Hanwha Defence Australia appoints Mr Donghyeon Kim as new CEO

Hanwha Defence Australia (HDA) announced today Mr. Donghyeon (DH) Kim as CEO, succeeding Mr. Ben Hudson.

Mr. Kim most recently served as head of Hanwha Aerospace's Land Systems Business Group, which is responsible for Hanwha Aerospace's full land defence portfolio.

Mr. Kim has spent almost 30 years at Hanwha Aerospace, leading its R&D centre, running its production operations, and heading the Land Systems Business Group, where the division grew substantially under his watch.

His experience in research, production, and business growth maps directly onto HDA’s needs. He will be responsible for overseeing program delivery to ensure the continued smooth delivery of both the Huntsman and Redback fleets to th eCommonwealth of Australia.

Mr. Kim will oversee the Hanwha Armoured vehicle Centre of Excellence (H-ACE) in Geelong, continue to build the local supply chain, and accelerate technology transfer to Australia.

Mr. Kim has worked on numerous successful international programs including the K9 for Poland, Romania, Norway, Finland and India.

Mr. Kim brings established relationships across the company's engineering, production, and supply chain functions, giving HDA efficient access to global resources and enabling faster and more responsive coordination between HDA and headquarters, Hanwha Aerospace.

He will focus on building the operational foundations for HDA's long-term growth, with a clear commitment to developing and transitioning to Australian leadership as the company's programs mature and expand.

"We are here to deliver these programs on schedule, build R&D capability and capacity in Australia, and make H-ACE a manufacturing and MRO&U (Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul and Upgrade) centre that the local industry and economy benefit from," Mr. Kim said.

"Australia is well placed to become a defence export base, not simply a customer. My role is to lay the foundation and grow the Australian leadership team that will take this company forward. That is what success looks like for HDA."

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