Korn Ferry bolsters Asia practice with addition of senior client partners

Human capital firm Korn Ferry has added a number of senior client partners in Asia; Kefei Zou to the firm’s Beijing office, and Seth Peterson, Robert Li and Oliver Read in Hong Kong.

Global human capital and organisational firm Korn Ferry has over the past month bolstered its expertise in Asia with a series of experienced hires to the role of senior client partner. Kefei Zou will join the firm’s Beijing office, while Seth Peterson, Robert Li and Oliver Read have been added in Hong Kong. The two offices are among the more than a dozen the firm operates from in Southeast and East Asia.

Kefei Zou

Kefei Zou crosses to Korn Ferry after a period as a Managing Director of Legatteo Company, a self-founded specialist consulting firm focused on sustainable product development where he was engaged with strategy assignments in the tech and consumer market segments – prominent among Zou’s portfolio together with work in the communications and industrial sectors. Zou’s areas of expertise include process improvement, organizational development, leadership coaching.

With a master’s degree in sustainability leadership from University of Cambridge and an executive MBA from Tsinghua-INSEAD, together with a Bachelor of Science degree, Zou has accrued nearly two decades of experience in the consulting sector, including previous stints with PwC, IBM Global Business Services, A.T. Kearney, and as senior director and partner with EY.

President of Korn Ferry’s Global Technology segment Werner Penk commented; “Kefei is a leader, known for leveraging his vast experience to effectively identify and solve clients’ core business issues. His international perspective, coupled with a focus on sustainable development and execution, will be of great value to our firm and clients. We are pleased to welcome Kefei to the Korn Ferry team.”

Robert Li

Joining the firm’s Hong Kong office after nearly three and a half years as a Career Business Leader with Mercer, where he led a team in the areas of senior executive reward design, strategic remuneration direction setting, and business performance benchmarking and management among others, Robert Li also arrives at Korn Ferry with a wealth of corporate and consulting experience, specialised in executive compensation and Board/Committee advisory.

Previously, Li served with Aon subsidiary McLagan for close to eight years, where he acted as the Head of Asia Pacific, while earlier serving in the HR divisions in compensation management for all of J.P. Morgan, Merrill Lynch, and Citi. Since having earned his MBA in business administration from Andrews University, Li initially started out as a senior compensation analyst with Willis Towers Watson.

“Robert brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to our advisory practice,” said May Knight, President of Korn Ferry Advisory for the Asia Pacific. “His deep experience in addressing client needs will be a strong fit for our firm and the clients we serve. With Robert onboard, we will accelerate our growth in the Advisory business for the Financial Services sector, strengthen our business and continue to bring value to our clients.”

Seth Peterson & Oliver Read

Li will join Seth Peterson and Oliver Read who were added to the Hong Kong senior client partner ranks in recent weeks. Between the pair, they boast over four decades of corporate and consulting experience, including in global executive search functions and across a range of sectors – with Peterson, who is a Mandarin speaker, and Read having been active in Asia since the mid-90s and mid-2000s respectively.

Among a number of local executive roles, Peterson and Read have also both previously served as partners with recruitment firm Heidrick & Struggles in Hong Kong up until this year, Peterson for seven-plus years in its Industrial practice, and Read in Financial Services and as Head of APAC global markets. Peterson holds an Executive MBA from Washington University’s Olin School of Business, while Oliver has a Bachelors (hon.) in Business & Economics.

“Seth and Oliver bring a wealth of consulting and executive search expertise to Korn Ferry that both the firm and our clients will benefit from immensely,” said Jimmy Ho, Korn Ferry Office Managing Director for Hong Kong, on the fresh appointments. Earlier this year, Korn Ferry added Senior Client Partners Audrey Tan and Mary Chua to its offices in Singapore and Malaysia.