이 기사는 2022년 03월 23일 08:15 thebell 에 표출된 기사입니다.

The nomination committee of Hyundai Card’s board has recommended Douglas Tsai, a 32-year-old Taiwanese fintech expert, to serve as its outside director, according to sources, making an unconventional move in the conservative financial services industry.

The appointment would make Tsai, assistant vice president of Fubon Financial Holding, the first director born in the 1990s on a board of directors in South Korea’s financial services industry.

Douglas Tsai, born in 1990, studied economics at University of Southern California and earned his Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School. He started his financial career as an analyst at a global consulting firm before joining WeSure, the insurance platform of China’s Tencent, as product manager in 2017.

In 2020 Douglas Tsai moved to Fubon Financial Holding as head of fintech and was promoted to an executive role in January this year. Fubon Financial Holding, a Taiwan-based financial holding company whose key subsidiaries include Fubon Life Insurance and Fubon Bank, is led by Richard Tsai, the son of the financial services conglomerate’s founder, Tsai Wan-tsai.

Douglas Tsai is believed to be part of the third generation of the Tsai family. Fubon Group did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the matter. Hyundai Card declined to comment.

The nomination of Douglas Tsai as one of Hyundai Card’s directors follows changes in the company’s ownership structure. In August last year, Fubon Group purchased 20% of Hyundai Card from Affinity Equity Partners as the private equity firm sought to sell its 24% stake in the card company in the wake of a delay in the company’s initial public offering.

Fubon Group, which has long been interested in the South Korean financial services market, is viewed as an ally of Chung Tae-young, vice chairman of Hyundai Card, which is exploring an entry into Taiwan.

The boards of the country’s financial services firms are getting younger and more diverse, with Woori Financial Group and BNK Financial Group each nominating a female lawyer born in the 1980s as a candidate for an outside director.

With his experience in fintech, Douglas Tsai is expected to play a role in advising on Hyundai Card’s digital innovation efforts, especially as the company tries to attract millennials and Generation Z.

“We was looking for a candidate for a new outside director, someone from Fubon which is being involved in the company’s management as a shareholder, and think Douglas Tsai, Fubon Financial Holding's assistant vice president, is a good fit,” a Hyundai Card official said.

“His nomination is based on his performance and experience as a fintech expert at WeSure and Fubon Financial Holding rather than his age.” (Reporting by Eun-sol Lee and Seo-pin Park)