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Up the ranks: Asia long-timer Michael Wright to relocate to New York

Michael Wright, presently head of talent acquisition at Grab, is slated to leave Asian shores - for a role with GroupM in New York, its North America headquarters.

At GroupM, he will be taking charge of talent acquisition for North America, effective 5 February 2018. He will focus on optimisation, rather than extreme growth. This would include hiring, employer branding, intake of graduates, diversity and inclusion, recruitment marketing, sourcing, and more.

This will be Wright's second stint with GroupM. Prior to his current assignment with Grab, he was head of talent acquisition APAC for over five years, a role which won him the title of In-House Recruitment Professional of the Year at the Asia Recruitment Awards 2016.

In an exclusive conversation with Human Resources on the sidelines of Recruitment Asia 2017, Singapore, Wright explained his priorities for the upcoming role: "My number one priority would be to ask a lot of questions. I look forward to immersing myself in the country and company culture."

Wright first moved from the UK to Asia in 2007, where was the chief talent officer for Idealpeople International, a technical search and recruitment business that he founded. He has since spent the last six years in Singapore, a tenure which he has great fondness for - the diversity, geography, and food, being on the top of his list.

On that note, Wright shared: "It has been a wild and wonderful ride with amazing learning here - and it is with a heavy heart that I leave Asia."

Photo / Recruitment Asia 2017, Singapore

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