Former Chief Technology Officer of Samsung Injong Rhee has joined Google. At Google, Rhee will work as an entrepreneur-in-residence, and will be leading its Internet of Things projects. This would cover devices like the Google Home family, Google Assistant, and Nest which was recently re-absorbed. In his new position, Rhee will report to Diane Greene, who is the Chief Executive of the Cloud Computing Group, a division that sells software and hardware to other businesses.
Rhee had worked with Samsung since 2011, where he was involved in the development of Knox, which is the company’s enterprise security platform, their mobile payment solution Samsung Pay and Bixby, the company’s assistant. He also played an important role in Samsung’s acquisition of American cloud firm Joyent. After being associated with Samsung for more than six years, at the most recent position of CTO Head of Software and Services’ Research and Development, he quit the company last December.
“One of the first things I would like to do with my Google colleagues is to get these efforts coordinated and aligned toward a concerted IoT story of Google, and in the process, create distinct consumer and enterprise product lines,” Rhee wrote in his post.
Rhee stated that he plans to blend Alphabet’s different projects related to the Internet of Things, or IoT, a term that incorporates any device that can access data online. Self-driving cars, home appliances with virtual assistants, and the most recent climate sensors on farms fall under this upcoming category of technology
At Samsung, Rhee was widely respected. He was looked at as a prominent personality, not just because of his long hair but also because of his direct speaking style. Due to his unique expertise in software, Rhee had rapid promotions to key positions since joining the organization.