Russell Reynolds Associates Singapore Announces Change at the Top

Russell Reynolds Associates, a global leadership advisory and search firm, today announced that Nick Chia, managing director and senior partner, will be stepping down from his position as Singapore country manager. Chia will be succeeded by Ulrike Wieduwilt, managing director and senior partner at Russell Reynolds Associates.

Chia, following a successful 4-year tenure as country manager in Singapore, is a senior member of the firm’s technology, industry, energy and natural resources sectors and is a trusted advisor to both international and regional clients.

Peter L. O’Brien, Russell Reynolds Associates’ APAC head, expressed his appreciation: “Nick has displayed remarkable leadership in developing our Singapore team and has positioned us successfully among the leading leadership-advisory firms in Singapore. Nick will continue to play a critical role to partner with our clients to develop their leadership strategy to navigate in this era of uncertainty. I would like to express the firm’s utmost gratitude to Nick for his contribution and his leadership of the Singapore team in these challenging times.”

Ulrike Wieduwilt has been appointed country manager of Russell Reynolds Associates’ Singapore office, effective 1 September 2021. Wieduwilt is a long-standing expert in consumer goods, specifically FMCG clients, and has also served a large number of industry clients. Wieduwilt also played a key role in developing our Shanghai office in the past and was a member of Russell Reynolds Associates’ global Executive Committee. 

Prior to joining Russell Reynolds Associates in 1999, Ulrike was managing director in marketing and sales at Eugen Block AG. Previously, she had a 10-year career with Mars Inc. at Effem GmbH, a maker of pet food, plant care products and a wide range of other food products. Her most recent position there was that of key account manager for large German consumer trade chains such as Tengelmann Group, Schlecker, Lidl VM, and Lidl Discount. Earlier, Ulrike was a trade marketing manager, and, before that, human resources manager.

Wieduwilt’s current consulting focuses on senior leadership advisory assignments for clients in the consumer goods and industry across all major regions. She is a board member of the Foundation of Sustainability and is on the nonexecutive board of the Hamburg University for Business and Administration for the faculty-certified Key Account Management.

Welcoming the new appointment, O’Brien said: “Ulrike is a highly experienced leadership advisory professional assisting clients solve complex leadership challenges. We are excited that she is joining our APAC leadership team and her expertise will be a great asset to our Singapore team and our clients.”