The top HR Influencers in Asia to connect and follow (Updating)

Future of Work Strategist @ihrpsg | Mentor @ntusg Veni | Content creator at adriantan.com.sg

Adrian Tan worked as a serial entrepreneur in the recruitment, career search, and HR consultancy space, in which he received two HR Vendor of the Year awards, the SHRI HR Entrepreneur award and the Global Recruiters Best Marketing award. 

He is also an influencer on HR tech. In fact, with a growing interest in this topic, he started to write about it on his blog and created the first Singapore HR Tech Market Map. After 4 years of content, it led to a marketing role with an Enterprise HR Tech vendor and one of AIHR's top global Work Tech influencers. 

As one of the leading global HR influencers, Adrian Tan interviews founders and operators who enable the Future of Work (check out his podcast). His videos on Future of Work and HR tech are available on YouTube. 

• ✨ Connect with Adrian Tan on LinkedIn. 

• Fermin Diez

Deputy CEO | HR Thought Leader | Board Director | Professional Speaker | University Faculty |  Book Author

Fermin Diez's specialities include strategic HR, compensation (particularly incentives and executive compensation), HR analytics, talent management and development, career planning, global HR, public sector HR practices, and more. He is a certified CCP (WorldatWork), SPHR (SHRM), and IHRP-MP.

Fermin Diez is an HR leader for two large MNCs in Asia-Pacific and Latin America (Freescale Semiconductor and Mercer Human Resource), an Adjunct Professor of Human Resources at SMU, NTU, and SUSS. He has also managed the P&L in several geographical locations and businesses, including advising on the pay for Political Office Holders in Singapore. 

Regarding academics contribution, he co-authored three significant books: 'Human Capital and Global Business Strategy', 'The Remuneration Handbook' and 'Fundamentals of HR Analytics'. 

At present, he serves in the NUH Systems HR Committee, the Board of the Institute of HR Professionals, and an HR influencer at the webinar series: HR Analytics - Embracing Your Data with Confidence.

• ✨ Connect with Fermin Diez on LinkedIn.

• Max Armbruster

CEO at Talkpush  (the leader in recruitment automation)

Max Armbruster is an HR influencer in the aspect of hacks. He happens to be the host of the Recruitment Hackers podcast: Here, he spoke to TA leaders who are changing the industry and constantly looking for that extra edge in the war for talent. Those who would like to come on the podcast and share new best practices with a global community of Talent Acquisition professionals can message him on his LinkedIn page. 

• ✨ Connect with Max Armbruster on LinkedIn. 

• Leon Kwang

Head, Talent Sourcing, APAC | VP, Consulting Services, Asia Pacific | Global Sourcing Strategy & Technology Manager

As an HR influencer in Asia, Leon Kwang assists global organizations to innovate and optimize their Talent Acquisition (TA) function by instituting a data-driven approach to talent acquisition, sourcing, research & recruitment marketing. 

Leon has achieved a lot in his chosen field and functions effectively in different areas. At Philips, one of his core portfolios is to be responsible for curating, classifying and maintaining a list of TA/ HR solutions (TA/ HR Tech Stack). And as the VP of Avature in the Asia Pacific, he provided thought leadership and consulting to help companies fulfil global recruiting aspirations through the development and execution of new concepts/ innovations in recruiting by unshackling traditional barriers.

Leon always works unanimously with his teams to establish a value-driven, practical and balanced approach - guided by business centricity, the courage to adopt creative/ new ways of working, & stamina for operational agility - to deliver impactful business outcomes. 

• ✨ Connect with Leon Kwang on LinkedIn.

• Rachele Focardi

Global Thought-Leader in Multigenerational Workforce Dynamics, Employer Branding, Talent Strategy and The Future of Work

Meet Rachele Focardi, the leading expert on Generational Diversity, #1 bestselling author of “Reframing Generational Stereotypes”, keynote speaker, and storyteller.

Since 2003 Rachele, who has spearheaded the Employer Branding movement globally, has advised hundreds of Fortune 500 companies, Asian organizations, NGOs and Government Agencies and witnessed many become employers-of-choice thanks to the strategies she helped them develop

Rachele is a top HR influencer in Asia committed to making Generational Diversity a key item on organizations’ D&I agenda. She is also available as a speaker to discuss multigenerational workforce strategies and trends, help organizations build cross-generational awareness among employees, run workshops or research projects, or collaborate on something exciting. See Rachele in Action. 

• ✨ Connect with Rachele Focardi on LinkedIn.

• David Guazzarotto

Managing Director the Asia Pacific at Leapgen | Digital HR strategist 

David Guazzarotto is an accomplished keynote speaker, podcast host, and facilitator on HR topics such as Digital HR, employee experience and the Future of Work. He is one of Australia's leading authorities on human resources, talent, and technology. 

He has worked as an HR influencer, consultant, change leader, and thought leader for over 25 years at the intersection of people management and technology. 

With deep expertise in the Australian and Global HR Technology space, David Guazzarotto is sought out for advice and coaching by enterprises to help them assess, align and act on their strategies in the evolving digital world of work. He also is one of the humans behind Humans of HR - a community and podcast series about human resources, digital transformation and the world of work.

• ✨ Connect with David Guazzarotto on LinkedIn.

• Bao Nguyen 

General Manager at Grove HR

Meet Bao Nguyen, the current General Manager of Grove HR - a global SaaS HR company focusing on the employee experience. He has been excellent in different leadership positions. At Grove HR, he did his best to account for the Talent Development strategies, leadership training, and HR technology transformation at the company and the APAC region.

Bao is also a certified ICF coach, with more than 250 hours of 1:1 performance coaching and career coaching. You may want to check out the webinar on ‘how to build a scalable HR and Culture for startups’ where he joined with leaders around Asia to discuss the importance of HR and culture building for startup businesses and how to do it right.

• ✨ Connect with Bao Nguyen on LinkedIn.

• Shawn Tan

HR Director | IHRP-SP | HSK Level 6 | Keynote Speaker

Here is Shawn Tan, a super-efficient Regional Human Resources Leader with strong business acumen and a proven track record of leadership in human capital solutions and change management across various industries. Currently, he is the Head of HR for Under Armour APAC, where he oversees the people function and provides HR leadership in driving business growth. His passion for talent and leadership development, optimizing employee potential, and transforming businesses with credible strategies has won the hearts of the HR department in Asia.

Shawn is also an academic genius, he holds a Bachelor of Business (Hons) from Nanyang Technological University. It doesn’t stop there, he is certified as IHRP Senior Professional by the Institute for Human Resource Professionals and holds HSK - Level 6 certification.

He is an influencer in the aspect of leadership and one of the speakers at the webinar 2021 HR priorities: Shaping the new world of work.

• ✨ Connect with Shawn Tan on LinkedIn.

• Meghan M. Biro

Founder and CEO of TalentCulture | Speaker | Author | HR Tech Evangelist | @MeghanMBiro

Meet the superwoman who is globally recognized Talent Management and HR Tech brand strategist, analyst, digital catalyst, author and speaker. As founder and CEO of TalentCulture and the #WorkTrends Community, she has worked with hundreds of companies, from early-stage ventures to global brands like Microsoft, IBM and Google, helping them recruit and empower stellar talents. 

Meghan has honoured several invitations for many podcasts, radio shows and online forums and has spoken at different global business conferences. She is a regular contributor at Forbes, Huffington Post, and several other media outlets.

Meghan regularly serves on advisory boards for leading HR and technology brands. She was voted one of the Top 100 Social Media Power Influencers in 2015 by StatSocial and Forbes and Top 25 HR Trendsetters by HR Examiner. Are you ready for the future of HR? You can Join her podcast: #WorkTrends. 

• ✨ Connect with Meghan M. Biro on LinkedIn.

• Steve Boese

Co-Chair of the HR Technology Conference with H3 HR Advisors, Inc, Technology Editor and writer for Human Resource Executive Magazine

He is the creator co-host of the weekly HR Happy Hour Show and Podcast (the longest-running and most downloaded podcast about HR, talent management, recruiting and workplace technology).

He was once a Director of Talent Management Product Strategy at Oracle, on the product team building the next generation of Enterprise HCM solutions, Oracle Fusion HCM. Also, he has two decades of experience implementing enterprise technologies for Human Resources in numerous industries and locations. Additionally, he has spoken at many of the industries most important events, including the HR Technology Conference, the Conference Board Senior HR Executive Conference, and the SHRM Annual Conference.

• ✨ Connect with Steve Boese on LinkedIn.

• Peck Kem Low

Chief HR Officer and Advisor, CHRO Office and Workforce Development, Public Service Division, Prime Minister’s Office, MSHRI, IHRP-MP

Peck Kem Low is a seasoned and well-established HR practitioner. As an HR influencer, she tries to bring about valuable insights to the HR community.

Peck is a leader with a proven track record of being strategic while being operationally savvy. She is willing to take tough decisions when driving national and HR agendas and organizational change programs. Industry practitioners thought leaders and business leaders trust and look up to Peck as a coach, partner and mentor of high respect. She is an HR influencer in leadership. 

Moreover, she is one of the speakers at the webinar: 2021 HR priorities: Shaping the new world of work.

• ✨ Connect with Peck Kem Low on LinkedIn.

• Angelina Chua

Vice President (Special Grade), Group Human Resource at ComfortDelgro Group, Yeo's, MSHRI & IHRP-SP. 

Angelina Chua has more than two decades of Human Resources experience managing human resources in the Asia Pacific region, US and Europe. 

Currently, Angelina is the Vice President of Group Human Resource at ComfortDelgro Group and leader of the Industrial Relations Centre of Excellence there. She is also the cluster HRBP Lead of 7 business units within the company.

She joined Yeo's in April 2016 and was subsequently promoted to the position of First Vice President - a global HR role covering Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, China, Cambodia, Europe and the USA.

Before Yeo's, she headed up the Asia Pacific HR, Admin & IT function for Oshkosh Corporation, a Fortune 500 US multinational company.

With a high position come great responsibilities, she was in charge of three functions - Human Resource, Administration & Information Technology. Outstandingly, she scaled up the workforce to support business growth in the Asia Pacific region through strategic talent acquisition.

• ✨ Connect with Angelina Chua on LinkedIn.

• Sam Neo

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  PAC Top 10 HR & Employer Branding Consultant | Global Keynote Speaker | Dadpreneur | Podcast Host | Storyteller

  We have the young and talented dadpreneur, Sam Neo. He is the Vice President and youngest council member of the Singapore Human Resources Institute. Sam is the founder of two startups; People Mentality Inc., one of APAC's top 10 HR and Employer Branding consultancy firms, and Stories of Asia (SOA), an incubator dedicated to inspiring the Asian community through storytelling. 

  Sam is, without doubt, an expert in the HR field as he has taken up several roles in past years as a Talent Manager, Business Partner, Employee Engager, and more. He has also served as a trusted advisor for many top dogs like Samsung, Diageo, Singtel Group, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.  

  We are not the only ones that deem Sam worthy of special recognition; his contributions in the HR community earned him the HR Rising Stars Awards in 2016. 

  ✨ Connect with Sam Neo on Linkedin.