Korn Ferry Names APAC Head for Transformation and Transaction Practice
February 28, 2018 – Korn Ferry has expanded with the addition of Sharad Vishvanath as APAC regional head for its transformation and transaction (M&A) practice.
Mr. Vishvanath brings to Korn Ferry over 20 years of experience across banking and consulting and has worked in multiple countries. He was previously with AU Small Finance Bank, a start-up bank in India where he ran the digital bank, analytics and HR portfolios. He also led the institution’s first fully digital loan product launch, deploying deep machine learning models across customer, credit and people analytics. In addition, he completed an HR digitization and transformation of the bank.
Prior to AU, Mr. Vishvanath spent close to 15 years at a global consulting firm where he was the regional managing director of Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa, for its strategic advisory practice, which focused on helping clients through mergers and acquisitions and related transactions. He is an industry expert in banking and financial services and has worked with Citibank and HSBC in business and sales roles.
“Sharad is multi-faceted, transformational leader with a 15-year track record of delivering successful projects for his clients,” said Michael Distefano, chief operating officer for Korn Ferry, Asia Pacific. “His experience and expertise in leading mergers and acquisitions will benefit our colleagues and clients throughout Asia Pacific; we are excited to have him on the Korn Ferry team.”
Growth & Expansion
Korn Ferry has seen a wave of growth over the past several months. Here is a sampling from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:
Korn Ferry recently added Jill Wiltfong as its chief marketing officer. She is responsible for global brand and marketing strategy and is based in Los Angeles. Ms. Wiltfong brings to Korn Ferry over 20 years of marketing experience. She joined the firm from DEKRA Insight, where she was most recently SVP and head of business innovation and strategic marketing.
Dan Kaplan, former managing partner and head of the global chief HR officers practice at Heidrick & Struggles, has moved over to Korn Ferry’s CHRO practice. He is based in the firm’s New York office. Mr. Kaplan brings over 20 years of expertise in leadership and organizational consulting. He has advised CEOs, investors, boards and high-profile industry leaders on a wide range of issues.
Korn Ferry named Carlos Martins as president of Hay Group, South America. Mr. Martins joined the firm from global consulting firm Ernst & Young, where he led its people advisory services practice for South America and was also a member of the Brazil executive committee.
Korn Ferry also expanded with the addition of Mark Broer as senior client partner in its global life sciences practice and managing director of pharmaceuticals. He works in both the firm’s Zurich and London offices. He recently joined the firm after previously being with Spencer Stuart.
Korn Ferry also announced several key leadership changes in multiple areas. As the integration of Hay Group is substantially complete, the firm has appointed Mark Arian as this business segment’s new CEO. Mr. Arian was recently recruited from EY, where he served as a managing principal.
May Knight became country managing director for Hay Group. She is based in the company’s Hong Kong office. Ms. Knight brings 25 years of experience from operational and consulting roles in Asia and Europe. She was previously managing director, financial services, Asia Pacific at Accenture.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Will Schatz, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
