Singapore (May 9, 2024) – Global management consultancy Kearney has appointed Shigeru Sekinada as its new region chair for Asia Pacific, effective May 1, 2024. He succeeds Arjun Sethi, who was first appointed in 2020.

Sekinada is responsible for Kearney’s business across the region, working closely with clients to accelerate global expansion. He will also serve as the managing director of Japan.

He will continue to be based in Japan where he spent the past 21 years. A seasoned professional, Sekinada has been with Kearney for more than two decades and has steadily risen through the ranks since he began his career as a business analyst in 2003.

Commenting on the appointment, Bob Willen, managing partner and chairman of Kearney, said, “I am delighted to welcome Shigeru as the next region chair of Asia Pacific. We continue to drive the next era of growth for Kearney, supporting our clients in finding ways to regenerate their businesses. APAC is a richly diverse and rapidly evolving region and serves as a key driver of global economic growth. With Shigeru’s leadership and established relationships with clients in the region, I am confident that he will chart the next pathway of success and help our clients uncover more value.”

Under Sethi’s leadership in the past four years, Kearney’s Asia Pacific business has grown from strength to strength, achieving significant client expansion in markets such as Bangalore, the Philippines, and Thailand. His experience in strategy development and business transformation has helped regional leaders formulate high-value business decisions to overcome organizational challenges during a period of global uncertainty. Under his guidance, Kearney has also ramped up capabilities in key practice areas such as the public sector, financial services, and healthcare to better address the needs of clients.

Building on the growth momentum of Kearney’s Asia Pacific business, Sekinada assumes regional leadership with deep expertise in innovation, marketing, and corporate transformation, which has proven instrumental in the guidance he provides to C-suite executives. He has worked with leading Japanese companies and more than 200 cutting-edge start-ups in a diverse range of industries, including consumer goods, retail, and financial services, among others. In addition, Sekinada has been recognized for establishing and growing Kearney’s digital transformation practice, as well as his work in building an exclusive chief executive officer (CEO) community and a chief strategy officer/chief operating officer (CSO/COO) community in Japan. Both communities serve as platforms for business leaders to exchange knowledge, ideas, and insights related to their areas of expertise.

A firm believer in people-centric leadership, he also takes pride in cultivating a purpose-driven culture and enhancing overall well-being in society. Together with his team, he is committed to helping clients bring positive impact and joy to their customers and the communities they serve through product and service innovation.

“At Kearney, our ikigai, or reason for living, is to achieve essential rightness and I am honored to be taking this spirit forward as we continue to inspire and empower our clients in regenerating and transforming their businesses across Asia Pacific,” says Sekinada. “Driven by a sense of purpose and the Japanese concept of kando, I am excited to drive our business in its next phase of growth through delivering the highest quality of services and expertise to our clients, as well as creating value for our people, society, and planet.”

Amid an evolving global environment, Kearney believes that regeneration is the key for businesses to unlock success. It is an approach for businesses to look at their organization in a way that combines the systems of business with the systems of the world. Kearney was recently ranked second among the top consulting firms to work for in APAC by Vault, the leader in career research, exploration, and discovery for professionals and students, moving up from its third position last year.

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