Khai, Wee

Leading Talent Acquisition (TA) team across Southeast Asia (SEA) covering Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Brunei, and Cambodia, with a mandate to bring structure, speed, and strategic alignment into a previously fragmented hiring landscape. When I came in, hiring was happening — but often in silos. Processes differed, ownership wasn’t always clear, and speed could be inconsistent. So, the mission is to align, simplify, and strengthen how we hire across SEA. Key focus areas: ·       Driving regional TA strategy - Partnering with business leaders to move from reactive hiring to proactive workforce planning, especially for senior and critical roles ·       Building one SEA TA function - Standardizing processes, tools (Workday, Avature), and ways of working across markets to improve consistency and scalability ·       Improving speed & quality of hires - Optimizing sourcing channels and agency partnerships to accelerate closures while elevating talent quality ·       Strengthening team accountability - Leading and coaching recruiters across the region with clear ownership of requisitions and focus on end-to-end delivery ·       Enhancing employer brand & pipelines - Driving campus and branding initiatives to build stronger, sustainable talent pipelines across SEA ·       Leveraging data for impact - Using recruitment metrics to generate insights, improve processes, and guide better hiring decisions

• SEA Regional TA Strategy & Excellence: Advised senior leadership and the Head of TA on navigating recruitment complexities across various business entities. • Process Transformation: Led the redesign of the recruitment funnel, utilizing data to track KPIs and resolve bottlenecks for a smoother candidate and hiring manager experience. • Scalable Hiring Mastery: Enhanced mass-hiring capabilities to ensure rapid organizational scaling without compromising the "human touch" in candidate selection. • Capability Building: Empowered the TA team through structured coaching on stakeholder management and high-stakes decision-making.

• Success Profiling: Integrated DDI Success Profile frameworks with deep behavioral interviewing (STAR model) to ensure holistic personality, cultural and leadership fit. Focused on mitigating hiring manager’s 'blind spots' by integrating Success Profile framework. • Strategic Selection: Championed a multi-dimensional selection approach, identifying "hidden" leadership potential using behavioral evidence and the STAR model. • Strategic Talent Acquisition: Designed and executed customized regional search strategies for niche roles, leveraging market intelligence and proactive talent pipelining.

• Data-Driven Succession: Partnered with senior management to transform succession planning into an objective, data-driven process using the DDI Success Profile framework. • Leader Readiness & Development: Managed end-to-end assessments for mid-level leaders and curated personalized learning journeys to bridge competency gaps. • Capability Building: Conducted Competency-Based Interviewing (CBI) training and coaching for hiring managers to enhance regional recruitment effectiveness. • Strategic Growth: Scaled annual revenue from MYR 600K to MYR 3.5M by aligning talent strategy with business growth.

• Regional Market Insights: Led strategic business development across the South East Asia (SEA) region, specializing in senior leadership placements and market mapping. • Methodological Excellence: Translated complex global search methodologies into actionable local strategies to hit rigorous performance KPIs. • Knowledge Leadership: Led specialized sessions on CBI-Competency Based Interviewing and advanced market mapping techniques for the consulting team.

• Business Transformation: Re-engineered the recruitment framework, transitioning the Malaysia office from a boutique setup to a scalable regional model. • SEA Regional Integration: Successfully led post-acquisition transitions, aligning local operations with regional corporate standards. • High-Stakes Advisory: Maintained a portfolio of local & regional clients, providing specialized search and selection for top-tier roles across the South East Asia (SEA) manufacturing, technology, financial (banking & insurance), retail & other sectors. • Multidisciplinary Leadership: Managed a diverse team of recruitment professionals, focusing on cross-border collaboration and the implementation of shared regional KPI.

• Entrepreneurial Leadership: Founded and grew a boutique executive search firm specializing in senior-level placements within the Financial Institutions sector across Southeast Asia. • Team Architecture: Built & managed a high-performing, cross-functional team of 5 comprising of Consultant, Associate, Researcher, and Intern. • Strategic Growth: Oversaw all operational and commercial aspects of the business, leading to a robust talent pipeline and the firm’s successful acquisition by a regional leader Career International, facilitating their regional expansion.

• 360-Degree Consultant: Spearheaded the full recruitment lifecycle, driving both Business Development and Candidate Fulfillment for niche roles within the Financial Institution sector and Finance/Accounting & Sales functional verticals. • Predictive Recruitment Mastery: Leveraged the Harrison Profiling Assessment as a primary predictive tool to align candidate behavioral tendencies with specific role requirements, significantly increasing placement accuracy. • Strategic Growth & Revenue: Consistently exceeded quarterly targets, achieving MYR 100K for 4 consecutive quarters by expanding the firm’s client portfolio and delivering high-quality talent matches. • Team Leadership: Built and managed a specialized recruitment desk, mentoring junior staff on market mapping and the application of assessment data in the selection process.

• Spearheaded campus recruitment programs by recruiting unemployed fresh graduates, reskilling them through Industry Skill Focus Certification Program (MCSE & CEH) and provide job attachments with industry leaders including Dell & Intel. • Execute the Malaysian national strategy in reducing graduate unemployment rates through government-funded re-skilling initiatives. • Established strategic partnerships with top companies (Dell, Intel) for industrial attachments, enhancing program value.

• Recruited, trained, and developed a high-performing team of insurance agents & personal financial advisors ensuring the achievement of agency force sales goals. • Managed team sales targets, driving revenue growth through recruitment of life and general insurance agents for the agency force. • Implemented agency recruitment strategies and developed training programs to increase agent productivity and improve overall sales performance.