In a significant design appointment, Mauro Porcini has been announced as the chief design officer at Samsung.  

The position, newly created for Porcini, is his third time establishing a chief design officer role at a major company—following 3M and PepsiCo. It’s also the first time that Samsung has hired a foreign design lead.

It’s an aggressive move at a time when Samsung’s business is facing “crisis”-level headwinds. The company just lost its co-CEO Jong-Hee to cardiac arrest. Meanwhile, it’s shed marketshare in semiconductors to competitors, all while China is becoming better and better at building almost everything. And Samsung’s Mexico-based production (which represents a significant part of the business) faces 25% tariffs under the Trump administration. 

On the other hand, when I visited Samsung’s headquarters outside Seoul in late 2023 and met with the design team, I encountered a grounding confidence I’ve never sensed during any U.S. corporate tour, when the team stated simply, “Samsung is a thousand-year company.”

During a time when some companies—including Apple—are investing less in design leadership, Samsung is doubling down on the approach. Porcini has been tasked with an incredible opportunity. He will have his work cut out for him.