President, Asia Pacific
Leadership
Resilience Rising: How APAC Leaders Respond to Trade Shifts
APAC leaders are adapting to an evolving global economic order. We track capital and talent flows to see how resilience makes them ready to respond.
June 02, 2025
Calling All Globally Astute and Adaptable Leaders
The APAC leadership playbook is being rewritten in real time. As tariff turbulence and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty reshapes regional dynamics, leaders aren't hitting pause—they're hitting reset. Business strategies are not slowing down. Nor are executive search decisions, as boards and CEOs take a hard look at their leadership bench.
We asked our region’s leaders where they are seeing talent and capital flow, and how that is shaping organisational strategy and talent decisions.
What we’re seeing is a tale of two regions. While the export-dependent economies of Southeast Asia navigate headwinds, others—like Japan and India—are attracting capital flows. Just as we saw in 2020, there are opportunities in any crisis. And leaders will need to step up to be adaptable, resilient, and investment-ready.
Adapting to Shifting Trade Dynamics
The risk of trade war tension has challenged any sense of complacency in a region that accounted for 60% of the world’s global trade growth in 2024. However, the potential impact is not evenly shared.
While 87% of Vietnam’s GDP depends on exports, it’s a very different story in Japan and India (22%), or Australia (27%).
“Unpredictable tariffs and shifting alliances are disrupting cost structures, supply chains, and planning cycles,” says Monica Agrawal, who leads Korn Ferry’s Board & CEO services in India. She’s seen immediate impact on those businesses heavily weighted to exports. “Purchase orders are paused, plants are temporarily closed, and there are challenges managing fixed costs.”
This is having an investment ripple effect across the more export-oriented economies of Southeast Asia.
“A lot of private equity investment has come to a grinding halt, while they reassess whether the investment thesis still stacks up,” observes Michael Di Cicco, who heads up Korn Ferry’s Global Private Markets and executive search in Singapore.
Establishing New Business Networks
However, interregional networks are emerging—and growing quickly. Organisations are looking at opportunities within the region—Di Cicco is seeing private equity interest in logistics players focused on intra-Asia commerce, from agriculture or semiconductors. Plus, export growth to non-US markets, such as contract manufacturing bound for Europe.
This need to pivot international relationships is elevating the influence of new leadership roles, such as Head of International Trade or VP Global Corporate Affairs. It’s no longer enough to be an order taker, benefiting from global trade trends: leaders will need to be proactive in deepening relationships and setting the trade agenda.
“We need leaders who can operate with global fluency, while retaining a local lens,” says Agrawal. “Our clients are looking for seasoned leaders who can diversify market exposure, and deepen ties with more stable, strategic partners.”
Leadership Readiness: APAC's Talent Reset
There are two themes defining the skills needed right now in APAC: readiness and resilience.
“Foresight, a strategic mindset, and learning agility are the key CEO attributes,” says Korn Ferry APAC President Esther Colwill. “Leaders need to be able to reimagine the economic order they have grown up with.”
Graeme Bricknell heads up Korn Ferry’s executive search practice in Australia & New Zealand. He describes what boards need in a CEO right now as ‘a purple unicorn.’
“We want leaders who have experienced a full economic cycle, but it’s been a long time between downturns in Australia,” Bricknell says. “Plus, the ability to deal with ambiguity, a high learning agility so they can quickly adapt, and the skills to make fast decisions. Coupled with a global perspective, because everything interconnects.”
Korn Ferry research suggests just 14% of leaders have the unique ability to perform and transform simultaneously. However, global volatility might create new opportunities to draw more top talent back to the region.
“The top local talent is no longer looking west by default. They’re seeking roles that offer impact, autonomy, and purpose—right here,” says Agrawal.
Di Cicco says he’s seeing hiring strategies with an eye on costs. “Many organisations are exploring opportunities to relocate mid-level roles or functions from locations like Singapore to lower cost economies like Malaysia.”
He also notes a shift in focus for CFO and financial officer talent towards those who “can rationalise costs, take advantage of interest rate and currency imbalances, and preserve capital for opportunistic acquisition.”
Tracking Capital Movements
Whenever there's volatility, smart capital makes a move. Mispricing creates opportunities to acquire assets or companies, and right now investments are flowing into more stable economies and high-growth markets.
“The capital in Asia is going to India, and it’s going to Japan,” observes Peter Rackowe, who leads Korn Ferry’s Global Financial Markets practice in Japan. “India is a very opportunistic growth market, and financing is very inexpensive in Japan right now, which provides leverage to buy Japanese companies with overseas business potential.”
That capital includes flows from China to Japan. “Chinese private equity firms are opening up offices in Japan, they realise they now need to be global,” he adds.
Australia is another key investment market. “It’s probably the most stable market in the region, and is at the forefront of REIT and asset management, especially real estate and infrastructure.”
At a time of global uncertainty, there is a premium on governance, transparency, and digital maturity. These are priorities for Boards and CEOs ready to make new moves while embedding resilience into their organisational structures.
Building Resilience Into Your DNA
With so much noise in the media and markets, it’s important to remember this is a short moment in time. Companies in APAC have always had to adapt—the idea of acting quickly and moving into new markets is not new. But it will take courage to ride out the current volatility.
People look for guidance and stability during a time of uncertainty—a calm, steady hand, and a clear communicator. In a reactive world, resilience and readiness might be your defining advantage.
Are your leaders resilient and ready? Our executive search teams can find your purple unicorn.
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