Consulting platform XpertiseNow names CEOs for Asia markets

Consulting and telco industry veterans Chris Harvey and Robert Jones have been appointed as the respective CEOs for Hong Kong and Singapore by management consulting platform XpertiseNow.

As it continues to pursue expansion, management consulting marketplace XpertiseNow has added a number of fresh experts to its platform, including two new CEOs for branches in Asia; former Deloitte global head of financial services Chris Harvey in Hong Kong, and in Singapore telecom industry veteran Robert Jones, the CEO and founder of business advisory Bluefire, which has offices in Singapore and London.

Co-founded by former Deloitte and PwC partner Fraser Ross together with ex-Telstra International CIO Sundi Balu, respectively CEO and CTO, XpertiseNow launched in Singapore early last year, and has since added branches in Australia, Indonesia and Hong Kong, with the US to officially come online early next year.

Chris Harvey

A masters-graduate from the University of Oxford, Harvey brings close to three decades of consulting experience to his new role, including eight years between Capgemini and Capco before later landing at Deloitte, where he would spend a decade and a half and serve as global managing partner for financial services. From there, he became Accenture’s APAC lead for financial services, before taking on the role of regional CEO for Halkin Cross.

Robert Jones

Jones meanwhile comes to his new role with an extensive leadership background in the telecommunications industry in various parts of the world, including most recently as interim vice president of Rakuten Mobile in Singapore and CCO of Netsnapper Technologies in the UK. Prior, he held executive roles at Truphone across Europe, and at Acision in the UK and Malaysia. Since 2015, he has served as the CEO of Bluefire.

“There is no easy way for businesses and specialist consultancies to find each other to collaborate and manage their work together online,” said Ross of the XpertiseNow proposition, while citing a consulting market now estimated to be worth $44 billion in the Asia Pacific alone. “Using our unique business model that bridges a gap in the market, XpertiseNow aims to be a key player in the ongoing disruption of the consulting sector.”

Meanwhile, former KPMG partner and Capgemini vice president Chris McLaren has been tapped to lead the XpertiseNow’s US expansion as country CEO.

Ross: “Being able to attract such high calibre people to help guide the company is a testimony to the opportunity that XpertiseNow represents in a market where businesses are looking for real expertise to help them in their digital transformations. There is a real trend in the market for senior consultants to leave bigger consulting firms so they can do more of what they love – directly advising business leaders.”