Membership
Boyden Welcomes Healthcare & Life Sciences Expert Stephen Irish as Managing Partner, Japan
Long-term specialist in senior-level recruitment in Japan and Asia/Pacific joins Boyden as head of the Japan office and member of Boyden’s global healthcare & life sciences practice
Boyden, a premier leadership and talent advisory firm with more than 75 offices in over 45 countries, is delighted to welcome Stephen Irish as Managing Partner and head of Boyden Japan. Based in Tokyo, Irish joins Boyden’s global healthcare & life sciences practice, leading senior level searches for clients in Japan and Asia/Pacific, as well as those headquartered outside the region.
Stephen Irish, Managing Partner, Boyden Japan commented,
“Japan is a unique market, and requires specialist knowledge and understanding of the cultural nuances at the individual, organisational and government level. Having worked with Japanese companies throughout my career, I am delighted to bring this experience into a collaborative, international environment with Boyden. For clients, it is particularly beneficial that Boyden has healthcare and life sciences consultants in headquarter locations across Europe and the United States, with deep market expertise and connections.”
Irish was formerly Regional Practice Head, Asia/Pacific, Healthcare & Life Sciences at a global executive search firm, based in Japan, covering Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, India, Thailand and the Philippines. He brings more than 20 years’ experience in executive search with multinational organisations in the pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostics, life science and healthcare consulting sectors. Before executive search, Irish worked in R&D with a leading Japanese food and chemical company. Bi-lingual in English and Japanese, he holds a BA in Psychology and a Ph.D. in Neuropsychology from Texas Christian University.
Boyden has a long history of serving publicly-traded, private and private equity-backed businesses in Japan, particularly in healthcare & life sciences, consumer & retail, industrial, financial services and technology. As globalisation continues, Irish explains, “Clients in Japan today need bi-lingual, bi-cultural and diverse leaders who are mobile and capable of operating in a more international environment. In another shift, the pandemic has introduced more online engagement in a hitherto traditional face-to-face culture. Leadership tenure is still robust, particularly in healthcare and life sciences, so long-term relationships are key, together with an intricate understanding of the motivators and aspirations among this complex talent pool.”
