The big news of the past 3 months is that we were finally able to celebrate our milestone 20th anniversary in style. Having officially been founded in Japan in February, 2002, we had to bide our time in order to host our commemorative events, but it was worth the wait! We held concurrent events in both Singapore and Tokyo in mid-November, with clients both new and old, some of whom have spanned all three decades of our operation. In Singapore, we were delighted to welcome guest speaker, Jeremy Tong, the youngest Singaporean to have climbed Mt. Everest. He treated the assembled throng of cross-industry executives with key insights into overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges and the overall strength of human endurance. In Tokyo, our event focused on Digital Transformation and featured strong presentations by Jim Weisser (Co-Founder & CEO of SignTime K.K), and Lorne Fetzek (President of Quest Software, Japan and Greater China Region), followed by interesting questions and lively debate amongst the attendees. We created a video link between the two events and with several of the approximately 200 guests from the same companies, we could showcase our connectivity across our client base and even our clients’ customers.
Several industry-focused, CEO roundtables finished off the year. It is great to be hosting in-person events once again; there will be more to follow this year!
Leadership Hiring
Over the last quarter, our APAC teams have made many successful placements throughout the region. Two of the highest profile placements were assignments for a CFO at a global textile manufacturer’s Bangladesh manufacturing facility and a CEO in India for a global textile machinery manufacturer. Another milestone search was successfully completed for an APAC Managing Director at a premium water solutions company.
In Japan, each key industry division completed multiple standout searches. Our Technology practice placed a President at a digital transformation company, as well as a Country Manager into both a backup storage solutions company and a cloud based software firm.
Potentially the most senior placement of the year was conducted by Simon Rose, who introduced a Representative Director and President of a top ten global pharmaceutical companies. Simon also carried out a customized project for three Executive Officers at another top 10 Pharma firm.
Within Manufacturing, the team placed an APAC BD Head for a battery company and a Japan General Manager at a world-leading automation solutions firm.
Similar levels of success were on display within our FMCG and Professional Services teams. Here we saw the placement of a Japan Country Manager at a global food and beverage retail leader, a Head of Japan role at a leading clothing and home furnishings company, and a Sales Director at a leading international health and fitness brand.
Solutions
We have seen continuous mobility in and out of the region, with certain key markets being affected in different ways. In Greater China, we have seen a migration of expatriate leaders which has typically seen more Chinese nationals taking the top spots in those organizations where gaps have appeared. We have been able to support our clients via our tailored coaching and assessment solutions – supported by our partners Kay Group Asia. There has been a trend where companies have stepped away from international mobility and turned towards internal development and localized hiring. We have been delighted to assist our clients in identifying and reorienting the ensuing skills gaps in their leadership teams.
Executive Leadership
We are delighted to have recently added several key leaders to our regional teams. Each are highly experienced and thought leaders at the apex of their industries.
China is the traditional present for a 20th anniversary and we couldn’t have asked for a better gift than Anne Zhang, formerly of Mecuri Uval, who is successfully revamping our Shanghai office. Anne is a prominent figure in the region when it comes to leadership searches, coaching, and assessments.
We welcomed Peony Lim , a well known and highly experienced Consumer and Food & Beverage specialist into our Singapore team and she has provided immediate value to our clients in this key sector
In India, we enhanced our presence with a new office in Bangalore, where we have appointed Pallavi Singh, who has over 15 years of experience and a great track record in the Industrial & Manufacturing verticals.
Our latest senior recruit, David McGee, has joined as Managing Director of our office in Seoul, South Korea. Since establishing the office, David is ramping up the Consulting base quickly and has already started servicing several of our key clients in this market.
What’s next?
2023 will continue to be a year of growth for Boyd & Moore. Stay tuned for announcements related to our new Australia office (Melbourne to start with) and Vietnam (HCMC), which will kick off on March 1st.
