Grace Blue Partnership has appointed Wladmir Silva as its new Chief Development Officer and Head of Consumer in Asia-Pacific.
The move comes in response to the rapid growth of the boutique search firm’s Brand side practice globally, including senior appointments for Ford, Amazon, Lego, Spotify, Colgate Palmolive, Coca-Cola, Dyson and Diesel.
Given the digital convergence across many sectors of industry, and the increasing demand for transformative and digitally fluent leaders, Grace Blue’s strategy over the last three years has been to expand its capability into the Consumer brand space to support its clients find the very best leadership talent across their marketing, technology, digital and commercial functions. It has been a natural step for the search firm, globally renowned for its work in the advertising, media and marketing services space at the leadership level over the last 15 years.
Wlad will work with the Asia-Pacific team led by Helen Duffy across all key markets in the region; as well as David Nobbs, the Head of Consumer in EMEA, and Grace Blue’s North America team to continue to build the Consumer practice globally; partnering with clients on a wide range of senior executive searches, supporting transformation, and putting the consumer at the heart of their businesses across all functions.
Wlad joins Grace Blue with 25 years of experience in Consumer, Management Consulting and Executive Search. He began his career in Sales and Marketing in his home country Brazil with Mercedes-Benz, Iveco-Fiat and Prudential Financial before becoming a Management Consultant with The Gap Partnership in 2009 in London – which brought him to Asia in 2011. Most recently Wlad ran the Consumer and Retail Practice at Odgers Berndston and DHR across SEA and APAC respectively focusing on senior executive assignments in the Consumer, Retail, Digital, Hospitality and Travel Leisure, Technology and Financial Services industries. His clients have included: Dyson, Miele, L’Oréal, Facebook, Grab, Sabre Corporation, Standard Chartered Bank, among others.
Helen Duffy, Managing Partner APAC, says:
“Before Covid-19, we saw the transformation of many organisations due to advances in technology and the precedent set by wholly digital businesses – which have impacted consumers’ expectations and demand. Given where we are in the world now, this will only accelerate. Digital convergence and customer-centricity mean that leaders who have this experience will come from new places and not necessarily from within sector or industry. In Wlad, we have a highly connected and experienced partner who is fluent in this approach and has supported Consumer and Digital clients find their leaders across a variety of functions. We are thrilled to have him as part of the team and can’t wait to get started.”
Wlad Silva says:
“I’m delighted to join the Grace Blue business and their world-class team of executive search and selection specialists. The team has deep industry experience and knowledge and is very collaborative, across both regions and practices. The firm is innovative in its approach, and we are well-aligned with our clients’ evolving needs. In-demand talent goes beyond years of experience and competencies – many other factors are equally important, such as mindset, diversity, and cultural fit.”
About the Grace Blue Partnership
The Grace Blue Partnership is a global executive search and M&A advisory firm with a focus on the marketing, media, consumer, and digital space. Leaders in their category, they are driven by their mission to future-proof their clients’ businesses, combining global reach and insight with in-depth local expertise. With offices in New York, London, Singapore, and Shanghai, the Grace Blue team are all experts in their sectors – with many of the senior partners having held executive-level positions in marketing and media businesses themselves. Clients include Ford, Microsoft, SAP, Spotify, IPG, Omnicom, RSA Films, LEGO, Dentsu Aegis Network, Mother, Havas, and Coca-Cola. For more information, visit www.graceblue.com.