DBS names South Korea AI firm's founder Bonghan Cho to board

DBS Group has appointed the chief executive officer (CEO) of a South Korea-based company to its board of directors.

In a Singapore Exchange filing on Tuesday, DBS said that Bonghan Cho will be a non-executive and independent director, and a member of the nominating committee and audit committee.

Dr Cho's appointment to the boards of DBS Group Holdings and DBS Bank will take effect on Thursday.

The 53 year old, who holds a PhD and Master of Science in Computer Science specialising in artificial intelligence (AI) from the University of Southern California, is founder and CEO of Equalkey Corp which he established in 2016.

Equalkey uses AI in mathematics and numbers education.

"Dr Cho's extensive experience in artificial intelligence, emerging technologies and banking will complement and strengthen the overall composition of the DBS boards," DBS said in a separate press statement issued on Tuesday.

Between 2014 and 2015, Dr Cho was executive vice-president and chief innovation officer for Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance. DBS said that he introduced AI and Big Data analysis into the insurance underwriting and claims handling process in that role.

His previous appointments include group deputy CEO and chief information officer of Hana Financial Holdings, and president and CEO of Hana INS.

He led the digital push in those companies in both roles.

Dr Cho has also won the Republic of Korea President award for his contributions to the advancement of the software industry.