Tony Tyler, Chief Executive Officer, Cathay Pacific

Tony Tyler joined John Swire and Sons in 1977 and moved to Cathay Pacific in 1978. He was appointed to the position of Chief Operating Officer of Cathay Pacific in January 2005 and currently is Chief Executive Officer. Prior to this he was Director Corporate Development of the airline for eight years. Mr Tyler is also a director of Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Ltd; he is Chairman of AHK Air Hong Kong Limited, and a director and Chairman of the Executive Committee of Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Ltd. He is a graduate of Oxford University.

Mark Geary, Managing Director, AsiaNet Consultants Ltd

AsiaNet Consultants is a leading executive search consultancy in the Asia Pacific region with offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou.

Prior to joining AsiaNet, Mark held senior executive positions with major international companies such as Inter Continental Hotels & Resorts, ICI and Inchcape PLC. His extensive experience extends throughout the international arena, particularly in the USA, Europe and Asia Pacific regions. He has lived and worked in UK, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Malaysia. His knowledge of the Asia markets and wide network of international contacts gives him a sound understanding of different cultures, customs and industry sectors.

Mark holds a Degree in Business Administration, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and a Member of the Institute of Directors.

Mark is the founder and Joint President of the International Executive Search Federation.

Joseph Daniel McCool, Author and Consultant on Executive Search best practices

Joseph Daniel McCool is a writer, speaker and independent consultant on executive recruiting best practices, search firm strategy and corporate management succession. He is the author of a forthcoming book on the global executive search business and its impact on organizational performance, culture and profits. He also writes as senior contributing editor for ExecuNet and featured columnist for search-consult Magazine.

Mr. McCool is the former Editor in Chief of Executive Recruiter News (ERN), which has provided insight, analysis, data and opinion on the global executive search consulting business since 1980. During his eight-year tenure in that role, he created and hosted the Executive Search Summit held annually in New York City from 2001 through 2005, and edited the Corporate and International editions of The Directory of Executive Recruiters, widely respected resources for companies and hiring executives wishing to select and engage executive search consultants. He also authored a market research report entitled, Executive Recruiting: Fees, Compensation & Key Operating Benchmarks. Mr. McCool was also a Vice President with ERN’s New Hampshire-based publisher, Kennedy Information Inc., a subsidiary of the Bureau of National Affairs Inc., in Washington, D.C.

He has become the world’s most widely quoted analyst of the global business of executive search consulting and its role in management succession. He has appeared on CNBC, been interviewed on the CNN Radio Network and has been quoted in news stories published in hundreds of newspapers, magazines and newswires worldwide including The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, The Financial Times, Business Week, Reuters, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Globe and Mail of Toronto, Corporate Boardmember Magazine, and Investor’s Business Daily.

Mr. McCool has been a speaker at conferences addressing issues of executive search, management succession, and corporate recruiting best practices around the world and has also written on executive management issues for European CEO Magazine and Healthcare Executive Magazine. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Plymouth State University and a masters’ degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University, a leading Jesuit institution.

Rolf Heeb, President, AIMS International

Rolf Heeb, President of AIMS International, is founder and Managing Director of AIMS International-Germany.

Before founding the company, he held senior key positions with BDO and Arthur Andersen in Germany and the US.

He was previously Managing Director with Baumgartner + Partner, a leading German Management Consulting and Search firm.

Peter Wright, CEO, Peter J. Wright Associates Ltd.

Peter was born in London into a Military family and spent the early part of his life growing up in Asia Pacific. After attending the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1973 and graduating as the winner of the Queen’s Medal for Best Officer Cadet, he was commissioned into the British Army. He served as an Army Officer in various parts of the world between 1974 and 1985. During this time he acquired a History degree from Cambridge University.

In 1985 Peter decided to change careers and enter the business world. He spent 10 years in Unilever during a time of significant change for the company. After initial experience in a manufacturing environment he spent his last three years working in the Unilever Corporate Head Office working on projects such as the establishment of Unilever in China, the formation of Lever Europe and the rapid growth of the Personal Products division in the USA.

Senior HR positions followed in Allied Domecq, Korn/ferry International, where he was part of a team put together to take the company public and Merill Lynch Mercury Asset Management. Peter was appointed to the position of Vice President of human Resources for Estee Lauder International in 2000. Based in New York he was a member of the senior management team responsible for the international growth of the cosmetics giant.

In July 2005 he returned to the UK to take up a role of Vice President Human resources for the 73,000 people who make up the Refining and Marketing Division of BP plc, which he held until June 2007.

In July 2007 he set up Peter J. Wright Associates Ltd. - consultacy specializing in the creation and alignment of HR strategy, business transformation, mergers and acquisitions, talent management and performance measurements with client such as Ernest and Young, Grant Thornton, and BP.

He has been a keen sportsman all his life playing rugby and Cricket at representative level.

He brings a very thought provoking style to the subject and is in the process of writing his first book entitled “Change Management is Dead Long Live Managing Change”.

David Tessmann-Keys, Senior Vice President International Operations, DDI

David Tessmann-Keys is a Senior Vice President at DDI and leads all of its operations outside the Americas (30 international offices in 25 countries) with responsibility for sales, marketing, business development, consulting, operations, and financial performance. He has an extensive background in organizational development consulting and has managed large-scale projects focusing on organizational reengineering, succession management, selection, and leadership/workforce development. David consults with many industries around the world. Some of his clients include AP Moeller-Maersk, BHP, U.S. Navy, Merck, Cisco, Santos Oil and Gas, Boeing, ESG Reinsurance Ltd., Ok Tedi Mining, Coca-Cola, Hastings Deering, and SingTel Optus.

David has delivered speeches in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Shanghai, the Philippines, Germany, U.K., and the U.S. on a broad range of topics. David earned a Bachelor of behavioral science and a Graduate diploma in applied psychology (organizational psychology, social consultancy, counseling psychology) from Griffith University. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a member of the International CEO Forum (a member of Economist Intelligence Unit).

Before joining DDI, David built an eclectic professional background spanning both organizational consulting within private, government and not-for-profit sectors and clinical psychological practice within the correctional and psychiatric arenas.

Arunima Sharma, Head of INX Executive Search

Dedicated to serving the strategic human resource needs of large enterprise clients as well as venture-backed, emerging-growth companies, Arunima Sharma became a part of the INX Global Search in the early beginning of 2006, launched and developed the proprietary Human Capital Valuation System and their highly successful Performance Based Assessment approach in executing search assignments. Widely recognized as a superior methodology to deliver high-value executive services to demanding clients, this process takes the mystery out of accurately assessing skill sets and leadership attributes and is a proven scientific approach to collecting the data necessary to make an informed hiring decision.

Formerly, Arunima was a Senior Consultant with Stanton Chase International, a leading, international executive search firm. As a strategic consultant to clients across multiple industries, she has successfully executed hundreds of senior management search assignments in the verticals like Real Estate, Media & Communication, Financial Institutions, Retailing, Engineering & Manufacturing, hospitality and more, with domestic as well as International brands.

Arunima started her career with a leading hotel called The Oberoi Grand in Kolkatta and then moved to Mumbai where she joined the Telecom giant- Bharti Cellular ltd. From where she moved to the Sales division of Sahara Airlines before moving to HR and Recruitment and joining one of the leading search companies in India, ABC Consultants before moving on to Stanton Chase International, totaling more 8 years in the executive search industry. With senior management experience in mid-cap and large enterprise consumer products, Arunima was behind several brand launches in the Aviation industry, as well as restructuring in the search arena.

Arunima studied Sales & Marketing at Birla Institute in Kolkatta after graduating with honours in Political Sciences.

Peter Haddad, Talent Acquisition Executive, Lenovo

Peter Haddad is Talent Acquisition executive for Lenovo, the world’s third largest personal computer provider. He is responsible for global workforce management programs including executive recruiting, global staffing, university relations and employment policies.

Peter began his career at IBM in 1984 and has held a variety of human resource positions. In 1995 he was named HR leader for the Global Banking, Finance and Securities Industry, which accounted for US$13 billion in revenue. In 1997 he was named Manager of Workforce Diversity Initiatives and following that assignment became HR Manager for the East Fishkill manufacturing and development site, supporting 6,000 employees. In 2001 he was Director of Human Resources and Administration, where he provided human resources and operational support for Corporate Headquarters in Armonk, New York. He also served as the Senior Location Executive for the Westchester geography. He was appointed to Vice President, Personal Systems Group in January 2003, where he was the senior HR leader responsible for divesting IBM’s personal computer division for US$1.75 billion. He is currently a member of Lenovo’s senior human resources team where he contributes to the longer-term HR strategy of Lenovo.

Peter has a bachelor's degree in political science from DePauw University and a master's degree in industrial relations from the University of New Haven.

Francis Tong, General Manager, Human Resources, Hutchison Port Holdings

Francis Tong is currently General Manager at Hutchison Port Holdings, the Container Ports Division of the Hutchison Whampoa Group and the largest privately-owned container port operator in the world. Francis has extensive experience in Human Resources management and has held senior positions, including regional roles, in leading companies in the financial services and fast moving consumer products industries as well as management consultancy. He is a seasoned HR practitioner who is experienced in managing in cross-cultural and multinational environments.

Linda Downs, Head of Resourcing, HK, China and North East Asia Standard Chartered Bank

Standard Chartered PLC is listed on both the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges and is ranked in the top 25 among FTSE-100 companies in market capitalization. Standard Chartered Bank aims to be the world’s best international bank, and employs more than 50,000 people from over 90 nationalities working in 56 countries. As a member of the Business Leadership Team at Standard Chartered and as the Head of Resourcing for North East Asia, Ms. Downs is responsible for developing a talent acquisition strategy and driving employer branding in the region.

Ms. Downs, who has a passion for creating and executing sustainable, cost effective HR initiatives that drive bottom-line business growth, joined Standard Chartered in July 2006. She has a broad portfolio of international HR expertise acquired in senior roles while based in Asia Pacific (HK/PRC, Japan & Australia), Canada and London, England.

Prior to joining Standard Chartered, she was the Head of Organizational Development at a large manufacturing company where she developed and implemented talent management and leadership development strategies.

Ms. Downs holds an MBA in Strategic Management and Organizational Development from the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada, and a BA in English Literature from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. In addition to her academic and work pursuits, Ms. Downs has two small boys and spends the rest of her leisure time reading and getting some exercise.

Nancy Garrison-Jenn, Writer

Nancy Garrison-Jenn has dual American/French nationality and is based in London, after having lived for 8 years in Paris. She has her own consulting firm which has been closely tracking the executive search world for multinational firms for the last 10 years after a 20-year career in international marketing management with Gillette, Revlon, LVMH and Warner Communications.

Mrs. Garrison-Jenn has written 10 authoritative books for the Economist on executive search in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Asia Pacific region. A new book called “Headhunters and how to use them” was published by Profile Books in April 2005. She also wrote a bestselling book called “The Global 200 Executive Recruiters” (Jossey Bass/Wiley) profiling 200 outstanding search consultants around the world.

She has consulted many multinational firms (including AIG, Chanel, Coca-Cola, Diageo, Estée Lauder, Goldman Sachs, KAO, KPMG, LVMH, Philips, Sanofi, United Technologies, Viacom) on the selection of headhunters on a global basis. She lectures MBA students at LBS, INSEAD, IMD, Oxford Said, Cambridge Judge Institute, Columbia, Esade, IE and other leading business schools on networking in the executive search world and runs a networking panel for Harvard/HBS alumni in Europe each year.

Mrs. Garrison-Jenn is a graduate of Yale University School of Management and assists with interviewing for the university in the UK. She is fluent in English, French, Portuguese and is learning Arabic.

Roland Ruiz, Head of Compensation, Hay Group Asia (Singapore)

Roland is the Managing Director, Reward Information Services Asia. In his previous roles within the Hay Group, he has worked with clients across Asia who faces rapid change, impact of new technologies, internal organizational pressures for performance and major role changes.

Roland has 20 years of combined managerial and consulting experience across Asia. He has advised senior executives on reward, work design and executive coaching issues for both large local companies and regional MNCs in the following sectors: banking & financial services, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, chemical and not for profit organisations.

Roland specializes in advising senior executives across the Asia region in the areas of:

• - Reward management
• - Executive coaching
• - Organization and work design
• - Executive Compensation

Prior to joining Hay Group, Roland was a consultant with a Netherlands based consulting firm involved in marketing and strategy development for international firms.

He also previously worked for several years in the Office of the President of the Philippines both as a manager of resources and a provider of advice on management information systems, human resources, public administration and public policy development.

Nirmit Parekh, CEO & Managing Director 3P Consultants Pvt. Ltd. / Chairman of Penrhyn International

Nirmit is one of the pioneers of executive search in India with seventeen years experience. His experience spans across industry sectors which includes large Indian groups, multinational conglomerates and start – up ventures. He has actively worked on cross border searches. He maintains a close working relationship with his clients, bringing a high level of enthusiasm and pride to his partnership with them.

Nirmit’s academic degree covers Engineering, and has been trained in latest methodologies of executive search by D. E. Foster Partners, New York. He has held membership from time to time of prestigious bodies like Senate Member – University of Mumbai; and Member Executive Committee & Chairman (Academic Programme) – Indo American Society. He is also founder member of “Executive Recruiters Association”, a national association of the executive search industry of India.

Nirmit has been elected as Director on the Global Board of Association of Executive Search Consultants (www.aesc.org) for the year 2006. He has also been awarded the Penrhyn Chairman’s Award for outstanding contribution to the Global Network for the year 2005.

Nirmit has been a Principal of Penrhyn International since 2002, when 3P Consultants was nominated as a member firm of Penrhyn International.

He has been nominated as a Chairman of Penrhyn International at the recent Partners' Meeting in Dusseldorf.

Annie Yap, CEO of GMP Search International; President, Singapore Staffing Association, SINGAPORE

A young, dynamic and prominent leader in Singapore’s HR industry, Ms Annie Yap has been instrumental in bringing The GMP Group’s growth over the last 10 years. With her vision to provide the most comprehensive and innovative solutions to the HR world, she has spearheaded improvements in all the specialist divisions within GMP, which is now known as a regional leader in staffing and HR consultancy services.

Her experiences in dealing with foreign ministries, local government agencies and private sectors have made her well versed with both local and foreign employment and recruitment policies.

Selected as President of the Singapore Staffing Association by her peers for two consecutive terms, she aims to lead the staffing industry to greater professionalism and cohesiveness amongst the service providers.

Ms Yap is the winner of the HR Entrepreneur award at the Singapore HR Awards 2005 organised by the Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI). She also won the inaugural Enterprise Award at the Association of Small and Medium-sized Enterprise’s Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2006.

Alice Chan, Vice President Human Resources, The Carlyle Group

Alice Chan is Vice President, Human Resources of The Carlyle Group in Asia.

Ms Chan heads up the HR initiatives in the region and has extensive experience in working with senior management to provide strategic HR solutions including recruitment and retention, career development, performance management and compensation.

Prior to joining Carlyle, Ms Chan was a Vice President, HR Generalist of the Investment Banking Division of Citigroup. Ms Chan also previously worked in Merrill Lynch and the Education Department of NSW in Australia.

Ms Chan earned a B.A. in Human Resources from Hong Kong Open University and studied at LLB, School of Law at Macquarie University, Australia.

Addy Lee, Managing Partner, Amrop Hever CHINA

Addy has been a leader in executive search since 1992, initially with Russell Reynolds & Associates where he headed its Healthcare Practice in the region and set up its Shanghai representative office, and later with Korn/Ferry International as Managing Director of its Industrial Practice for Greater China. Previously he spent over a decade in the corporate chemical & pharmaceutical world with Dow, Merrill Dow, Sanofi and Sandoz - mostly in divisional or general management positions.

His client base spans various industries that include Electronics, Semi-conductor, Automobile & Components, Chemicals & Agro-Sciences, Capital Equipment, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Equipment & Devices. He also has recruited extensively for the Public and Not-for-Profit sectors.

Addy holds a joint-honors degree from Nottingham University in chemistry & pharmacology, and a MBA from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is a Past President of the Hong Kong Association of The Pharmaceutical Industry, and a co-opted member of the HK Consumer Council.

Tana Akson, Principal, Amrop Hever, THAILAND

Tana Akson has had an executive search career spanning over 16 years in Europe and Asia. She lived and worked in the UK for over 35 years but decided to return to her native Thailand five years ago – she is bilingual in Thai and English.

In her role as Principal at Amrop Hever Thailand, Tana works as a generalist on C-level and Director searches, particularly in FMCG, Retail and Manufacturing. Previously, Tana gained significant experience as a consultant in the highly complex finance, banking and investment banking search environment in the UK, where she worked for leading firms, such as Norman Broadbent and Horton. She went on to run her own executive research company, which was the market leader in supporting not only the financial institutions directly, but also the major search firms.

Tana is a past Chairman of the Executive Research Association in Europe and is the current Chairman of the Human Resources Committee for the British Chamber of Commerce in Thailand.

Steven McKinney, President, McKinney Consulting, SOUTH KOREA

Steven B. McKinney is the Founder and President of McKinney Consulting Inc., Korea’s most trusted executive search firm. McKinney Consulting offers a comprehensive range of personalized, professional resource services to a wide cross-section of companies operating in Korea and Asia. Mr. McKinney is a globally established commentator on international management. Prior to McKinney Consulting, Steve had a distinguished career of more than twelve years in senior global management positions within leading athletic companies Adidas, Converse and Reebok.

Steve loves to give back to his host country, and the international business community in Asia, by participating in various organizations in the business community and educational organizations. Over the years he has held leadership roles or participated in The Society For Human Resource Management (SHRM), American Chamber of Commerce-Korea (AMCHAM) Board Member; Korea Foreign Schools Foundation (KFSF) Board Member, Co-Chairman of the Living in Korea Committee (AMCHAM); Co-Chairman of the Education Committee (AMCHAM); International School of Pusan Board Chairman 1991-1994; Placement Council Member, Brigham Young University-Hawaii for Korea; Korea Career Advisor, Goinglobal.com 2002-presently; Consultant, (Employment Advisor) U.S. State Department, Washington D.C. and Korea 2002-2004.

Mr. McKinney is a frequent guest lecturer on hiring and leadership at major universities and other venues. He is also an author of more than fifty articles on various hiring and leadership topics for newspapers, magazines, web sites and McKinney Consulting's monthly newsletter - People. He earned a Bachelors of Arts in Education from Mars Hill College, North Carolina with further MBA studies from the University of Washington.

Roger Marshall, Partner & Managing Director, Ray & Berndtson, JAPAN

Roger Marshall heads up the Tokyo office. An American who has conducted business in Japan since 1975, Roger has built and leads the Ray & Berndtson presence in Japan and specializes in recruiting senior Japanese executives to lead non-Japanese corporate entities, most often American or European companies seeking to establish a Tokyo or Pacific Rim presence. Likewise, he recruits expatriate executives for Asia regional leadership positions.

Based in Ray & Berndtson's Tokyo office, Roger works with American and European companies to develop their management teams in Japan and Asia, build their business potential and formulate human resource strategies. He has exposure to a range of industries, including both expertise and strong experience in the healthcare sector, high technology businesses, and structured finance/funding (VC and PE), among others.

Roger was founder and president of PENN International Associates, a Tokyo-based management consulting and executive search firm. Before establishing PENN, he was Director of KPMG Peat Marwick's executive search operations in Tokyo, with responsibility for building the firm's practice in Japan and Korea. Earlier, he was a founding partner of SGM Associates K.K., a Tokyo-based executive search consultancy. He began his career in various human resoources consulting and management positions with international companies based in Tokyo.

A native of Pennsylvania, Roger is fluent in business and social Japanese. He holds a BA degree in Asian Studies from Sophia University in Tokyo.

Michael Murphy, VP Human Resources, Philip Morris Asia Ltd

Mike Murphy went to work at Philip Morris in the mid 1970’s as a production worker at an Oscar Mayer factory while attending Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. In 1979 he joined the Company full time and over the next ten years held positions at Oscar Mayer and Louis Rich in Operations, Labor Relations and Human Resources. In 1989, he was appointed Director of Human Resources for the All American Gourmet Company, a Kraft Frozen Foods Company, located in California which included facilities throughout the US and Mexico.

In 1993, he transferred to Kraft Jacobs Suchard in Zurich, Switzerland with responsibility for the Human Resources function in various countries including Greece, Turkey and Switzerland. Mike then moved to Hong Kong as Vice President, Human Resources - Kraft Foods Asia Pacific. During this assignment he spent a great deal of time in the People’s Republic of China as well as Southeast Asia helping to build the organization infrastructure in these developing markets.

In February 1997, Mike transferred from Hong Kong to Virginia where he was appointed Vice President, Human Resources for Philip Morris USA Operations. His main responsibilities included the reorganization and consolidation of Manufacturing, Research & Development and Engineering.

Mike then returned to Hong Kong in 1999 as Vice President, Human Resources, Philip Morris Asia Pacific as the region began building country organizations to support emerging Manufacturing and Sales & Distribution capability.

In January 2001 he was appointed Senior Vice President, Human Resources for Philip Morris International with the primary responsibility to relocate the Corporate headquarters from Rye Brook, New York to Lausanne, Switzerland and restructure the European Operations. Following the successful transfer of the U.S. based business to Switzerland, Mike returned to Asia in April 2003 as Vice President Human Resources Philip Morris Asia Limited and Vice President Commissioner HMS Sampoerna supporting the integration of PMI’s largest acquisition with over 80,000 employees as well as supporting the expansion plans for all of Asia Pacific.

Mike received his Bachelor’s Degree from Drake University in 1975 and his Masters Degree from Chapman University in 1992. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions of the National Football League in 1975.

Louisa Wong Rousseau, Group Managing Director, Bó Lè Associates

Louisa Wong Rousseau is the founder and Group Managing Director of Bó Lè Associates, one of Asia’s leading international executive search firms. As one of the most respected search professionals in the industry, she has twenty years of recruiting experience and specializes in senior regional management searches particularly in the sectors financial services and consumer goods.

Since founding Bó Lè Associates in 1996 in China and Hong Kong, she has led the firm’s rapid growth and expansion towards becoming the “Leader in Executive Search in Asia.” Bó Lè Associates now has more than 160 staff in its network of 13 offices across Asia (including 5 inside China: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Suzhou) serving top-tier multinationals and large, local conglomerates based in the region.

Louisa’s strong leadership has made its biggest impact in China. To affirm its leadership position, the firm has been awarded the “China Recruitment Firm of the Year” for two consecutive years at the prestigious “Human Resources Awards” 2000 and 2001 by Asia Law & Practice, a division of Euromoney Publications in the U.K., and nominated the "Hong Kong Recruitment Firm of the Year" in 2000. In the awards, Louisa was also cited for "Outstanding Contribution to HR in China and HK," in recognition of the firm's solid commitment to the development of HR in the region. Bo Le Associates have also received numerous other professional awards and recognitions during the past few year in the regions.

She is a recognized authority on any subject matter related to recruitment, human resources and the China market, and has received exposure in various media and regional publications. Her opinion articles have appeared in several publications including the South China Morning Post and Bó Lè Leaders, the firm’s monthly leadership journal, where she writes a regular column. She regularly grants interviews to journalists from leading publications such as the Asian Wall Street Journal, the South China Morning Post and Time magazine.

She is also a frequent keynote speaker in major forums and conferences throughout the world, including various events hosted by companies, HR organizations, chambers of commerce, top universities and government institutions.

Louisa started her career in executive search after prolific stints in finance and strategic planning, first with J.P. Morgan’s corporate finance division, and later with Alexander’s Department Stores in New York in strategic planning. Prior to founding Bó Lè, she was the Managing Director of Russell Reynolds in Hong Kong and leader of their worldwide consumer products and financial services practices. She was also Chief Representative of Russell Reynolds in China, providing leadership in business development and strategy. She was with Russell Reynolds for more than 10 years.

She holds an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School and a B.S. degree from the University of Toronto.

Vincent Swift, CEO, The Wright Company/TRANSEARCH

Vincent Swift is CEO of The Wright Company/TRANSEARCH, as well as Chairman, Asia-Pacific, for the TRANSEARCH network and a member of its global Board of Directors.

Vincent splits his time between China, out of our offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai, and Southeast Asia, operating out of our South East Asia Headquarters in Bangkok, though frequently visits the TRANSEARCH offices in India, North Asia (Japan, Korea) and Australia. Although the regional development of the TRANSEARCH network is his key responsibility, he remains active in the executive search process handling regional assignments to place senior executives with blue-chip multinationals in the consumer, finance, technology and industrial sectors. For the last 2 years, Vincent has been the elected Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Council of the Association of Executive Search Consultants.

Vincent’s background includes four years as Senior Partner and Asia-Pacific Practice Leader in Hong Kong with Heidrick & Struggles, the world’s premier publicly-listed executive search firm. Prior to entering the search profession, he spent ten years with the advertising agency Leo Burnett, managing several offices in Asia, and starting up Burnett’s mainland China operation. During this period, when for five consecutive years he was the youngest MD in Leo Burnett’s 50-country network, he also ran the advertising accounts for several major consumer and financial services MNCs across the region.

Vincent is British, has lived in Asia for the last twenty-four years, and has worked in every major Asian country. Before moving to Asia, Vincent worked for a further five years in advertising in London and Europe, serving multinational clients with global brands. He is a graduate of Oxford University, having completed both undergraduate and graduate studies in chemistry, and speaks Thai and French.

Nancie Whitehouse, Principal, Whitehouse Advisors

Nancie S. Whitehouse, Principal of Whitehouse Advisors, provides strategic search advisory consulting services to companies redefining their business and requiring exceptional new talent.

She counsels corporations and private equity firms on recruiting and retention processes including:

• - Evaluating current talent management processes; identifying gaps in best practices and providing customized solutions.
• - Developing strategic recruitment plans and high impact recruiting solutions that complement overall business strategy.
• - Counseling functional organization leadership teams on recruitment methods, and staffing process improvement.
• - Providing comprehensive reviews of position profiles and descriptions.
• - Developing/improving an organization’s competence in aligning candidates’ expectations with corporate culture, job content, executive/leadership development and compensation.
• - Managing communication with candidates for targeted executive leadership roles.
• - Assessing, recommending and selecting executive search firms specific to individual leadership requirements.

Before launching Whitehouse Advisors in 2005, Nancie was Director Search Strategies at General Atlantic (formerly General Atlantic Partners), a leading global private equity firm providing capital for growth companies driven by information technology or intellectual property. There she was responsible for driving the assessment, selection and management of executive search firms and search related activities in approximately 60 GA portfolio companies globally. Joining GA in 1997, Nancie also provided assistance in the areas of executive compensation, organizational development, and recruiting and retention strategies.

Prior to joining General Atlantic, Nancie spent eighteen years in the executive search profession, most recently with a boutique search firm specializing in recruiting leaders in the software and services sector. She spent the first fifteen years of her career with Korn/Ferry International, in a series of increasingly responsible positions in recruiting and research, both the New York and Stamford, Connecticut offices.

Nancie received her Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education from the University of Hartford, and currently resides with her husband Tom in Stamford, Connecticut. She Chairs the Board of Directors of the International Association of Corporate and Professional Recruiters (IACPR) and is on the Advisory Board of the Executive Grapevine. She also serves on the Advisory Boards of the Executive Search Information Exchange and the Executive Search Academy.

Cliff Davis, Senior VP Human Resources Asia, Manulife Financial

Cliff Davis is Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Asia, responsible for developing and implementing human resources policies, strategies, plans and programs to support the growth of Manulife’s business throughout Asia.

Mr. Davis has more than 30 years of senior leadership experience in business operation and human resources management. He is a veteran in formulating global human resources policies. With 17 years of international exposure, 13 of which were focused on Asia, Mr. Davis specialises in directing human resources activities such as recruitment, development, assessment of talent, retention, compensation and salary planning, benefits, employee relations, executive coaching, and merger and acquisition activities. Operation experience includes sales, marketing, strategic planning and general management.

Mr. Davis holds an MBA from Washington University, U.S.A. He is currently a member of The Conference Board’s China Human Resources Council and Asia Pacific Human Resources Council; the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong; the Employers’ Federation of Hong Kong; and a Board member of Manulife Life Insurance Company (Japan) and Manulife International Holdings Limited.

Brian Renwick, Managing Director, Boyden Global Executive Search

After commissioned service in the British army in Libya, Brian Renwick began a career in management in by undertaking one of the very first full-time post-graduate programs in human resource management. His career therefore spans almost the entire history of modern day HR management.

Brian served for twelve years in various human resource positions at two major UK corporations in mining and precious metals. In 1975, he joined Aluminium Bahrain in the Arabian Gulf, and moved to Hong Kong at the start of 1981, to become Director of Personnel Services at the Hong Kong Jockey Club. He handed over his post to a local successor in 1986 and joined HSBC as Head of Personnel where he again handed over to a local person on retirement from the bank. In June 1995, he started the human resources consulting company Renwick McCormick Maule & Tam. In September 1998, Aon Consulting Worldwide acquired the company to spearhead its strategic development of HR consulting in the region. Brian was Regional Director of Aon Consulting Asia until he left for personal reasons at the end of 1999. He is now a partner in and Joint Managing Director of Boyden in Hong Kong and China.

Brian has thus served in six major organisations in four countries. He has also spent considerable time in the Philippines working with one of Asia’s largest development projects. He is particularly interested in improving management performance within organisations, and in how to link people strategies with business objectives. He has had extensive top-level recruitment and consulting experience both as practitioner and consultant. His personal industry working experience includes, mining, smelting and metals, construction, leisure and banking. In his twelve years in consulting, he has conducted top-level organisation and management reviews in a wide variety of public and private sector institutions.

Brian is active in the Hong Kong community and has either chaired or sat on a number of educational and advisory bodies. He was Chairman of the Careers Advisory Board of Hong Kong University and was a member of the Standing Committee on Disciplined Services Salaries and Conditions of Service. He is a Vice Chairman of The Employers' Federation of Hong Kong, a Member of the Housing Society and Vice-Chairman of the Manpower Committee of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. He has permanent residence in Hong Kong that – after a lifetime of travel - he regards as home.

Cathe Johnson

Cathe Johnson has over 25 years of broad HR experience – almost half of which is in the Asia Pacific region, in private and public sectors and in union and non-union environments.

Ms. Johnson is the former Global Human Resources Director for Abbott in Pacific, Asia, Japan, Africa and the Middle East. With a staff of about 100 HR employees, her role covered the 26 countries in the region providing country specific HR services for the 10 Abbott business units in the Area. The shared service HR function also includes key Area wide roles for Leaning / Development, Talent Acquisition, and Compensation.

Prior to Abbott, Cathe was Director of Organization Development for Motorola in Asia Pacific and HR Director for Motorola’s Japan organization. She also held several HR leadership positions for Motorola in the US before coming to Asia.

Cathe has lived in Tokyo since 1995. She has also instructed graduate Human Resource courses for Temple University's Tokyo Campus Executive MBA program in Leadership and HR Strategy, and is a frequent speaker on topics related to human resource strategies in Japan and Asia. Cathe's academic work emphasizes business strategy and OD. She has an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management and has completed all her coursework for a Ph.D in Leadership Psychology.