GS Group should find fresh business opportunities by boosting investment and engaging in aggressive mergers and acquisitions (M&As) during this period of economic slowdown, the head of the conglomerate told its executives Wednesday.
“The business environment is standing at a critical juncture with changes, such as global economic slowdown,” GS Group Chairman Huh Tae-soo said during his meeting with the company executives.
“Such environmental changes trigger structural reforms all across industries, which will provide GS Group with exceptional opportunities for new business initiatives.”
A group of 80 ranking executives from the group and its key affiliates took part in the meeting.
Huh underscored the importance of expanding the group’s overall investment and pushing for M&As to utilize the opportunities.
“We can actively engage in investment and M&As,” he said. “Above all, executives must not settle with the status quo and the current businesses, but focus on enhancing their capability to expand into untapped areas.”
Executives from the group’s key affiliates also discussed their latest achievements in digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI) during the meeting.
GS Caltex, the group’s oil refinery arm, presented a case of utilizing generative AI to visualize customer pain points and quickly reflect on their needs for improving its smartphone app.
GS Engineering & Construction shared an example of applying generative AI translation capabilities for safety management communication with multinational foreign workers at construction sites. GS Donghae Electric Power also improved its power plant 커뮤니티 worker access systems by using no-code digital development tools. Parnas Hotel set up a digital knowledge channel to respond to inquiries from customers.
“All GS employees and executives should be proficient in IT development tools, such as generative AI,” Huh said.
“Digital innovation now belongs to all employees, not just some IT specialists.”
A GS Group spokesperson said, “In line with the emphasis from Huh, the group will proactively seek new investment and M&A opportunities while at the same time boosting internal digital innovation.”
