• by Larissa Faw , December 11, 2015

Korea-based holding company Cheil Worldwide is naming Chief Digital Officer Peter Kim as the new CEO of the Barbarian Group, succeeding Sophie Kelly. 

"After a series of leadership changes at Cheil headquarters, The Barbarian Group's holding company, we have made the decision to transition the CEO role from Sophie Kelly to Peter Kim, ex-Chief Digital Officer at Cheil," says a Cheil Worldwide spokesperson. 

"We greatly appreciate the vision and passion Sophie Kelly brought to the agency during her four fruitful years, and want to take this opportunity to thank her for her hard work in moving the agency forward.  We are confident that this period of transition will be seamless for all parties involved. Under Peter’s direction and expertise, we look forward to a successful 2016.”

Kim joined Chiel in 2014 to serve in a newly created role designed to help Cheil with its digital platforms. Over his career, he has worked at Razorfish, R/GA, and the Dachis Group. 

During the past year, Kim has lived in Korea where he has documented his experiences on his website BeingPeterKim.com. He will relocate to New York City to take on the CEO role.

Executives decline to specify the reasoning behind Kelly's departure. She originally joined the Barbarian Group in 2011 having worked at J. Walter Thompson and StrawberryFrog.