Samsung’s MBA Leadership Development Program (LDP)

Samsung takes great pride in its people. Recruiting from top business schools in the country each year, the Leadership Development Program (LDP) hosts a small cohort of high-potential candidates from diverse backgrounds with the dual intention of cultivating individual professional growth and infusing Samsung with strong, future leadership.

The Leadership Development Program cohort of 2017 and 2016 at Samsung Electronics America headquarters.

Why join Samsung’s LDP?

As a market leader in consumer electronics, Samsung is at the forefront of the technology industry. Samsung launched the LDP in 2016 with the goal of training its future senior leaders. Targeting recent MBA graduates, the program provides experience in general management through a diverse set of working rotations, a robust roadmap of training courses, and numerous opportunities for networking and mentorship with company leaders.

What will you work on?

The LDP has three main categories of rotations: Product Marketing for twelve months, Strategy & Operations for six months, and Sales & Marketing for six months. Within these three categories lie an array of available rotations, affording you the opportunity to explore numerous roles and responsibilities to align your areas of expertise and opportunities for growth to create your own path to success.

In your Product Marketing rotation, you will help guide products through a complete lifecycle. You coordinate or lead multiple functions including design, supply chain, consumer insights, finance, sales, and more as you and your team take products from feature development to market launch to end-of-life transitioning. Depending on the roles and responsibilities of the rotation, a healthy mix of interaction with customers,  leaders at Samsung Electronics Headquarters in Suwon, Korea and multiple levels of stakeholders can be expected.

A couple of our LDPs test out the VR surfboards at Samsung 837.

In your Strategy & Operations (S&O) rotation, you have a broad range of opportunities to choose from. In addition to a more traditional role in strategic planning, there are any number of functional areas that provide critical support towards driving business goals. Paul Guzek, Penn State MBA, served his S&O rotation in Customer Care, an important touchpoint with Samsung customers, where he helped launch a brand new business and leveraged this experience toward his subsequent product marketing rotation with the Mobile device team.

In your Sales & Marketing rotation, you will spend six months supporting one of these respective functional teams within the company. In a marketing role, responsibilities can include consolidating market insights to develop consumer profiles, developing strategic messaging hierarchies, generating marketing briefs and managing relationships with agencies, and collaborating on brand creative projects that are both general and product-specific. More traditional sales rotations center on developing strong relationships with the customer and working in cross-functional teams to achieve sales-driven KPIs.

“This program provides countless opportunities for valuable industry exposure, rapid professional development, and accelerated networking.”

– Roshan Vaidyanathan, Michigan State University MBA

Where will you work?

The majority of the rotations available through the LDP are based at the U.S. Headquarters located in Ridgefield Park, NJ so it is not uncommon for you to begin your first rotation there. However, depending on business needs, headcount availability, and your interest and skills, there are regularly opportunities to pursue rotations in other Samsung offices across the country including Silicon Valley, Seattle, Dallas, and New York City.

Who will you work with?

From day one, LDP candidates hit the ground running with a short orientation followed by immediate integration into their first rotations. Expectations run high as responsibilities, autonomy, and team support are doled out in equal measure. While experiences will vary from rotation to rotation, you will be exposed to all levels of stakeholders, from executives to cross-functional peers, as you proceed through each of the three unique rotation categories.

In addition to the primary rotations, you will participate in numerous networking and training activities. These provide additional touchpoints to meet and learn from leaders throughout the company.

Our Leadership Development Program cohort of 2017 gears up for their first immersive ride on the VR rollercoaster at Samsung 837.

How can you gain the most from this experience?

“You are given the platform to define your career,” said Roshan Vaidyanathan, Michigan State University MBA. “This program provides countless opportunities for valuable industry exposure, rapid professional development, and accelerated networking.” While the program is built around three primary rotations, candidates are encouraged to explore beyond the bounds of their roles. Samsung is a highly dynamic, fast-paced, and adaptive environment. The most successful candidates will be those that take advantage of this fluidity to challenge themselves to bring new ideas and perspectives to the business.

Where will you go from here?

Samsung is a highly regarded brand in the fast-paced tech industry and the LDP gives you the opportunity to challenge your adaptability in this dynamic environment. It allows the most agile candidates to pursue a multi-faceted program, perfect for the development of the next leaders of the company. Hands-on learning through a diverse set of rotations combined with mentorship from both executive sponsors and peer advisors provide an unparalleled path for career development here at Samsung.

About the contributor

Daniel Cahn joined Samsung in 2016 as part of the Leadership Development Program after completing his MBA at Columbia University. He spent the last year in Product Marketing with DAV and is currently serving a six month rotation in Mobile Demand Creation. He also holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland and a M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.