Former Samsung Chief Technical Officer Injong Rhee joined the Korean conglomerate back in 2011 and played a key role in the development of Samsung’s Knox enterprise security platform and its Samsung Pay mobile payments solution. He also played a crucial role on the team that oversaw the development and release of Samsung’s Bixby virtual assistant. It was reported two weeks ago that he had left Samsung due to personal reasons. He has now been hired by Google.
Injong Rhee confirmed through a LinkedIn post earlier today that he has been hired by Google to lead its Internet of Things business. Rhee revealed in his post that he will function as the entrepreneur-in-residence under Diane Greene who is the chief executive of Google’s cloud computing group. This division is responsible for selling software and hardware to other businesses.
Google spokeswoman Jane Hynes also confirmed to Reuters that the company has indeed hired Rhee but didn’t reveal anything about his position and role at Google, only confirming that he has been hired by the cloud computing group.
Rhee is aiming to harmonize the company’s many projects related to the Internet of Things, a catchall phrase used for devices like smart home appliances and sensors that are capable of accessing data online.
“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 — in the process, create distinct consumer and enterprise product lines,” he said.