HR job moves: MRGPA establishes Kuala Lumpur HQ, WeWork appoints SEA General Manager, and more

Further, Fluent Commerce, the global distributed order management platform, has appointed Sydney-based Alex Pusenjak as Global Head of People.  

Here are the major promotions and job moves in the world of HR.

If you’ve been promoted or if you’ve moved to a new company, send us your profile and photo and we will announce your news here – just email aditis@humanresourcesonline.net. 

MRG People Asia (MRGPA) establishes headquarters in Kuala Lumpur and welcomes new Business Director

UK-based recruitment firm MRGPA, which specialises in the real estate and construction sector, has established its new headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, located on the 33^rd floor of Q Sentral. This comes soon after the company successfully renewed the RPO project with Lendlease, as well as has embarked on new projects across Asia and the Middle East.

In parallel, MRGPA has welcomed new Business Director, Christopher Brock to the organisation to lead both new and existing projects within Malaysia and beyond.

Originally from Glasgow, Brock has been leading recruitment teams in Malaysia for the last 10 years, and has gained experience both in consultancy and managing in-house recruitment teams with the likes of Honeywell. He has predominantly worked in engineering, energy and construction industries.

Matthew Evans, Director and Head of International at The Management Recruitment Group, said: "Chris brings a wealth of experience and is well connected across Malaysia. He will work closely with our Managing Director, Olly Piltz, to further our reach, offering first-class service levels and providing solutions to our clients’ problems. MRG are looking to further grow our international coverage in 2021 in order to cover more geographics in Asia and the Americas."

Appointment of NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Chee Hong Tat

The NTUC Central Committee has appointed SMS Chee Hong Tat as Deputy Secretary-General (DSG) of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), effective 15 May 2021. He has also been appointed Group Director of the NTUC Training & Transformation (NTUC T&T) Group.

In addition, the Union of Power & Gas Employees (UPAGE) has appointed him as a cadre member, and the Executive Committee of the United Workers of Electronics & Electrical Industries (UWEEI) has appointed him as Executive Secretary. He will serve as NTUC DSG, with his concurrent appointment as Senior Minister of State for Transport.

This was announced after Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong wrote to NTUC President Mary Liew requesting for NTUC Deputy Secretary-General (DSG) Koh Poh Koon to return to Government full-time.  

DSG Chee is no stranger to the Labour Movement, having received the Distinguished Service Award in this year’s May Day Awards for his strong advocacy for the interests and protection of healthcare and public transport workers. As the former Chief Executive Officer of the Energy Market Authority, he worked closely with the Union of Power and Gas Employees (UPAGE) to upskill the workforce in tandem with industry trends.

During his tenure at the Ministry of Health, there was a close working relationship between the ministry and the Healthcare Services Employees’ Union (HSEU) with frequent engagements with union leaders. He also took on an advisory role to NTUC U SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) in 2018 and worked closely with NTUC to engage SMEs.  

NTUC Secretary-General (SG), Ng Chee Meng, shared: "Now that he [Chee Hong Tat] is in NTUC, we will be able to do more to help our workers gain better wages, welfare and work prospects."

DSG Chee added: "I’m excited to start work, walk the ground and learn from my fellow Union Leaders as we strive to protect and advance workers’ interests and livelihoods."

NTUC outgoing DSG Koh Poh Koon relinquished his Labour Movement positions effective 15 May 2021 to return to Government full-time. Under his leadership, NTUC has set up more than 600 Company Training Committees and helped over 100 businesses to adopt the Operation and Technology Roadmap tool. He has been a strong advocate for the improvement of wages for lower-wage workers through the Progressive Wage Model (PWM).  

NTUC shared: "NTUC records its deep appreciation to DSG Koh Poh Koon for his valuable service and contributions, and wishes him well in his appointments as Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Manpower and Ministry of Health."

As he takes on the additional appointment as SMS in Ministry of Manpower, Minister Koh added: "My work for workers’ interests and training will still continue to be issues that are close to my heart, and I look forward to future opportunities where I’ll be working with my Sisters and Brothers to further strengthen the bonds of our Tripartite partnership."

WeWork appoints new General Manager in Southeast Asia

Flexible space provider, WeWork, has announced the promotion of Sydney-based Balder Tol to General Manager, Australia and Southeast Asia (SEA). In his new role, Tol will oversee WeWork SEA (Singapore, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand), in addition to Australia. He will report to Samit Chopra, Managing Director, International (Strategy and Operations) based in Singapore.

As WeWork’s first Australian hire in 2016, Tol’s member-first approach grew Australia’s membership to over 12,000 members across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. He has also been credited with helping lead the return-to-office and economic recovery strategy for companies in Australia.

Chopra commented on the promotion: "Given the dynamic and diverse nature of SEA, Balder is undoubtedly the best person to lead the region. I am confident and excited to see how he advances SEA and Australia, at a time when our value proposition is stronger than ever." 

Prior to WeWork, Tol was General Manager of Tank Stream Labs and a founding team member of Airbnb Australia. 

Tol also commented: "This role could not have come at a more pivotal time. This year marks my fifth anniversary with WeWork and we are at an inflection point of innovation and growth. I’m grateful for the opportunity to lead the team and redefine the flexible workplace market as cities start to open and organisations start to plan their return-to-office strategies."

Alex Pusenjak joins Fluent Commerce as Global Head of People

Fluent Commerce, the global distributed order management platform for omni-channel retail, has appointed Sydney-based Alex Pusenjak as Global Head of People. In this role, he will be focused on building and rolling out a robust people strategy for the next phase of the company’s growth.

Fluent Commerce is headquartered in Sydney but has growing teams in Europe and North America. The company works with global and regional brands such as Aldo, eBay, and Target. In his most recent role, Pusenjak oversaw the HR function across APAC for Datto, a provider of cloud-based software and security solutions. 

Pusenjak says he is excited about the opportunity to join the Fluent Commerce team during this period of rapid growth: "Our greatest asset is our phenomenal global workforce and I’m looking forward to helping them further establish Fluent as the leading cloud-based order management provider in the Asia Pacific region, as well as our growth markets in EMEA and North America for years to come.”

Pusenjak brings over 10 years of human resources leadership experience to his new role at Fluent Commerce where his focus will be to create a world-class onboarding experience, develop a career model framework across the business, and implement a competitive global benefits programme.

Graham Jackson, CEO, Fluent Commerce, said: "We’ve worked hard to build a great culture here at Fluent Commerce, but now is the time to invest in a people Strategy that includes employee engagement and enablement, career development and diversity equality and inclusion, to support us as we scale. Alex brings an incredible amount of people experience to Fluent Commerce, and his breadth of knowledge and infectious enthusiasm will help guide our growth and enrich our company culture."

Photo / (from L-R) Christopher Brock, MRGPA; DSG Chee Hong Tat, NTUC; Balder Tol, WeWork; Alex Pusenjak, Fluent Commerce [photo provided]