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Leading the HR function across 12 APAC countries with his team, Rijnen aims to strengthen leadership pipelines and talent diversity across the region, as part of a bigger goal to drive long-term business growth.
Ilja Rijnen has joined GEA Group as its new Vice President, Human Resources, APAC (including China). In his new role, Rijnen leads the HR function across 12 APAC countries of around 3,300 employees.
Alongside a team of regional HR professionals and its HR Operations Hub in Kuala Lumpur, he and the GEA Global HR leadership team will work toensure that regional people and culture initiatives are closely aligned with GEA’s global objectives and the ‘OneHR’ approach.
Sharing the update exclusively with HRO, Rijnen shared that the competition for STEM (science, technology, engineering & mathematics) and digital skills in a fragmented, fast-moving APAC market serves as a challenge.
"Addressing this requires both agility and long-term capability building," he stated.
In that vein, he is excited to unlock diverse, future-ready leaders — particularly women in STEM and next-gen talent in emerging markets — so that APAC continues to be a growth engine for GEA worldwide.
When asked what excites him the most as he settles into his new role, effective 18 August 2025, Rijnen said that GEA’s purpose resonates strongly with him.
"At a time of rapid change in both technology and sustainability, the chance to build an inclusive and high-performing culture across APAC means our people can directly contribute to solutions that matter globally."
His top priority is "to strengthen leadership pipelines and talent diversity across APAC, so that our people strategy directly supports GEA’s purpose of engineering for a better world and underpins sustainable, long-term business growth."
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Photo / Ilja Rijnen's LinkedIn
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