Samsung Electronics has appointed Mauro Porcini as President and Chief Design Officer (CDO) of its Device eXperience (DX) division, the company announced on April 1. Porcini is an Italian designer and business executive who held leadership roles at PepsiCo and 3M.
This marks the first time the South Korean tech giant hired a foreign design lead.
Born in Italy, Porcini holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Industrial Design from Politecnico di Milano. He began his career as a product designer at Philips and later served as chief design officer at 3M and PepsiCo.
“Today, I share the bittersweet news that I will be leaving PepsiCo at the end of the month, to embark on an exciting new chapter,” Porcini wrote in a LinkedIn post last week.
“With the addition of Mr. Porcini, Samsung Electronics plans to further strengthen its design capabilities across all business areas, including mobile, TV and home appliances,” Samsung said in a statement.
The move also aligns with comments made by Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who recently told senior managers that the company must “actively recruit and nurture top talent regardless of nationality or gender and make leadership changes whenever needed.”
