David Steel, a 35-year-old Briton, was recently named to the highest executive post ever held by a foreigner at Samsung Electronics Co. His assignment: to help the conglomerate act more global. One recent winter day at 7 a.m., Mr. Steel sat on a crowded Samsung bus with other employees heading to the chip maker's manufacturing complex outside Seoul. When the last employee walked on, the only empty seat was next to the blond Mr. Steel. The man eyed him nervously, and chose to stand for the hour-long ride. "People feel a certain discomfort sitting next to me, even though we work in the same office," Mr. Steel laments. He says that it isn't because his colleagues are unfriendly, but they fear speaking English improperly. It is likely a taste of what is to come for Mr. Steel, as South Korea's biggest conglomerate seeks to adopt a more worldly posture. Samsung's management was until recently dominated by the founding family and is still filled with career-long employees. Until three years ago, over 90% of its executives had graduated from Korea's prestigious Seoul National University and had been with the company for at least 20 years.
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