Experienced and Aligned Core Senior Team:
The core team models accountability, collaboration and agility.
We are paid for performance, as a result, we are not fixated on annual bonuses nor job preservation.

Philip (Phil) Krichilsky
Philip (Phil) Krichilsky CEO & Founder

Turn-Around Specialist, Corporate Director , Social Entrepreneur with Consumer/Industrial East Asia Focus

Over 20 years leadership experience in demanding business and military environments. Accomplished entrepreneur, business leader, and change agent that enjoys turning businesses around, leading P&Ls to sustainable growth, and motivating and focussing teams. In addition, my team and I invest in Social Impact businesses

Phil and his team, currently work with international companies on operational excellence, business improvement, and exit. In addition, he is applying his corporate and military leadership experiences into the social sector by expanding his business from turn-around leadership to helping successful impact businesses that are struggling to make a profit turn around and scale.

Phil launched Innovative Directions in 1995 as an advisory and innovation service. and grew it into a $2M brand. Phil, helped turn around a light manufacturing company by integrating operations and sales and implementing a CRM; provided subcontract services to business brokers, as well as successfully advising start ups.

IDL is a Veteran company, and is registered as a Veteran Owned Business in US.

Specialties:

P&L Leadership- both Direct & Matrix
Sales and Marketing Management
Six Sigma– Master Black Belt/Quality Leader/Black Belt
Entrepreneurship- started & operated companies both for large companies & solo
Global Experience- ran operations in Asia, South America, & North America

Links:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-krichilsky-turnaround-asiagrowth/
Phil Krichilsky Podcast

Phil Krichilsky

Kate Michelson
Kate MichelsonCTO & Partner

Kate is an executive coach to CEO’s and business leaders in the Asia Region, with direct experience of coaching at the Managing Director level within the banking, finance, technology and retail sectors.

She is a co-founder and Managing Partner of Corporate Coaching Partners, Asia’s leading firm of executive coaches.

Professional Expertise/Services

Kate is an experienced and qualified Executive Coach, with experience in leadership development, communications, marketing and learning.

Her current clients include Managing Directors, Regional CEOs and major heads of function in the investment banking, manufacturing, hi tech and consumer products sectors. Kate is particularly effective when coaching on issues of leadership effectiveness, communication style, cross cultural alignment and entrepreneurship. In working across borders, and within different industries from high tech to financial to oil and manufacturing Kate has developed a flexible style. She can be directive to reflective depending on the situation and often in a coaching relationship will find that over 4-6 period will use a range of approaches to attain successful coaching outcomes for the coachee.

She has a strong interest in coaching new leaders and this has proven particularly valuable to clients in China where she works with newly appointed PRC nationals who have been appointed to a role previously held by an expatriate.

Kate’s major achievements have included the successful leadership of an investment banking product support team while at JP Morgan Chase, the launch of the Ivey Business School (now one of the strongest educational brands in Asia) and the wide professional recognition she has received in the area of leadership assessment and development.

Kate has been based in Asia since 1975, and has lived in both Hong Kong and Tokyo. Her work has required her to undertake projects across Asia, from India to Japan. This experience has enabled her to develop a deep cross cultural understanding of Asia, and has provided her with first hand knowledge of how to align an MNC’s corporate and local interests.

Wenjie Li
Wenjie Li GM, North Asia & Partner

Wenjie Li is an experienced multi-lingual business executive who served as CEO, COO, and senior advisor to company board and management in the investment, infrastructure and hi-tech industries, in Hong Kong, Japan and the US.

Wenjie holds a BA from the Institute of Life Sciences at Fudan University, an MS in Software Engineering from the University of Scranton, and an MBA in Finance and Management from Wharton.

An efficient problem identifier and solver, driven with high integrity, positive energy and practicality, Wenjie took on advisory projects in recent years from PE/VC/Angel investors for pre/post-investment management.  In her spare time, Wenjie enjoys helping small businesses devoted to social impact education.

Expertise includes the following:

  • Operational Management
  • Staff Training & Mentoring
  • Contract Negotiations
  • Stakeholder Management
  • Complex Project/Event Management
  • Executive-Level Collaborations
  • Team Builder & Enhancer
  • International & Cross Cultural Management
  • Relationship Management
  • Flexibility & Adaptability

Wenjie is fluent in English, Mandarin Chinese and Japanese. Reasonably capable in Cantonese.

E. Scott Surek
E. Scott SurekCSO & Partner

Scott Surek has over 23 years of finance and business strategy experience; most of it involved in the development, negotiation and execution of new financial products, in addition to providing strategic advisory services to financial institution clients in New York and Europe related to asset finance, risk management and regulatory issues.

Scott has recently been involved in advising the board of a heavily distressed Hong Kong manufacturing company regarding their banking relationships, financial reporting, communications, governance and financing options.

Before coming to Hong Kong, Scott worked in banking in New York and London with Citigroup, Lehman Brothers and Chase Manhattan Bank. Scott was heavily involved in private side advisory, valuation and restructuring of funds and financial institutions related to the financial crisis.

Scott graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and served as an infantry officer before getting his MBA at the Wharton School and MA in International Studies from the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania.

Johnny Chiou
Johnny ChiouPresident & Partner

Johnny Chiou, a Singaporean, embarked on his career journey in both the United States of America and Singapore. With 27 years of experience in manufacturing and chemicals, Johnny brings a strategic mindset and real-world execution expertise to the table.

Johnny was born in Taipei, raised and educated in Manila, Philippines and Jakarta, Indonesia and pursued his college education at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Ross School of Business, which equipped him with a global perspective. His career commenced in 1996 at Black & Decker in the United States, where he gained invaluable experience in prosumer power tools manufacturing. He later moved on to W.R. Grace, where he held finance, commercial and general management roles in construction chemicals, refining his skill set. During his time at PPG Industries in Singapore, he successfully turned around the Southeast Asia marine and protective coatings business, demonstrating his ability to navigate challenging situations.  Subsequently, he led a China-based E-mobility team, positioning the start-up to achieve significant growth.

Johnny’s commitment to a healthy work-life balance led him to explore social services before his tenures at Lear and Henkel. At Lear, he gained valuable experiences in automotive Tier 1 manufacturing and at Henkel, he excelled in delivering growth in electronics semiconductors adhesives materials.

With this diverse background spanning manufacturing, finance, and chemicals, both in the United States and in Asia, Johnny’s dynamic career has enriched his perspective and cross-cultural exposure. He is well-prepared to support opportunities that match his strategic expertise and real-world execution.

We employ up to 20 full time employees, if our customer needs are more advisory and short-term focused, we generally work with our Alliance Partners to minimize overhead costs to clients.

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