Experience

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  Lumileds

  • Penang, Malaysia

  • Global/APAC Vice President Human Resources

    • Apr 2022 - Present
    • Penang, Malaysia

    • Drive HR strategy as a member of the global executive leadership team, providing guidance and decisions on critical workforce planning, talent acquisition, development programs, and cultural transformation initiatives.• Lead development and execution of Lumileds' talent growth roadmap, delivering future-ready talent pipelines to fuel business scale and expansion plans. Established KPI framework tied to talent and leadership bench strength.• Unified and elevated employee experience across 11 countries in the Asia region. Reduced attrition by 45 % YoY through personalized engagement models balancing global consistency and local relevance.• Winner of the acclaimed 2023 Asia HRD Award "Movers and Shakers" category, recognizing breakthrough leaders evolving the HR profession to meet dynamic needs of people and organization.

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  Clarivate

  • Penang, Malaysia

  • Global Vice President and General Manager, Penang Centre of Excellence

    • May 2020 - Mar 2022
    • Penang, Malaysia

    • Directed full startup and establishment of Clarivate's first Center of Excellence in Penang, playing a critical strategic role in aligning execution with corporate vision to build a global talent and delivery hub.• Formulated talent growth strategy and plans resulting in exponential 300 niche headcount hiring within 15 months, achieving 220% accelerated expansion versus 5-year projections. Drastically enhanced hiring velocity by 55%.• Instrumental in driving 97% new hire retention rate and 96% overall retention, the highest globally across Clarivate. Transformed employer brand leading to #1 most searched company for tech talent.• Pioneered operations excellence through process standardization, system integration, and change management across 3 global business canters. Achieved 99.87% accuracy rate and introduced 24/7 multilingual capabilities.• Recognized for breakthrough HR leadership with Excellence in HR award 2021 and Best GBC Startup of the Year. Established "Best Workplace" culture reflected by top rankings across 250 firms. . Enhanced google rating for Penang COE from 3.2 to 4.3 within 6 months.• Appointed Talent Expert Panel member for national digital economy agency MDEC, advising on tech talent strategies and leading premium institution assessments. Partnered with business leaders on talent growth and sustainability. Lead government liaison efforts focusing on government incentives and taxation which resulted in more than MYR 4.0 million savings.

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  IHS Markit

  • United Kingdom
  • Information Services
  • 700 & Above Employee

  • Global Executive Director Human Resources

    • Mar 2016 - May 2020

    • Led optimization of APAC shared services centre with 80% talent migration from high-cost to optimized locations, generating $2.8M savings.• Standardized 82% of workflows within 12 months, driving 30% improvement in response time and 91% customer satisfaction along with 3.4x increase in operational capacity.• Championed inclusion and belonging agenda through establishment of diversity council and introduction of new policies on gender equity and PWD employment.• Led HR shared services team supporting 3000+ employees across functions. Achieved 20% improvement in query resolution rate through Six Sigma-based efficiency enhancements.• Spearheaded system consolidation initiatives, rationalizing 4 legacy platforms. Reduced technology costs and enhanced self-service adoption by 65% through change management and training programs.• Automated 90% of manual workflows within 1 year. Quadrupled capacity for transaction volumes without headcount increase.• Architected APAC recruitment function and university relations, enabling hiring of 3000+ roles annually. Halved average hiring cycle time through data-driven talent strategies.• Drove talent attraction in new markets, reducing hiring lead time by 30%. Partnered with business leaders to map capabilities to growth opportunities and pinpoint critical role gaps.• Served as strategic business partner to business heads across 7 countries, advising on organization design, talent management, and acquisition strategies enabling IHS' rapid APAC expansion plans.

  • Global /APAC Human Resources Director

    • Jul 2014 - Mar 2016

    • Led optimization of APAC shared services centre with 80% talent migration from high-cost to optimized locations, generating $2.8M savings.• Standardized 82% of workflows within 12 months, driving 30% improvement in response time and 91% customer satisfaction along with 3.4x increase in operational capacity.• Championed inclusion and belonging agenda through establishment of diversity council and introduction of new policies on gender equity and PWD employment.• Led HR shared services team supporting 3000+ employees across functions. Achieved 20% improvement in query resolution rate through Six Sigma-based efficiency enhancements.• Spearheaded system consolidation initiatives, rationalizing 4 legacy platforms. Reduced technology costs and enhanced self-service adoption by 65% through change management and training programs.• Automated 90% of manual workflows within 1 year. Quadrupled capacity for transaction volumes without headcount increase.• Architected APAC recruitment function and university relations, enabling hiring of 3000+ roles annually. Halved average hiring cycle time through data-driven talent strategies.• Drove talent attraction in new markets, reducing hiring lead time by 30%. Partnered with business leaders to map capabilities to growth opportunities and pinpoint critical role gaps.• Served as strategic business partner to business heads across 7 countries, advising on organization design, talent management, and acquisition strategies enabling IHS' rapid APAC expansion plans.

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  Dell

  • Regional/Country Human Resources Director

    • Feb 2012 - Jun 2014

    • Developed and executed national and regional HR strategy aligned to business goals across functions. Advised senior leaders on transformational initiatives to maximize human capital.• Established first-ever consistent policy framework and centralized HR delivery model across 10+ sites, enhancing governance while improving experience.• Received the acclaimed “HR Director of the Year” honor for pioneering programs centred on listening to the workforce and catalysing systemic actions that delivered tangible uplift across engagement from MIHRM (Malaysian Institute Human Resources Management)• Cultivated award-winning employee experience through people-first leadership, leading Malaysia operations to be nationally recognized as “Employer of the Year” based on Breadth of programs and maturity of engagement model.• Championed experience diagnostics, persona segmentation, and hyper-local engagement plans realizing 14-point increase in company’s lowest-scoring employee groups, lifting overall engagement from 68% to 82%.• Orchestrated India entity integration during acquisition by managing HR workstreams - payroll transition, policy harmonization, workforce integration.• Adopted robust communications strategy easing assimilation through change management methods and addressing cultural variance.• Liaised legal and business teams advising on local labor regulations compliance during entity merger to avoid business continuity risks. Achieved smooth system cutover and day #1 readiness.

  • Global Human Resources Director (Global CSMB Business Operations and Marketing)

    • Jan 2010 - Feb 2012

    • Partnered with marketing and services heads to structure optimal capabilities for regional coordination, expansion, and new business models.• Redesigned development programs focused on emerging lead generation needs tailored to local markets, focused on retention of top 20% key talents globally.• Deepened focus on critical employee journeys via customer experience principles driving 10 point Net Promoter Score lift over 3 years – a testament to the promise of experience thinking applied to talent programs.

  • Asia HR Director/ Organization Development Strategist

    • Jun 2009 - Dec 2009

    • Advised regional executive team on operating model evolution, organization design, and change management for a major business restructuring.• Delivered reorganization strategies addressing growth markets and priority capabilities with 100% leaders mapped to new positions. Rapidly embedded changes.• Served as strategic advisor and conduit between business heads across 7 South Asian countries and Centres of Excellence driving enterprise programs locally.• Mapped talent supply-demand across countries and functions, providing market intelligence for expansion roadmap and resource planning needs.• Championed consistent system enhancements and process standardization, balancing global integration with regional flexibility. Drove policies addressing regional dynamics.• Designed and delivered regional implementation of global leadership development blueprint, balancing customization with consistency across 13 countries.• Consulted with business heads to diagnose skill adjacencies required for expansion into new capabilities and map development journeys.• Championed APAC diversity & inclusion agenda through inaugural women’s leadership forum as founding member elevating female talent

  • South Asia & ANZ Talent Acquisition Director/ Penang HR Director

    • Apr 2008 - Jun 2009

    • Orchestrated startup of Penang and Cyberjaya, facility including site HR strategy and policies aligned with regional frameworks while contextualizing for local regulations.• Established college recruiting program and influx hiring process to build high-volume technical talent pipelines across functions, enabling aggressive growth plans.• Implemented talent assessment models identifying aptitude and skills adjacencies to optimize workforce mobility during organizational redesign. Upgraded 70% through reskilling programs.• Led talent acquisition process for technology and engineering functions in Malaysia, including role profiling, channel mix optimization, hiring process rigor, and talent pipeline forecasting.• Partnered with talent analytics to build insight-driven recruiting through metrics tracking and correlation analysis of hiring standards with performance.• Managed University Relations team driving pre-placement engagements that became a competitive advantage for strengthening inbound talent funnels.

  • South Asia Human Resources Business Partner Lead

    • May 2004 - Apr 2008

    • Managed full spectrum of HR services including recruiting, compensation, development, and employee relations for Malaysia market.• Revamped leadership training curriculum with focus on coaching and influence skills for matrix management needs of global collaboration model.• Guided HR team development with capability building tied to business partnership and consultative skills. Achieved 50% YOY efficiency gains.

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  Western Digital

  • Human Resources Manager

    • Apr 1994 - May 2004

    • Developed and executed HR strategy and services including staffing, compensation, benefits, relations, and performance management for Malaysia geography.• Partnered with operations leaders on resource planning, capability development, and growth initiatives spanning three facility startups and expansions.• Created robust hiring and on-boarding framework to systematically scale specialist talent acquisition across functions for mass inbound workforce.• Orchestrated hiring and integration of over 5000 employees across 3 manufacturing site launches within 18 months. Established scalable processes adopted for subsequent startups. • Directed localization of leadership development programs addressing cultural nuances while aligning with global frameworks. Achieved 50%+ rise in bench strengths

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  MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

  • District Counselor

    • Apr 1992 - Apr 1994

    • Served as counsellor for upper secondary students across district, providing coaching and mentoring to support academic, career, and personal development.• Designed and delivered curriculum covering study skills, goal setting, self-awareness, and socio-emotional learning – piloting programs later adopted district wide.• Recognized with Excellent Performance award by Ministry of Education for systematic framework enhancing counselling impact and efficacy.