CEOs to Watch Out for East Asia in 2023

To answer the question, “What are the mindsets and practices of excellent CEOs?” we started with the six main elements of the CEO’s job—elements touched on in virtually all literature about the role: setting the strategy, aligning the organization, leading the top team, working with the board, being the face of the organization. 

Focusing on those 18 responsibilities, we conducted extensive research to determine what mindsets and practices distinguish excellent CEOs. We mined our proprietary database on CEO performance, which is the largest of its kind, containing worth of data on 800 CEOs from 500 public organisation across East Asia Pacific countries. We also drew on what we’ve learned from helping hundreds of CEOs to excel, from preparing for the job and transitioning into it, through navigating difficult decisions and moments of truth, to handing their responsibilities over to a successor.

The year 2023 is sure to be an exciting year for the world and East Asia, and there are CEOs to watch out for. The fast-paced and ever-evolving world, the role of a CEO is critical in shaping the success and growth of an organization. East Asia is home to some of the largest and most innovative organizations in the world, and the leaders at the helm of these organisations are equally remarkable.

From driving change and spearheading new initiatives to navigating challenges and making strategic decisions, we take a look at the top  CEOs /Executives based at East Asia in 2023.

1. Winnie Wong Chi Shun 

Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director

Asia Insurance Company Limited

2. Florent Herson

Vice President of Asean

Forvia Faurecia Asean

3. Yip Kam Keung Alex

Chief Executive Officer, Greater China

Lockton Companies (Hong Kong) Limited

4. Dato Mohammad Medan Abdullah

Group Chief Executive Officer

Bintulu Port Holdings Berhad

5. Rolando “Don” Paulino

Managing Director

Shell Philippines Exploration B.v. (Spex)

6. Jeremy Deutsch

President, Asia-pacific

Equinix

7. Lia Lynn Marcos

Vice President for Regional Hr – Apac

Sykes Asia, Inc 

8. Stephen Phillips

Director-General of Investment Promotion, Invest Hong Kong The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

9. Nopadon Wongpakdee

Entrepreneur in Residence, Citi Ventures

10. June Chen

Senior Investment Associate, Monk’s Hill Ventures

11. Sam Tanskul

Managing Director, Krungsri Finnovate

12. Dian Wulandari

Co-Founder, Instellar Indonesia

13. Jirayut Srupsrisopa

Founder and Group CEO, Bitkub Capital Group Holdings Co., Ltd.

14. Santitarn Sathirathai

Group Chief Economist, SEA Group

15. Art Kraiwin

CEO, AHEAD.ASIA

16. Clarence Tan

Board Advisor, OpenExO

17. Parit Wacharasindhu

Chief Executive Officer, StartDee

18. Nattapat Thanesvorakul

Head of Strategy and Investment, RISE

19. Praveen Kumar

CIO,  IFI, FIU HEAD OPERATIONS EAST ASIA

20. Shai Naides

Chief of Staff, UNICEF Office of Global Insight and Policy

CEOs in East Asia are also poised to drive real change. They are building some of Asia’s, and the world’s, most tasked organizations. They are also the next generation of leaders charged with transforming multi-generational,  preparing them for the future. They are spearheading major corporate transformations and governance reforms while redefining why their organizations exist and for whom they should be generating value.