Zavala Civitas Expands Footprint with New Southeast Asia Office

Vietnam, July 12, 2024. Zavala Civitas is pleased to announce the opening of its new office in Southeast Asia; it is strategically located in Vietnam. This step marks a huge development for the company, building upon its established presence in China since 2014. Zavala Civitas will utilize this new site as a base for its continued expansion and dedication towards providing outstanding executive search services in the rapidly growing Southeast Asian market.

To head this office, Barry Kirkwood was appointed as the Southeast Asia Director. Barry comes with 15 years of leadership experience which included spending ten years in China. Within his new position, he possesses substantial knowledge and strategic insight stemming from his work over this period of time in China. Barry has equally occupied strong posts at Gemini Personnel Shanghai where he served as General Manager and also within the British Chamber of Commerce at both Shanghai and Guangdong provinces. He is an ICF Certified Coach and holds a BA (Hons) from Loughborough University thereby bringing his international business acumen into play to propel forward Zavala Civitas’ expansion plans across their Southeast Asia territory.

Strategically placed in Vietnam, we are now excited to open our new office that would enable us meet clients and candidates throughout Southeast Asia,” noted Fernando, Partner at Zavala Civitas. “Barry’s exceptional leadership skills combined with deep expertise will foster growth and success for us in this critical market,” added Fernando.

The opening of the Southeast Asia office forms part of Zavala Civitas’ global scale-up strategy targeting key markets. Thus, there is an experienced team ready at the new office to deliver customized executive recruitment packages meant exclusively for regional customers.

For more details about Zavala Civitas or its services please visit zavalacivitas.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

About Zavala Civitas Executive Search

Zavala Civitas is a leading executive search and leadership advisory company committed to helping organizations identify, attract, and retain top talent. Zavala Civitas has a global presence that assists clients to navigate the complexity of today’s business environment by offering strategic advice tailored to their specific needs.
Dubai executive buildings

Carla Geday joins Zavala Civitas as Senior Advisor, Middle East 

November 11, 2025 Zavala Civitas is pleased to announce the appointment of Carla Geday as Senior Advisor, where she will play a key role in advancing the firm’s strategic initiatives and expansion across the Middle East. Carla brings over two decades of international experience in corporate strategy, business development, and

Read More
November 11, 2025

Jenghiz von Streng joins Zavala Civitas as Principal

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Jenghiz von Streng as Principal at Zavala Civitas, bringing over a decade of international public and private sector experience across Europe and Asia.  Jenghiz has developed his career at the intersection of government, infrastructure, and finance. He has held senior roles in

Read More
September 16, 2025

Related posts

Education

Executive Search in Education and Non-Profit USA: Leading the Sector

Author: Lorenzo Zavala, Partner | Zavala Civitas Date: July 2026 The United States education and non-profit sector employs more people than almost any other industry in the country — and it is running out of leaders. Annual voluntary turnover among nonprofit executives sits at approximately 19%, according to the Johnson Center’s 2025 sector report. Only 34% of nonprofit chief executives describe their internal pipeline as strong or adequate, per BoardSource’s 2024 data. In higher education, demographic enrollment decline is compressing budgets at the same time that institutional complexity is increasing.  This is not a talent shortage in the

Read More
May 26, 2026

Leadership in the Middle East: Why Fit Matters More Than Origin 

As companies in the Middle East scale and institutionalize, the long-standing debate around local versus international leadership in the Middle East is largely outdated. The real issue today is alignment: whether the leadership profile fits the business challenge the organization is facing.  Too often, leadership appointments are driven by assumptions: that international executives

Read More
April 27, 2026

The Role of Compliance Officers in Strategic Decision-Making

Over the past decade, the role of compliance functions within organizations has progressed significantly. Traditionally, compliance was responsible primarily for ensuring the company’s compliance with regulation, particularly that Relations to bribery and corruption.  They developed codes of conduct, supplier due diligence process and the like and were responsible for ensuring compliance with these by employees of

Read More
March 18, 2026

Executive Search in Mexico: Leading Sectors Shaping Demand 

Over the last few years, Mexico swiftly garnered international investment, earning it the title of one of the fastest-growing countries in capturing global foreign direct investments.   This scenario creates new talent opportunities.  Most Executive Search firms in Mexico have modified their approach from simply filling highest roles in an organization to competing for the extremely limited pool of qualified executive talent for all roles in all sectors.  The demand isn’t even  It is very much concentrated.  Where Demand is Actually Growing  Mexico’s hiring executive pressure is unequal across all sectors. Some sectors are faster and are pulling talent from other sectors. Manufacturing is the clearest example.  With nearshoring, Mexico is becoming a strategically important center for the supply chain for North America. This is due to the fact that international companies are relocating and/or expanding their operations in Mexico. This is supported by McKinsey & Company.  The growth of a business is dependent on its leadership. Companies are in need of quickly scalable plant directors, operations managers, and supply chain executives. Such profiles are deficit.  Executive Search Energy and Infrastructure: Complexity at Scale  There is the highest demand for executive talent within the energy and infrastructure sectors.  Major projects and regulatory complexities, as well as lengthy investments, require leaders who are comfortable with uncertainty in all the essential domains, not just the technical. This includes stakeholder

Read More
March 15, 2026