Canopus Advisors

HR leader in a fast-growing venture capital environment, directly supporting the Founding Managing Director and providing HR leadership to tech founders and executives of key portfolio companies. Developed and implemented agile and scalable HR frameworks to support rapid growth and strategic priorities.

-Head of People at Canopus Advisors (Venture Capital & Advisory)
-Head of People at Antares Ventures (Venture Capital and Fund Management)
-Fractional Head of People at Hydroleap (Wastewater Treatment start up)
-Fractional Head of People at Ackcio (Industrial IoT start up)
-HR Advisory at various other start ups

Organizational Scale up
-Drove 300% headcount increase over 12 months through talent acquisition strategies, aligning with Canopus’s and portfolio companies' expansion goals.
-Spearheaded executive search and strategic hires, reducing external recruitment costs close to $1mil per annum.

Strategic Workforce Planning and Organization Design
-Developed comprehensive workforce planning, including budget forecasting, headcount strategy, and HR roadmap creation.
-Led reorganization projects to enhance business outcomes

Talent Management
-Designed and launched an appraisal system incorporating SMART goals to enhance employee performance and identify high-potential talent.
-Led implementation of OKRs to increase organizational alignment and readiness.
-Creation of career ladder for effective succession planning and internal mobility.

Leadership Development
-Instituted a leadership identification program, focused on developing high-potentials, boosting engagement and retention among emerging leaders.
-Coach current and emerging people leaders on effective team management and delegation.

Cultural Change
-Led the core values workshop and implementation career ladder initiatives to foster a cohesive culture and ensure the team’s competencies aligned with organizational needs.

Head of People | APAC

Ackcio

This is a HR leadership role in a technology company where I work with C-suite and senior leaders on our global people strategies. 

-Leadership Development
-Talent Acquisition & Attraction
-Compensation & Rewards
-Performance Management
-People Experience and Engagement
-Policies

Key Achievements
-Achieved Great Place to Work certification
-Lead global headcount growth by 130%
-Reduced recruitment agency spend to $0 in 4 months
-Automated recurring reporting and operations with zero cost solutions

Head of People and Culture | Global

Livspace

This is a business partner cum generalist role in a high growth, tech start up environment where I act as a trusted partner in attracting, developing, motivating and retaining the best talent.

HR Business partner
-Consulting and coaching senior leaders on people related matters and HR trends  
-Identifying people challenges and proposing solutions using data and insights
-Building up Talent Acquisition and HR Ops team
-Grew company headcount by 70% through mid 2020
-Setting up policies and HR initiatives in line with company strategies

HR Generalist
-High touch, end to end employee life cycle from attraction to separation.
-Using automation and cost efficient solutions to quickly scale HR processes efficiently

Senior Human Resources Partner | Singapore

Schneider Electric

I provide HR services to 600 employees across three entities on HR enquiries, onboarding, benefits admin, exit, work pass, payroll, records/data-keeping in Singapore. My scope covers from mid to senior management employees. I also double up as a remote support and lead for the HR services team in Malaysia.

Awards
Five-time recognition award winner for continuous improvement and best in class business partnering

Process improvement
-Achieve 62% reduction on time to resolve for Malaysia HR enquiry system using data analysis, coaching and implementing solution while maintaining employee satisfaction rate
-Propose zero cost employer letter automation process by working with IT team
-Co-lead with HR services director to streamline PO payment process, identifying bottlenecks, setting up escalation channels and rolling out of solution
-Propose change for simplification of employee data which lead to elimination of hard copy P-file
-Propose use of macro recording for automating report preparation
-Design and propose red carpet onboarding process for executive-level hires due to business need
-Involve in UAT for new HR technology and provide advice for better coordination across teams

Business partnering
-Maintain 100% compliance on work pass admin while meeting business goals by educating and proposing solutions to business
-Creative use of report and available technology to meet high-pressure business need 
-Seek information from internal and external teams and advise novel solution to business to secure high profile employee's transfer to Singapore
-Partner and advisor to HR council on policy reviews to balance company and employee interest

Customer focus
-Made one-page benefits for new hires, interns and re-employed employees for clarity 
-Propose change to align requirements for pre-employment and work pass medical check-up requirement so foreign workers only need to visit the clinic once

Senior Human Resources Specialist

I support the Singapore Aviation business (2000+ employees) in HR matters. This is a customer-facing role as I act as the first point of contact for all HR related matters such as onboarding, work pass, payroll, enquiries, data updates, employee grievances and offboarding.

Awards
Three-time recognition award winner for operation excellence and outstanding business partnering

Process Improvement
-Propose change for long-standing problematic final salary process, resulting in 50% improvement for on-time payments in 1 month
-Eliminate redundant layers in between processes and successfully reduced turnaround time for the work permit renewals (100% on-time renewals)
-Lead project to achieve the only business to maintain 100% p-file and employee data completion rate
-Eliminate non-essential legacy onboarding forms to improve onboarding experience

Business partnering
-Analyze and present findings to HR leaders for confidential investigation and manpower planning
-Work with HR business leader on work pass quota and strategize onboarding efforts
-Communicate changes from HR Operation Global Hub to business leaders in a "what this means for you" format

HR Operations Specialist

I manage the wing to wing recruitment process for all internal roles across ASEAN including contractor conversions. Utilizing my in-depth knowledge of systems and processes, I provide expert support to hiring managers and HR managers throughout the entire internal recruitment cycle.

I ensure that the Business' hiring needs are met while managing over 50 roles by doing job launches with the hiring managers and regular catch up with the HRMs. Besides screening and shortlisting eligible candidates to the hiring team and issuing offers, I work closely with the onboarding team to ensure that the incumbent are onboarded on time.

Talent Acquisition Specialist

I lead the APAC recruitment operations with 3 recruitment coordinators reporting to me remotely. Besides managing recruitment operations, I act as the process consultant/ systems expert by providing on-time advice and planning for training if a need is identified.

Awards
Four-time recognition award winner for global/regional projects, continuous improvement and outstanding business partnering

Process Improvement
-Implement shared mailbox and online tracker to improve coordination between TA coordinators and elevate customer experience
-Coach and share learning opportunities between TA coordinators on operational and improvement areas
-Deep dive into TA metrics and translate into action items for TA managers and recruiters

Global Projects
-Lead transition of background check function to China team, leading to improvement in turnaround and quality. Appointed as an advisor for ANZ and Korean function transition team due to high level of success
-Work across global TA teams on recruitment best practice infographics guide
-Took part in selection assessment implementation for director and above hirings 

Employment Branding
-ASEAN lead for employment branding on Linkedin group (10,000+ members) 
-Align efforts across teams (business, admin, facilities, HR and TA) to ensure positive candidate experience

Talent Acquisition Specialist - Operations & Excellence

My main responsibilities as a coordinator is working with Hiring Managers and candidates to set up interviews and booking of rooms or video conferencing facilities if required. 

Awards
Pay adjustment of 10% within the first month of joining due to high level of performance

Customer Focus
-Coordinator in highest demand from recruiters across ASEAN due to excellent communication skill, eye for detail and quick actions
-Personal insistence on action within 24 hours for all interview requests (SLA is 48 hours)
-Discretionary effort to work outside office hours to ensure high-quality interviewer and candidate experience

Regional Focus
-Scope expands to cover ANZ due to good reputation
-Share learnings across TA teams for improvement considerations

Global/Regional Project
-Collate multiple TA policies and guides from multiple sources into single folder in intranet
-Work on introduction deck for recruiter use to meet with new hiring managers

Talent Recruitment Coordinator

Asian Detours Pte Ltd

HR & Training Coordinator

Over a decade of diverse experience across venture capital, tech startups, and MNCs, I excel in transforming organizations through talent development, culture building, and operational excellence. I have a proven track record of scaling companies, designing and implementing strategic HR initiatives, and serving as a trusted advisor to C-suite executives across industries and geographies.

My specialization is in:
-Talent Acquisition
-Culture Transformation
-Talent Management
-People Operations

I hold an IHRP Senior Professional (IHRP-SP) certification and a Master’s in I/O Psychology and HRM, enabling me to bridge the gap between data-driven insights and people-centric strategies. I am passionate about creating high-performance cultures, developing leaders, and building agile, scalable HR frameworks that align with business goals.

I am seeking to leverage my broad and deep HR expertise to take on a Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) of Chief People Officer (CPO) role, where I can continue to shape and influence business strategies through people excellence.

Taplio

Desmond Koh, IHRP-SP's Linkedin Analytics

Want to drive more opportunities from LinkedIn?

Taplio

.css-1jgreyo{background-image:linear-gradient(284deg, rgba(39,43,72,1) 0%, rgba(33,47,183,1) 100%);color:transparent;-webkit-background-clip:text;background-clip:text;}Desmond Koh, IHRP-SP's Linkedin Analytics

Want to drive more opportunities from LinkedIn?

Desmond Koh, IHRP-SP's Linkedin Analytics