Samsung chief presides over $20bn boost in brand value

Kwon Oh-Hyun of Samsung is 2012's most successful brand building chief executive after presiding over a $20bn increase in brand value, according to Brand Finance.

Kwon Oh-Hyun: chief executive of Samsung Electronics
Kwon Oh-Hyun: chief executive of Samsung Electronics

The BrandFinance Global 500 survey claims a combination of advertising and marketing investment in support of research and development (R&D) and new product launches helped Samsung increase its brand value by 54% from $38.2bn to $58.7bn.

Oh-Hyun was officially appointed chief executive on June 8, 2012, having previously held the position of vice chairman since December 2011.

Arch-rival Apple came in second in the survey with Steve Jobs successor Tim Cook guiding the company to a $16.7bn increase in value for the year ending 31 December 2012, which valued the company at $87.3bn.

David Haigh, chief executive of brand valuation agency Brand Finance, said: "It is now widely accepted that the CEO is the ultimate custodian of brand and reputation and they are increasingly focussing on ways of building brand strength and value.

"Steve Jobs was an expert in this regard, steering Apple to the top of the BrandFinance Global 500. With his passing, the title of international brandmaster is now very much up for grabs. "

Biggest brand value risers with CEOs
Rank CEO Brand Brand value 2013 (US$bn) Change (US$bn)
1 Kwon Oh-Hyun Samsung 58.7 20.5
2 Tim Cook Apple 87.3 16.7
3 Jeff Bezos Amazon 36.7 8.1
4 Peter Voser Shell 29.7 7.7
5 Jiang Chaoliang Agricultural Bank of China 15.9 6.0
6 Martin Winterkom Volkswagen 23.6 5.9
7 Fu Chengyu Sinopec 13.5 5.4
8 Li Yue China Mobile 23.2 5.3
9 Robert Iger Walt Disney 20.5 5.1
10 Larry Page Google 52.1 4.6

Source: BrandFinance Global 500


The survey also tracked the brands that saw the biggest fall in value. Hewlett Packard, led by Meg Whitman, experienced the biggest fall, dropping $5.6bn to $16.1bn.

after writing off $5bn in November as a result of alleged "serious accounting improprieties, misrepresentation and disclosure failures".

Another big faller was Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook, which was floated on the stock market last year. Its value dropped $3.2bn to $5.6bn, according to the research.

 

Biggest brand value fallers with CEOs
Rank CEO Brand Brand value 2013 (US$bn) Change (US$bn)
1 Meg Whitman HP 16.1 -5.6
2 Michael Dell Dell 6.2 -5.4
3 Stuart Gulliver HSBC 22.8 -4.7
4 Mark Parker Nike 15.0 -3.6
5 Cesar Alierta Movistar 11.1 -3.2
6 Mark Zuckerberg Facebook 5.6 -3.2
7 Vittorio Colao Vodafone 29.0 -3.0
8 Kazuo Hirai Sony 9.6 -2.7
9 Sherilyn McCoy Avon 5.2 -2.7
10 Stephen Hemsley United Health Care 7.6 -2.3

Source: BrandFinance Global 500

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