Sampyo Group revamps executive leadership for AI, Generation Z era

Sampyo Group is stepping up efforts to strengthen organizational leadership in response to sweeping changes in the business environment, including the spread of AI and digital transformation. The initiative aims to build a foundation for sustainable growth through organizational culture reform amid a slowdown in the construction sector and rising uncertainty across industries.

The group held its "2026 Second Executive Leadership Forum" on Monday at Centerpoint in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, it announced Wednesday. About 70 executives from key affiliates — including Sampyo Industries, Sampyo Cement, Sampyo P&C, Sampyo Railway and SP Nature — attended the event.

The forum focused on charting a leadership direction for building a performance-driven organization amid rapid shifts in the business environment, including the proliferation of AI and digital transformation and a growing Generation Z workforce. Participants shared the view that companies must strengthen their capacity to adapt to change and reform organizational culture rather than rely on past successes.

The opening lecture was delivered by Kim Tae-gyu, a professor at Korea University's Business School, on the theme "Conditions for an Organization That Delivers Results." Kim outlined the role of leaders in securing corporate competitiveness, focusing on change management strategies and ways to build a more agile organizational culture.

Sampyo Group has been intensifying efforts to boost productivity and organizational competitiveness as the construction industry contends with a prolonged downturn and persistent cost pressures. The forum is part of the group's broader internal innovation program designed to respond to shifts in the external business environment.

The next forum is scheduled for Sept. 2, when Han Sang-rin, a professor in the business administration department at Hanyang University, will lecture on "B2B Marketing Strategies for Breaking Through a Crisis."

Sampyo Group has run the Executive Leadership Forum four times a year on a regular basis since 2024. The program serves as a knowledge-management initiative, selecting timely management topics that reflect domestic and international economic conditions and the group's own business circumstances.

"This was a forum designed for our executives to first reflect on organizational culture and explore ways to generate sustainable results at a time when market paradigms are shifting rapidly," a Sampyo Group official said. "We will continue to strengthen our organizational competitiveness so that we can treat change as an opportunity for growth and respond with agility."