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Walter Cho

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For the Hong Kong actor, see Walter Tso.
Walter Cho
Cho Won-tae
Born (1976-01-25) 25 January 1976 (age 48)
Seoul, South Korea
EducationUniversity of Southern California
EmployerHanjin Group
Parent(s)Cho Yang-ho and Lee Myung-hee [ko]
Korean name
Hangul
조원태
Hanja
趙源泰
Revised RomanizationJo Wontae
McCune–ReischauerCho Wŏntae
Signature
In this Korean name, the family name is Cho.

Cho Won-tae (born 25 January 1976), also known as Walter Cho, is a South Korean businessman. Walter Cho is the chairman and chief executive officer of Hanjin Group and Korean Air. He is a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) board of governors and chairman of the SkyTeam Alliance Board.

Early life

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Cho was born in Seoul on 25 January 1976.[1] He is the son of former Hanjin Group chairman Cho Yang-ho, and the grandson of group founder Cho Choong-hoon [ko]. He has two sisters: Heather Cho [ko] and Emily Cho [ko].[2][3] Cho received his early education at Marian High School in Massachusetts.[1] He attended a two-year college in the United States before transferring to Inha University in South Korea in 1998.[1] He later completed an MBA from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.[1] He received an MBA from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.[1] For his mandatory military service, he completed alternative service under the Skilled Industrial Personnel [ko] program.[4]

Career

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Early career

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Cho joined Hanjin Group, the parent company of Korean Air, in 2003.[1] He became the vice-president of Hanjin Information Systems & Telecommunication, and then in 2004 was transferred to Korean Air, where he became the vice-manager of the planning team within the operations and strategy department.[5] He was promoted to head of the procurement department in January 2006, and then to assistant director in December of that year.[6][7] He received a further promotion in December 2007.[8] He later became the chief operating officer of Korean Air.[2] In 2015, the aftermath of his sister Heather's resignation over the nut rage incident, he took over management responsibility for other areas of Korean Air's business which she had previously overseen, including hotels and catering, in what was widely seen as a confirmation that he would inherit control of the company.[9] He was named the company's president in January 2017.[10] Cho concurrently held a number of other posts at Hanjin Group affiliates, including Hanjin Kal, Jin Air, Uniconverse, and the aircraft ground handling company Korea Airport Service, but resigned from those positions in 2017, in a move which Korean Air stated would improve management efficiency within the company.[11]

As CEO

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He became chairman and CEO of Hanjin and Korean Air in April 2019 following the death of his father.[12] Cho was elected as a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Board of Governors at the 2019 IATA General Assembly, which was organized in Seoul in June.[13] He was also elected as chairman of the Skyteam Alliance board in June 2019.[14]

In 17 December 2020, Cho received the "médaille d'honneur des affaires étrangères de la France" for his active participation for the repatriation of French citizens from South-Korea to France during the COVID-19 crises by using Korean Air.[15]

Cho has been widely recognized for successfully navigating the COVID-19 pandemic.[16] He led Korean Air to pivot to its cargo operations when passenger operations nearly came to a halt due to COVID restrictions; the airline operated cargo-only flights on passenger routes and converted some passenger jets into freighters.[17][18] These efforts helped the airline to achieve an operating profit throughout the pandemic, and a record-high operating profit and net profit in 2021.[19][20] Korean Air was named both 2021 Airline of the Year and 2022 Cargo Operator of the Year by Air Transport World.[21] The airline was also recognized as AirlineRatings.com's 2022 Cargo Airline of the Year and ranked fourth in their top 20 airlines.[22][17]

Cho remained an involved leader throughout the pandemic, volunteering to join a repatriation flight to Wuhan, the epicenter of the pandemic, to support the cabin crew soon after the COVID outbreak.[23][24] He also joined employees and executives to manually clean and disinfect an aircraft in an event to assure the public of cabin safety amid the pandemic.[23][25]

Awards

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  • 2020: Médaille d'honneur des affaires étrangères de la France (Honour medal of Foreign Affairs of France)[15]
  • 2021: Air Transport World's Airline (ATW) of the Year[21]
  • 2021: Orient Aviation's Person of the Year Award[16]
  • 2022: ATW Cargo Operator of the Year[26]
  • 2022: FlightGlobal's Air Cargo Leadership Award[27]
  • 2022: AirlineRatings.com Cargo Airline of the Year Award[17][22]
  • 2023: ATW Excellence in Leadership Award [28]
  • 2024: Korea Management Award, Korean Academic Society of Business Administration (KASBA)[29]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f [Park Kyung-hoon] (11 October 2017). "[Who Is ?] 조원태 대한항공 사장" [Who is Korean Air president Cho Won-tae?]. Business Post. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Cho Won-tae appointed president of Korean Air in wake of 'nut lady' scandal". The Loadstar. 6 January 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  3. ^ "Korean Air 'nut rage' sisters step down". BBC News. 22 April 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  4. ^ 30대 그룹 후계자 10명 중 3명 군대 안 갔다 [Three out of 10 corporate group successors didn't go to the army]. Sisa Press. 15 July 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  5. ^ "[재계라운지] 조양호회장 아들 KAL로" [[Finance Lounge] Cho Yang-ho's son joins KAL]. Maeil Business Newspaper. 14 October 2004. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  6. ^ "조양호 회장 장남 조원태씨, 대한항공 부장으로 승진" [President Cho Yang-ho's eldest son Cho Won-tae promoted to department head within Korean Air]. Seoul Shinmun. 4 January 2006. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  7. ^ "조양호회장 아들 조원태 상무보로 승진" [President Cho Yang-ho's son promoted to assistant director]. Yonhap. 28 December 2006. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  8. ^ "대한항공, 조양호 회장 아들·딸 승진" [Korean Air president Cho Yang-ho's son and daughter promoted]. Money Today. 14 December 2007. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  9. ^ Lee, Hyo-sik (12 January 2016). "Korean Air accelerating 3rd-generational succession". The Korea Times. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  10. ^ "Cho Won-tae named president of Korean Air". The Korea Herald. 6 January 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  11. ^ Won, Ho-jung (15 June 2017). "Korean Air chief to resign from all other posts". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  12. ^ "UPDATE 1-Korean Air parent appoints heir apparent Cho Won-tae as new chairman". Reuters. 2019-04-24. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  13. ^ IATA. "Membership of the Board of Governors". www.iata.org. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  14. ^ "SkyTeam Announces Walter Cho, Chairman and CEO of Korean Air, as Chair of its Alliance Board". www.skyteam.com. Retrieved 2019-11-28.
  15. ^ a b "Le président de Korean Air reçoit une médaille d'honneur de la France". 18 December 2020.
  16. ^ a b "Defying industry odds". Orient Aviation. 1 December 2021.
  17. ^ a b c Thomas, Geoffrey (2022-04-24). "Korean Air wins ATW's Cargo Airline of the Year". Airline Ratings. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  18. ^ Korean Air CEO: We converted passenger planes to cargo, retrieved 2022-09-19
  19. ^ Bhutia, Peden Doma (2022-08-19). "Korean Air Survived the Pandemic With No Losses But Faces New Challenges". Skift. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  20. ^ "Korean Air: An Asian champion delivers excellence in service" (PDF). Newsweek.
  21. ^ a b "Korean Air Is ATW's Airline Of The Year | Aviation Week Network". aviationweek.com. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  22. ^ a b Francesca Street. "World's best airlines for 2022, ranked by AirlineRatings.com". CNN. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  23. ^ a b Munoz, Ruthy (2021-07-02). "Airline CEOs Go Live and In-Person to Juice the Recovery". Skift. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  24. ^ Park, Kyunghee (2020-01-31). "Virus Rescue Flight Returns to Korea With 18 Showing Fever". Bloomberg.
  25. ^ travelnewsasia. "Korean Air Chairman Gets His Hands Dirty Disinfecting Aircraft". www.asiatraveltips.com. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  26. ^ "ATW 2022 Cargo Operator Of The Year: Korean Air | Aviation Week Network". aviationweek.com. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  27. ^ "Korean Air Chief awarded FlightGlobal's 2022 Air Cargo Leadership Award - Global Travel Media". eglobaltravelmedia.com.au. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
  28. ^ "2023 ATW Excellence in Leadership Recipient: Walter Cho | Aviation Week Network". aviationweek.com. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
  29. ^ upload@airport-suppliers.com (2024-08-14). "Korean Air CEO Walter Cho receives top management award from KASBA". Airport Suppliers. Retrieved 2024-11-07.
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