Study: 12% of APAC CEO appointments are women

More and more women are stepping into CEO roles, with 8% of global appointments going to females.

In the APAC region, 12% of CEO appointments are female with Australia and New Zealand (15%) remaining at the forefront, leading across the Americas, Europe and Africa, and the APAC region. 

Singapore maintains its previous year's figure, with 13% of appointed CEOs being female. These are the results of Heidrick & Struggles' recent "Route to the top 2023" report. 

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Hong Kong, on the other hand, shows slower growth, falling behind the rest of the APAC markets, with only 8% of appointed females in Hong Kong being females. This, according to the report, highlights the continued work needed to promote gender diversity and foster a more inclusive business environment. 

Meanwhile, Heidrick & Struggles found that there is a strong preference for experienced CEOs with diversified backgrounds. In Australia and New Zealand, 32% of CEOs have cross-sector experience, surpassing the average of surveyed APAC markets (25%).

Additionally, 44% of appointed Australian and New Zealand CEOs have cross-border experience, slightly exceeding the APAC average of 38%.

Singaporean companies mirror this trend, where 47% of appointed CEOs have cross-border experience – the highest among APAC markets and outpacing the global average (34%).

Notably, Hong Kong companies show steady growth in appointing CEOs with comprehensive expertise and experience working across markets compared to the previous year.

According to the report, 28% of appointed Hong Kong CEOs have cross-border experience and 19% have cross-sector experience.

“Our research underlines the growing importance of CEOs who have diverse backgrounds and international exposure, in order to navigate challenges and drive innovation in today’s globalised business landscape, given the volatile environments driven by geopolitical tensions and the evolving ways of working,” said Rodney Ng, principal at Heidrick & Struggles Hong Kong.

“When appointing CEOs, many organisations often look at the candidates’ ability and experience to deal with international matters. Incoming CEOs should be able to understand global complexities and adapt to local context," said Ng. 

“Amidst the dynamic global landscape, our data highlights the continued stability in CEO appointments across the APAC region,” said Jiat-Hui Wu, partner-in-charge at Heidrick & Struggles Singapore.

“Organisations are strategically identifying experienced leaders with diverse backgrounds and cross-border experience, recognising their ability to navigate complexities across multiple geographies and drive innovation across various business lines. The cross-border experience is increasingly important as Singapore companies look to expand beyond their home market.”

Data from the survey also suggests that APAC companies prefer to nurture internal talent.  Hong Kong saw the lowest share of external appointments across the region at 21%, while Singapore had the highest share of internal appointments (77%) compared to the region (65%) and globally (63%).

In tandem, Hong Kong companies are more open to employing CEOs without prior C-suite experience (34%) compared to other APAC markets (21%).

However, Singapore favours more experienced CEOs, with 90% having prior C-suite experience and 83% previously holding the position of a CEO. Companies in Australia and New Zealand reflect this pattern as they have the highest share of CEOs with prior CFO (32%) and COO (28%) experience, surpassing regional averages of 20% and 23% respectively.

Gender diversity in workplaces has also become an increasingly popular corporate buzzword across the APAC region in recent years. 

A recent 2023 survey of over 120 women leaders across Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom (UK) found that a majority (79%) say that having more women as leaders enhances decision-making. This was also said to contribute to policies that reflect diversity and inclusion.

These were the findings of the Women in Governance survey, conducted by global consultancy R3. However, 40% of respondents felt that policies to encourage more women in leadership are falling short.

This was also echoed in R3’s Diversity: From Agency to Ads report in 2021, which found that 55% of senior leadership teams in Southeast Asian agencies identified as men, outweighing the 45% that identified as women.

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