Risk advisory Red Flag Group appoints Robert Agnew to new senior roles

Hong Kong based professional services and risk advisory Red Flag Group has announced long-term local business consulting executive Robert Agnew as its new Managing Director of Corporate Strategy & Development and General Manager for Europe.

Born and based in Hong Kong, the tech-minded integrity and compliance firm Red Flag has since its 2006 launch spread from the tiny but pivotal island to occupy 15 offices across five continents in a little over a decade, including Asian outlets in Shanghai, Penang and Manila and an operational footprint in 194 countries – carrying out complex assignments in problematic integrity & compliance jurisdictions such as Mongolia, Cambodia, Laos.

As the firm continues with its expansion, both in its presence, personnel and product-lines, Red Flag has most recently sought to bolster its executive leadership team, with a number of senior appointments in the past months, including Peter Dyer and Chris Scoggin as the firm’s newly named COO and CFO last year.

Robert Agnew

Scott Lane, Red Flag CEO said, ‘As part of our move into being a business that operates with 19 entities in 15 countries, our growth into broader products, and the development of new entities we have had to invest in a deeper management team to allow us to maintain excellency.” Further strengthening Red Flag’s upper ranks will Robert Agnew, named its new Managing Director of Corporate Strategy & Development and General Manager for Europe.

The twenty-five year business veteran will cross to Red Flag after recent roles as the interim CEO for AFE Solutions, responsible for developing the medium term strategy and integrating the business following the Hong Kong fintech firm’s acquisition by N2N Connect of Malaysia, and as the Partnership Director for Thomson Reuters in Hong Kong, further overseeing a local merger & acquisition assignment for the global organisation. Agnew also serves the Chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.Prior to these roles, and following an earlier Managing Director stint at Thomson Reuters in its Asset Managers and Investors services division for Asia, Agnew served as a Partner at the boutique strategic advisory and investment bank Marlin & Associates of Hong Kong and as a Managing Director and Consultant for Matrix Services – an Asian market research and consulting firm serving companies in the media, technology and financial services sectors seeking to establish or expand into Asia.

Altogether, the Red Flag CEO believes Agnew’s track-record in successful management, strategy and operations in financial technology, media and data will hold him in good stead for the new role. “Compliance is no longer ticking boxes – it is now about making sure that customers, partners, suppliers and employees all work together to protect the integrity of a company and its stakeholders,” Lane said.

He continued, “With this growth of the compliance industry and also the continued development of our technology, consulting and data solutions to large businesses, we recognise that we are in a great position to push the firm even further in our growth trajectory… To take on that large undertaking requires an amazing team, and Rob's expertise in investment banking, acquisitions and strategy planning means that we can grow both organically and through partnerships and investments.”

Responding in turn, Agnew said of the consulting firm; “ I have been blown away with what Red Flag has achieved – they have built a global business and pretty much created an industry from scratch. Every time I look at what they are doing I see enormous potential. I wanted to be a part of the firm not only to reinforce its reputation among its global client base, but to substantially grow its revenue in new markets through partnerships and investments."