Eight New AESC APAC and Middle East Council Members Selected

The Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants Also Appoints New Officers & Market Chairs

The Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants (AESC), representing the leading executive search firms worldwide, today announces new 2023 officers and representatives to the AESC Council of Asia Pacific and the Middle East. The Council consists of elected officers and representatives from AESC Member executive search and leadership advisory firms from across Asia Pacific and the Middle East. 

Grace Cheng, incoming Council Chair commented: “I am honored to serve as Council Chair for this dynamic and innovative group of regional AESC member firms. The role of the Council is very important in maintaining AESC’s status as the standard-setting organization for the profession and I am proud to join my colleagues in the leadership of this prestigious association.” 

New Council Members for 2023:  

Agamjeet Dang, New Delhi, India-based CEO and Regional Head, APAC for Executive Access/Panorama, has several decades of experience working closely with large Indian Conglomerates, Financial Institutions & Private Equity to find and place top talent. Prior to becoming CEO in 2022, Agamjeet was the COO and Managing Partner for the BFSI Practice.  

Phillip Guest CA FAICD, Founder and Chief Executive of Pacific Talent Partners headquartered in Sydney Australia.  He supports the CEO Search Practice and the Talent Consulting Practice across Australia and the Asia Pacific Region.  He has direct experience in the Professional Services and the FMCG industry sectors and has experience at a senior level across a variety of industry sectors, providing bespoke and tailored services that reflect the complex nature of business and executive leadership.  

CK Guruprasad, Bangalore, India-based Consultant at Spencer Stuart is a member of the firm’s Technology, Media & Telecommunications and Technology Officer practice and has more than 25 years’ experience assisting clients across multiple industries to achieve technology-driven transformation. 

Stephen L. Irish, Ph.D., Managing Partner at Boyden in Tokyo, Japan has focused on executive search in the healthcare and life sciences sector for the last 20 years, working with multinational organizations with operations in Japan and across APAC. 

Debra Lucas, Partner at Omera Partners in Sydney, Australia, has extensive experience in blue-chip, multinational manufacturing companies and has a deep background in appointing senior leaders within the industrial and real assets markets. She is a key member of the Leadership Development practice and is primarily focused on growing the Omera Partners team. 

Nicola Mirza is an Auckland-based Partner at Johnson Partners and has over 15 years’ executive search experience in board and senior executive level appointments across a variety of both public and private sector organizations. She has a particular interest in financial services and professional services and leads these practice groups for New Zealand. 

Geoff Slade, Melbourne, Australia-based Executive Chairman of TRANSEARCH, boasts more than 55 years’ experience in the industry, working across multiple sectors including commercial and industrial services, consumer and retail, business and professional services, board services, financial services, human resources and industrial. 

Jacinta Whelan, Lead Partner of Watermark Search in Melbourne, Australia, has 25 years’ experience starting and leading Interim businesses in Hong Kong, New York and Australia, and focusing on Interim Executive Appointments in both public and private sectors.  

2023 Council Officers:  

• Grace Cheng, Greater China Country Manager, Russell Reynolds Associates in Beijing, China, will now serve as Chair.  
• Malcom Duncan, Director, The Insight Group in Sydney, Australia, will now serve as Vice Chair.  
• Anissa Low, Managing Director, WittKieffer in Singapore, will continue to serve as Secretary/Treasurer. 
• Louisa Wong, Executive Chairman, Global Sage in Hong Kong, is now the Chair Emeritus.  

2023 Market Chairs and Committee Chairs: 

• Phillip Osborne, Managing Partner, Kincannon & Reed in Sydney, Australia, will continue to serve as the Nominations & Governance Chair.  
• James Lawrence-Brown, James Lawrence-Brown, Partner & Head of Asia, Leathwaite Hong Kong & Singapore, will now serve as Membership Development Chair.  
• Shailja Dutt, Founder & Chairperson, Stellar Search/ECI Group in Delhi India, will continue to serve as Insight & Education Chair.  
• Sean Garvey, Partner, Technology, Digital & CIO Practice, Odgers Berndtson in Sydney, Australia, will now serve as Australia Chair.  
• CK Guruprasad, Consultant, Spencer Stuart in Bangalore, India, will now serve as India Chair.  
• Stephen L. Irish, Ph.D., Managing Partner, Boyden in Tokyo, Japan, will now serve as Japan Chair.  
• Nicola Mirza, Partner, Johnson Partners in Auckland, New Zealand, will now serve as New Zealand Chair.  

Karen Greenbaum, AESC President and CEO, commented: “In addition to the AESC Council’s governance role, members contribute insights that shape AESC and guide our standards and best-practices. Their leadership is invaluable.”    

The Complete 2023 AESC Council of Asia Pacific and the Middle East:  

• Grace Cheng, Russell Reynolds Associates, Chair – Beijing 
• Malcolm Duncan, The Insight Group, Vice Chair – Sydney  
• Anissa Low, WittKieffer, Secretary and Treasurer – Singapore  
• Louisa Wong, Global Sage, Chair Emeritus– Hong Kong  
• Karen Greenbaum, AESC, Ex-officio – New York  
• Sonal Agrawal, AltoPartners / Accord India – Mumbai  
• Aparna Ahuja, Athena Executive Search and Consulting – Delhi  
• Nairouz Bader, The Envision Partnership – Dubai  
• Wai-Leong Chan, Eric Salmon & Partners – Singapore  
• Priya Chetty Rajagopal, Multiversal – Bengaluru  
• Agamjeet Dang, Executive Access/Panorama – New Delhi  
• Rosalind De Sailly, De Sailly Consulting – Sydney  
• Shalija Dutt, Stellar Search, Chair, Insight & Education – Delhi  
• Sean Garvey, Odgers Berndtson, Chair, Australia – Sydney 
• Phillip Guest, Pacific Talent Partners – Sydney 
• CK Guruprasad, Spencer Stuart, Chair, India – Bangalore  
• Cecile Hofer, Amrop Hofer Tan – Singapore  
• Stephen L. Irish, Ph.D., Boyden, Chair, Japan – Tokyo 
• Liz Jones, Fisher Leadership – Melbourne  
• Wassim Karkabi, Stanton Chase, Chair, Middle East – Dubai  
• Jiyeon Kim, Signium – Seoul  
• James Lawrence-Brown, Leathwaite, Chair, Membership & Development – Hong Kong  
• Debra Lucas, Omera Partners – Sydney 
• Stephen McAlinden, Heidrick & Struggles, Chair, Hong Kong 
• Nicola Mirza, Johnson Partners, Chair, New Zealand – Auckland 
• Yen Pin Ng, Sheffield Haworth – Shanghai & Singapore  
• Phillip Osborne, Kincannon & Reed, Chair, Nomination & Governance – Sydney  
• Samantha Robinson, InterSearch Middle East – Dubai  
• Warren Rushbrook, Quinton Anthony – Sydney  
• Geoff Slade, TRANSEARCH – Melbourne 
• K Sudarshan, EMA Partners International – Mumbai  
• Katherine Wang, Fitco-Consulting – Beijing  
• Jacinta Whelan, Watermark Search – Melbourne 
• David Wu, GMPTALENT International – Shanghai   
• Edwin Yeo, Cornerstone International Group, Chair, ASEAN – Singapore  

About AESC  

Since 1959, AESC has set the quality standard for the executive search and leadership advisory profession. AESC Members represent 16,000+ trusted professionals in 1,200+ offices, spanning 70+ countries. AESC Members are recognized leaders of global executive search and leadership advisory solutions. They leverage their access and expertise to place more than 100,000 executives each year in board of directors and C-level positions for the world’s leading organizations of all types and sizes. Dedicated to strengthening leadership worldwide, AESC and its members share a deep commitment to the highest quality standards in executive search and leadership consulting—for the benefit of clients and the profession. We Shape. Connect. Educate. Learn more about us at aesc.org. For AESC’s career service for executive-level candidates, visit bluesteps.com.