a strong company that everyone wants to benchmark." He added, "I will ensure the company’s growth leads to individual growth, and that not only the company but also the value of each employee can grow together."