Leadership roles across Asia are stretching across markets, functions, and increasingly complex stakeholder environments.
This edition of Asia Leadership Moves brings together eight executives taking on new responsibilities across technology, financial services, infrastructure, consumer business, healthcare, people leadership, and government affairs.
Some are overseeing multiple Asian markets. Others are stepping into roles focused on individual countries, strategic platforms, financial stewardship, talent, or regulatory engagement. Together, these appointments offer a snapshot of how leadership responsibilities are evolving across the region.
Highlights
Sandhya Devanathan
Vice President, Southeast Asia and Australia, OpenAI
Sandhya Devanathan is set to join OpenAI as Vice President for Southeast Asia and Australia, taking on a newly created regional leadership role as the company expands its presence across Asia Pacific.
Based in Singapore, her mandate spans consumer growth, enterprise adoption, partnerships, regulatory engagement, and regional operations.
Sandhya joined OpenAI after more than a decade at Meta, where she held leadership positions across Singapore, Vietnam, India, and Asia Pacific. Prior to that, her earlier career included senior roles at Citi and Standard Chartered.
NIA Insight: The breadth of Sandhya’s mandate is notable. Rather than separating growth, enterprise adoption, partnerships, and stakeholder engagement, OpenAI is placing them within one regional leadership role covering several distinct markets.
Yang Hou
Co-President, Microsoft Asia
Yang Hou has taken on an expanded role as Co-President of Microsoft Asia, with responsibility for the company’s business across ASEAN, Greater China, and India.
Additionally, in announcing the appointment, Hou emphasized staying close to Microsoft’s people and customers while working alongside local leadership across the region.
His expanded mandate brings several major Asian markets under his regional responsibilities.
NIA Insight: Hou’s expanded remit illustrates the scale involved in regional leadership across Asia. Ultimately, the challenge is not simply overseeing more markets, but connecting an Asia-wide mandate with local leadership across markets with very different business environments.
Salman Dar
Head of Government Affairs – Pakistan, Apple
Salman Dar has been appointed Head of Government Affairs – Pakistan at Apple, taking responsibility for the company’s engagement with regulators, policymakers, and key stakeholders in the country.
Salman announced the move on LinkedIn, describing the appointment as the start of a new position with Apple and outlining his responsibility for leading government affairs in Pakistan.
The appointment adds a policy and stakeholder-engagement dimension to this edition’s mix of regional, commercial, financial, and organizational leadership moves.
NIA Insight: For global technology companies operating across Asia, leadership is not limited to products, customers, or commercial growth. Government affairs can play an important role in navigating regulatory environments and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders. Salman’s appointment brings that dimension into focus in Pakistan.
Mostapha Tahiri
President, State Street Alpha
Mostapha Tahiri has been appointed President of State Street Alpha while also taking on the role of Chairman, Asia Pacific and continuing as a member of State Street’s Executive Committee.
State Street Alpha brings together Charles River Development’s front-office technology with State Street’s servicing, markets, and data capabilities.
In his new role, Mostapha will focus on Alpha’s next phase of growth, including deepening client impact, accelerating innovation, and strengthening its market position.
NIA Insight: Mostapha’s appointment is another example of an expanding leadership mandate. His responsibilities now connect the development of a strategic business platform with broader Asia-Pacific leadership, bringing technology, financial services, and regional priorities closer together.
Gustavo De Rosa
Chief Financial Officer, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
Gustavo De Rosa has joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as Chief Financial Officer as the institution enters its second decade.
He will oversee AIIB’s controller and treasury functions and lead financial planning, reporting, and resource management.
Gustavo brings more than three decades of international experience across finance, treasury, risk management, banking operations, and strategic planning. Before joining AIIB, he served as Chief Financial Officer and General Manager of the Finance Department at the Inter-American Development Bank.
NIA Insight: Gustavo brings experience spanning finance, treasury, risk, and strategic planning to a role responsible for AIIB’s financial stewardship. As the institution enters its second decade, that combination of disciplines puts experienced multilateral finance leadership behind its next phase.
Kunal Sharma
Managing Director, India, Sazerac Company
Kunal Sharma has been appointed Managing Director for India at Sazerac Company, taking responsibility for the company’s next phase of growth in this strategic market.
His background spans sales, P&L management, marketing, go-to-market strategy, business development, consumer marketing, business integration, cultural transformation, and commercial leadership across the FMCG sector.
Before joining Sazerac, Kunal served as Senior Director and Head of Sales at Bimbo Bakeries India. He previously spent more than two decades at PepsiCo in roles spanning sales leadership, go-to-market strategy, and country management.
NIA Insight: Kunal’s move shows a different side of the same leadership shift. Instead of a multi-country remit, his mandate puts broad commercial responsibility behind one major market, drawing on experience across sales, go-to-market strategy, marketing, and country leadership.
Ha Vo
Country Head / General Manager, Sandoz Vietnam
Sandoz Vietnam has appointed Ha Vo as Country Head and General Manager, bringing extensive pharmaceutical leadership experience to the role.
She joins Sandoz following more than five years at Organon Vietnam, where she served as Executive Director and Country Lead. During that period, she helped develop the organization from a relatively small representative office into an operation spanning multiple business lines.
Earlier in her career, Vo held senior leadership roles at MSD across Vietnam, Taiwan, and the wider Asia-Pacific region.
NIA Insight: Vo brings both country leadership and wider regional experience into her new role. That combination is particularly relevant to a country-head mandate, where broader organizational priorities ultimately have to work within the realities of an individual market.
Yosephin Ayu
Vice President of People, Amar Bank
Yosephin Ayu has been appointed Vice President of People at Amar Bank, strengthening the bank’s leadership across talent, culture, and organizational development.
Her experience spans human resources, talent management, organizational development, leadership development, and people strategy.
Across previous roles, she has worked in consulting and HR leadership, including positions with ManpowerGroup, PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China, and Collectius.
NIA Insight: Broader mandates are not limited to commercial or regional leadership. Yosephin’s appointment brings talent, culture, and organizational development together under a senior people role, reflecting how workforce capability sits alongside other business priorities as organizations evolve.
Final Thoughts: Leadership Is Stretching Across Markets, Functions and Stakeholders
What connects these eight moves is the range of responsibilities now sitting within senior leadership.
For some, that means overseeing multiple Asian markets. For others, it means leading a business, managing financial resources, developing talent, or engaging with governments and regulators.
The roles are different, but together they show how leadership across Asia increasingly requires executives to connect specialized expertise with wider organizational priorities.
Asia Leadership Moves will continue tracking the people taking on these responsibilities — and what their appointments reveal about how organizations across the region are evolving.
Highlights
Read the Chinese article here.
