SK Hynix has beefed up its executive team and promoted double the number of executives in its year’s end reshuffle.

Executive vice president Ahn Hyun was promoted to president and the new post of chief development officer (CDO).

Ahn previously headed SK Hynix’s N-S Committee, a team formed to increase SK Hynix’s NAND competence. The now CDO led the Korean memory maker’s development of ZUFS 4.0 mobile NAND, PEB110 E1.S server SSD, PCB01 AI PC SSD, and other high-end NAND products.

TheElec asked whether Ahn’s nomination to the CDO post was for the company to expand its NAND business further. SK Hynix responded with a rudimentary answer that Ahn held key posts in the development of future technologies and solutions, as well as set business strategies.

SK Hynix, thanks to the success of HBM, has leveled the playing field in DRAM with market leader Samsung. On the other hand, Samsung still leads in NAND over SK Hynix by a wider margin compared to DRAM.

The CDO post was made for the company to combine its development resources for DRAM, NAND, and solutions under one roof, SK Hynix explained.

The post will allow the company to protect its leading position in HBM and develop new AI memory products, the Korean memory maker said.

Meanwhile, the number of promotions this year near doubled compared to last year, from 19 to 33. This is in contrast with other South Korean conglomerates that have limited the number of promotions amid belt-tightening over the stagnating economy.

Out of the 33, 70% will work on development of new chips and technologies, the company said.

Another new post is chief production officer, which will oversee both the front-end and back-end of chip production, SK Hynix said.