Asia’s industries in 2024 are riding the waves of transformation, with new leaders setting new standards in the companies they have been appointed to. These leaders continue to drive Asia’s industrial revolution, left by their predecessors, using their years’ worth of industry experience in their respective ventures. Without further ado, here are the new faces leading the industries’ businesses in Asia this year.
L’Oréal Travel Retail Asia Pacific Announces Leadership Transition
With the stepping down of Tao Zhang, the Managing Director of L'Oréal Travel Retail Asia Pacific, the company has roped in Jesus Abia for the role, who will go into effect from July 1st this year.
Jesus Abia shares a journey of 14 years with L'Oréal 14 years ago in Spain. Having led various leading roles like Marketing Director for Asia Pacific and Area Manager for Travel Retail in the Americas, Abia comes to the new role with vast leadership experience. He is also known for managing prominent brands like Prada, Mugler, Valentino, and Viktor & Rolf in his capacity as General Manager for Luxe couture labels in Europe.
Tao Zhang is said to be being handed the reins of a new crucial role in the organization. Zhang has also worked extensively with L'Oréal since the 2000s, when she moved from China. She climbed the ladder, fulfilling responsibilities across a number of prestigious positions, such as those at YSL Beauty in Paris and Lancôme in China, before moving to the Travel Retail business in 2016.
Hilton Strengthens Asia Pacific Leadership With Two Appointments
To bring more power to its APAC development, Hilton brought in two leaders, Maria Ariizumi as vice president of development for the Southeast Asian region and Nong Xia as president of development for the Greater China region.
Maria Ariizumi brings her wealth of knowledge to the new role, having worked across Swire Hotels, Galaxy Entertainment Group, Marriott International, and Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting.
With that, the company has bestowed upon overseeing its vigorous expansion activities to Maria Ariizumi in the Southeast Asia region.
In three years, the company aims to add more growth to its portfolio by placing its trust in its leadership.
Nong Xia was chosen to lead its ambitious development strategy in the Greater China region. Nong Xia is also an individual with strong business acumen, which he developed over the years from his time with H World Group, Starwood, Hyatt, and Groupe Pierre Vacances et Center Parcs. As a native Chinese himself, Nong Xia knows his way around the industry and will leverage his market expertise into cementing Hilton's growth in Greater China.
Vero Enters the Year with Two New Leaders to Carry Out its Strategic Plans and Objectives
Communications consultancy firm Vero marked a solid entry into 2024 with two new leaders to drive its strategic plans and objectives.
On the Managing Director front, Vero chose Nicole Briones for the Philippines region, who has contributed to developing a business of her high caliber since 2021. She has led a team of 15 communication experts while championing campaigns for major clients such as UNICEF, the Danish Dairy Board, and Prime. She is expected to continue brewing more power into leading and guiding the team in her latest role. She is also expected to build an even stronger agency footprint in the country and continually maintain good partnership growth with clients.
In the company’s Thailand wing, Supreeyaporn Sihawong also started her journey in Vero in 2021 as the People & Culture Manager. Now, she has been elevated to a regional position as the Vice President for the Human Resources side, who will head the HR initiatives, promote progressive HR strategies, and create strong programs for employee recruitment, retention, and professional development. She already has a track record of successfully advancing the agency's growth in Thailand.
DHL Express Fortifies Asia Pacific Leadership Team With Key Appointment Changes
Globally renowned provider of international express services, DHL Express, appointed a number of leaders to solidify each office in the APAC region, namely Yung C Ooi as Asia Pacific’s Senior Vice President for Commercial, Andy Chiang as Managing Director for DHL Express Hong Kong & Macau, Ji Hun (Michael) Han as Managing Director for DHL Express Korea and Chee Choong was elected as Managing Director to succeed DHL Express Taiwan.
Yung C. Ooi will oversee DHL Express Asia Pacific's new Commercial Division
Yung has worked across the sales management and brand marketing communications operations. His leadership has been one that leans towards a yield-focused growth which proved helpful in achieving solid revenue and EBIT results. In light of these efforts, the company chose to pass on the responsibilities of spearheading its commercial strategy and to seize business growth opportunities to Yung in the dynamic Asia Pacific region. Yung is also expected to elevate the customer experience further by deploying data analytics aimed at greatly positioning DHL Express’ standing as the region’s market leader.
Andy Chiang will oversee DHL Express Hong Kong & Macau
DHL Express again brought in a seasoned leader, Andy Chiang, for its Hong Kong and Macau region in the Managing Director role. With three decades of experience, Andy has held various country and regional finance roles, the latest one being that of the Head of Global Strategic Finance. He possesses a deep-rooted background in finance and experience with the Greater China region; he will continue building the company’s legacy reliability and adaptability in Hong Kong & Macau.
Michael Ji Hun Han assumes leadership of DHL Express Korea
A seasoned sales & marketing professional with experience in general management in the retail and pharmaceutical industries, Ji Hun (Michael) Became the Managing Director for the company’s South Korean wing. Previously, he held the role of Vice President, Commercial DHL Express Korea.
The head of DHL Express Taiwan is Chee Choong Ng.
Known as a logistics veteran and people leader, Chee Choong Ng will now function as the new head of DHL Express Taiwan. He will continue expanding the company’s presence in the region and will strengthen customer relationships as well. His experience stretches more than 20 years of holding various operational roles. He has been a navigator who led his team through the hurdles, especially the 2019 street protest and the COVID-19 pandemic, ever since he was assigned as the Managing Director of DHL Express Hong Kong & Macau in 2020.
Commvault expands its leadership in APAC by adding two new senior hires
Provider of data protection and cyber resilience solutions for hybrid organizations, Commvault added two significant senior hires to its APAC executive team, Michel Borst as Area Vice President for Asia and Joanne Dean as Area Vice President for Channels and Alliances, APAC.
As a veteran of digital transformation and innovation, Michael is expected to lead the Singapore region. He is expeted to directly work with customers and partners seeking industry-leading cyber resilience solutions that secure, protect, and rapidly recover data in the event of a cyber event. Michael’s experience expands over three decades into software, consulting, and hands-on delivery in APAC across a variety of technologies.
As for Joanne Dean, she will be relied upon to lead the region’s channel strategy, which she is expected to do by working in tandem with Commvault's partner ecosystem to jointly deliver cyber resilience for the hybrid world. Joanne has worked within partner ecosystems and is a strong channel advocate holding two decades of experience.
In their new roles, Michael and Joanne will utilize the Commvault Cloud platform to draw out advanced capabilities to ensure the maintenance of resilience among customers and partners. These executives have an excellent track record in technology, a strong desire to support clients in achieving their goals, and a deep comprehension of how Commvault Cloud contributes to cyber resilience.