Asia Pacific

.American International Group (AIG) announced Scott Leney as Regional President for Asia Pacific, overseeing operations in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines. Leney brings over three decades of insurance leadership, previously heading Asia Pacific at Everest Insurance and holding senior roles at Marsh McLennan. He will start on Feb 1 2026, pending regulatory approval. AIG highlights its AI‑enabled underwriting, digital claims platforms and data partnerships as key to expanding market share and improving profitability across the rapidly digitizing Asia Pacific insurance market.

AI spending in Asia Pacific faces challenges in ROI due to infrastructure limitations hindering speed and scale. Akamai, partnering with NVIDIA, addresses this with “Inference Cloud,” decentralizing AI decision-making for reduced latency and costs. Enterprises struggle to scale AI projects, with inference now the primary bottleneck. Edge infrastructure enhances performance and cost-efficiency, especially for latency-sensitive applications. Key sectors adopting edge-based AI include retail and finance. Cloud and GPU partnerships are crucial for meeting expanding AI workload demands, with security as a vital component. Future AI infrastructure will require distributed management and robust security.

WuXi Biologics secured three awards at the Asia Pacific Biologics CDMO Excellence Awards (APBCEA) 2025, including “CDMO of the Year – Asia Pacific.” The awards recognize WuXi Biologics’ excellence in biomanufacturing, R&D, technological innovations, and partnerships. The company’s integrated platform streamlines biologics development, achieving a 6-month DNA-to-IND timeline for monoclonal antibodies. With a 100% PLI success rate and multiple regulatory inspections, WuXi Biologics offers end-to-end solutions to over 1000 clients globally. CEO Dr. Chris Chen attributes the success to the company’s commitment to quality and innovation.

Thinking Machines is partnering with OpenAI to become the first official Services Partner in APAC, aiming to help businesses in the region translate AI investments into tangible outcomes. Many APAC enterprises are utilizing AI but struggle to scale beyond pilot projects; this partnership addresses this challenge. Thinking Machines will offer solutions like executive training and support for custom AI application development. CEO Stephanie Sy emphasizes building capability, focusing on skills, strategies, and support systems for effective human-AI collaboration, and viewing AI as a business transformation strategy driven by leadership.

Allison Worldwide and Stagwell are bolstering their Asia Pacific presence by appointing Margaret Key as CEO of Allison Asia and Executive Director for Stagwell in APAC, effective October 1st. Key, formerly CEO of Publicis’ MSL Group in APAC, brings over 20 years of experience and a proven track record in driving growth and transformation. She will focus on expanding Allison’s APAC strategy and enhancing Stagwell’s regional market development. The move signifies a strategic effort to strengthen communications capabilities and better serve clients in the dynamic APAC market.

KKR will invest A$500 million in CleanPeak Energy, marking KKR’s first Asia-Pacific investment under its Global Climate Transition strategy. The partnership aims to expand CleanPeak’s distributed energy platform, focusing on solar, battery storage, and microgrids for commercial and industrial sectors in Australia. CleanPeak, a specialist in renewable energy, provides integrated solar-and-storage systems to blue-chip companies. The investment is expected to be finalized in the latter half of 2025, pending regulatory approvals.

Western Union is expanding its footprint in Asia Pacific, appointing Vince Tallent as Senior Vice President and Head of the region. Tallent, a fintech veteran, will leverage his experience in scaling businesses, with a focus on digital services. This strategic move aims to capitalize on the region’s growth potential, accelerate innovation, and provide accessible financial solutions through Western Union’s extensive network.