Kayal Singh
Shah Alam,Selangor
Summary
I am a strategic and innovative Talent Acquisition and Development leader with 17 years of experience driving workforce strategies across Asia Pacific and Japan. My background spans technology, professional services, and resources sectors, where I partner with businesses to attract, engage, develop, and retain top talent that fuels growth and innovation. Specializing in executive search, high-volume hiring, and AI-powered talent acquisition, I have successfully led regional teams and talent enablement programs, driving enterprise-wide transformation through technology and data-led insights. I excel at aligning talent strategies with business objectives to deliver measurable, sustainable outcomes. Key achievements include: - Building talent acquisition and development teams within both agency and in-house models, managing global and distributed teams. - Developing data-driven workforce planning, forecasting, and recruitment initiatives that improve hiring predictability and quality. - Leading AI and technology transformation projects (ATS, CRM, assessment tools) that boost efficiency and scalability. - Championing DEI and leadership development programs that cultivate high-performance, inclusive cultures. I thrive at the intersection of talent, technology, and business strategy—collaborating closely with executive leadership and cross-functional teams to design agile, future-ready workforce solutions. My passion is turning talent challenges into competitive advantages through innovation and strategic insight.
Overview
17
17
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Talent Acquisition Partner Lead
NTT Data
07.2024 - Current
- Strategic Talent Acquisition leader with a proven record in designing, executing, and scaling high-impact recruitment strategies for global markets. Trusted advisor to C-suite and senior leadership, specializing in transforming talent acquisition frameworks across APAC, including Malaysia and ANZ, to attract and retain top-tier talent in competitive industries. Adept at stabilizing underperforming functions, building high-performing TA teams, and leveraging data-driven insights to optimize hiring outcomes and workforce planning.
- Key Achievements & Responsibilities
- Leadership & Team Development – Lead, coach, and inspire a high-performing regional TA team, driving operational excellence, accountability, and delivery against KPIs, SLAs, and compliance standards across multiple business units and client service lines.
- Executive Business Partnering – Collaborate closely with senior business leaders to translate complex workforce needs into effective talent acquisition strategies, enabling efficient hiring for critical and niche leadership roles.
- Strategic Workforce Planning – Partner with Global People & Culture teams to identify talent gaps, succession planning needs, and future skill requirements, aligning hiring strategies with long-term business objectives.
- Innovative Sourcing Strategies – Design and implement multi-channel sourcing initiatives including targeted hiring campaigns, university partnerships, internships, employee referral programs, and digital recruitment marketing to strengthen talent pipelines.
- Employer Branding & EVP Enhancement – Work with the Global TA Attraction team to position NTT Data as an employer of choice, leveraging social media, thought leadership, and brand storytelling to increase candidate engagement and market visibility.
- Data-Driven Decision Making – Conduct talent mapping, competitor analysis, and hiring trend studies to guide proactive recruitment, improve time-to-fill metrics, and enhance talent quality across the region.
- End-to-End Talent Acquisition – Oversee the complete recruitment lifecycle from sourcing and selection to offer negotiation and onboarding, utilizing platforms such as JobStreet, LinkedIn, and proprietary systems to secure high-caliber hires.
- Continuous Process Improvement – Streamline recruitment operations, introduce automation tools, and enhance candidate experience to reduce cost-per-hire and improve retention rates.
Talent Acquisition Senior Manager
WPP
05.2022 - 07.2024
- Fulfill the executive recruiting needs of the business by implementing the global strategy for executive recruiting in line with broader recruiting and Talent Management goals. Partner with the Managing Director and their leadership team in order to understand the business context for hiring needs and shape the recruiting strategy accordingly.
- Identify and develop effective recruiting channels and sources (internally and externally) for senior level talent based on hiring demand. Ensure a diverse array of candidates for consideration. Generate, maintain, and monitor data on global talent pool for active and passive executive candidates.
- Partner with the Executive Development & Succession Planning Lead in Leadership Development to facilitate the internal movement of Executive level crew. Monitor the internal executive talent pool and align with opportunities facilitating the optimal placement of internal executives. Gather information on executive movements within the enterprise and discuss trends with HRBP's and Senior Leaders.
- Partner with executive search firms to attract and fill executive level positions. Interact with vendors on behalf of the Executive Recruiting function, maintain relationships, track metrics, and provide feedback as needed to recruiting partners. Partner with Vendor Management to execute vendor strategy, including managing service level agreements.
- Partner with Total Rewards CoE to grade executive level jobs and evaluate the overall cost of hiring for potential candidates. Partner with business and HR stakeholders to finalize job offers for executive candidates. Manage the communication of offer terms in line with the employee value proposition.
- Attend executive networking events and other professional forums. Foster long-term relationships with key talent and maintain database of potential executive level talent for future business needs.
Talent Acquisition Consultant - APJ
Dell
01.2017 - 04.2022
- Reporting to the Talent Acquisition Snr Director, Southeast Asia, the incumbent will be a Talent Acquisition (TA) Consultant to provide consultation to hiring managers on all aspects of the hiring process, including hiring strategies, recruitment cycle timing, coaching and guidance on best practices and sourcing trends.
- Develops recruitment strategies using various sourcing techniques, qualifies and interviews candidates and confers job offers.
- Responsible for Project Hiring build team from hiring from Digital Role up to C-Level Executive Snr Director under IT Infrastructure , IT Digital, IT Services, IT cybersecurity, Sales and Finance for Dell Technologies . developing, implementing and maintaining a quality experience in staffing for candidates.
- Partner with key stakeholders to determine sourcing strategies key/critical/ difficult to fill open positions. Implement strategies to identify the most qualified diverse slate of candidates for these open positions
- Develop customized/robust/innovative candidate sourcing strategies based on industry trends, competitive intelligence, institutional knowledge and experience to effectively identify and attract top talent with a focus on pipeline development for key positions
- Build talent communities and pipelines for critical/key positions by leveraging existing technologies/resources advanced sourcing capabilities and other creative techniques.
- Conduct research to provide talent market insights, competitive intelligence and talent mapping as necessary to support sourcing strategy development and enable Talent Acquisition to be best informed on market conditions that might impact recruitment.
- Responsible for managing hiring using appropriate strategies to ensure the best quality of hire and cost per hire. Develops networks of people and processes to support a strong pipeline of qualified candidates.
Recruitment and Talent Manager APAC
Career Track Consultancy
08.2012 - 12.2016
- Talent Acquisition Leader within the IT, digital media, mining industry, oil and gas, semiconductor, finance, and construction industries, having worked across a range of commodities for MNC clients.
- Business partner to a range of stakeholders (internal, external and c-suite level).
- Strategic sourcing and talent pooling for in demand portfolios.
- People services across the employee life cycle.
- Proven influential negotiation and conflict resolution skills with senior decision makers and external vendors.
- Case by case career coaching/mentoring and reassignment requirements for contractors and employees.
- Contingent workforce and vendor management solutions.
- Talent acquisition, talent management, and resourcing strategies for in demand portfolios to ensure the project delivers to schedule.
- Implementation of contractor cost efficiency initiatives with demonstrated cost savings.
- HR project and change management experience.
- Understanding of Malaysian employment law, employee standards and regulatory requirements.
- Leadership of a multidisciplinary team.
Lead Recruitment Consultant
British American Tobacco
01.2009 - 09.2011
- Develop and Execute Recruiting Plans
- Work with hiring managers on recruiting planning meetings.
- Create job descriptions.
- Lead the creation of a recruiting and interviewing plan for each open position.
- Efficiently and effectively fill open positions.
- Conduct regular follow-up with managers to determine the effectiveness of recruiting plans and implementation.
- Develop a pool of qualified candidates in advance of need.
- Research and recommend new sources for active and passive candidate recruiting.
- Build networks to find qualified passive candidates.
- Post openings in online venues, newspaper classifieds, with professional organizations, and in other position appropriate venues.
- Utilize the internet for recruitment.
- Post positions to appropriate Internet sources.
- Improve the company website recruiting section to assist in recruiting.
- Research new ways of using the internet for recruitment.
- Use social and professional networking sites to identify and source candidates
Talent Acquisition Specialist
Career Tracker
01.2009 - 12.2009
- Talent Acquisition specialist for Resources Services. As a client manager we provide best talent in the market for resource mining, oil and gas, construction and manufacturing across Malaysia. I recruited and grew a team from 6 Talent Acquisition Specialists to build a team to support, across top producers of major commodities, including iron ore, metallurgical coal and copper, and new to industry roles.
- Business development and marketing techniques in order to attract business from client companies;
- Building relationships with clients;
- Developing a good understanding of what client companies do and their work culture;
- Advertising vacancies appropriately by drafting and placing adverts using a wide range of media
- Headhunting - identifying and approaching suitable candidates;
- Receiving and reviewing applications, managing interviews and short-listing candidates;
- Checking references and suitability of applicants before referral to employers for interview;
- Arranging interviews for the right candidates with the clients;
Education
Associate Degree - Human Resources
University of Malaya
01.2009
Skills
- Talent Acquisition & Recruitment: End-to-end recruitment, internal recruitment, headhunting, pipelines, workforce planning, talent mapping, emerging technologies in recruitment, AI integration
- Talent & Workforce Management: Talent management transformation, succession planning, career development, talent development, organisational development, talent assessment, workforce development
- Strategic Leadership: Recruitment strategy, stakeholder engagement, employer branding engagement, vendor management, account planning, relationship management, compliance management across local and global governance
- Operational Excellence: Cost-saving initiatives, strategic thinking, results-focused approach, prioritisation, organisation, time management, multitasking
- Interpersonal & Communication Skills: Customer service excellence, team leadership, effective communication, relationship building, stakeholder influence
- Technical Skills: Computer literacy, problem-solving, thoroughness, adaptability to emerging technologies
Core Competencies & Expertise
Certification
- PHENOM Certified Talent Lead Issued on Aug 2024
- Microsoft GenAI: AI Basics (Part 1/5) May 2025 - Current
Languages
Bahasa Malaysia, English, Hindi, Tamil
Timeline
Talent Acquisition Partner Lead
NTT Data
07.2024 - Current
Talent Acquisition Senior Manager
WPP
05.2022 - 07.2024
Talent Acquisition Consultant - APJ
Dell
01.2017 - 04.2022
Recruitment and Talent Manager APAC
Career Track Consultancy
08.2012 - 12.2016
Lead Recruitment Consultant
British American Tobacco
01.2009 - 09.2011
Talent Acquisition Specialist
Career Tracker
01.2009 - 12.2009
Associate Degree - Human Resources
University of Malaya
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