Regional Internal Control Director, APAC

MISSION

This position, reporting directly to the APAC Regional Finance Director, oversees the Asia Pacific Internal Controls (ICS) function to safeguard controls and governance risks across the region. He/she will lead, co‑coordinate and animate the IC teams in the region with a shared vision and a harmonized risk governance mechanism, to fulfil the second line of defense role within the Richemont internal governance framework. This leadership role requires an executive who can demonstrate a combination of technical governance skills, regional operational expertise, with challenging partnership mentality to navigate the complexities of a highly matrix environment.

Key Responsibilities

Enable Core Governance and Risk Management Capability

• Translate Group governance directives into practical, consistent frameworks across the diversified APAC markets, working closely with regional and local management, corporate functions, and Maisons.
• Optimize the control self‑assessment model and boutique controls guidelines as business models, retail operations, and Group policies evolve—while protecting agility and the luxury client experience.
• Partner with Maisons and corporate functions to embed proportionate governance in new processes, systems, business initiatives, and regulatory requirements.

Enforce Regional Management Oversight

• Ensure the timely and high-quality completion of annual IC reviews, boutique reviews, risk assessments, and compliance testing.
• Ensure that control risks, incidents, and mitigation progress are accurately recorded in Richemont’s digital IC platform, enabling effective oversight by auditors, Group IC, and the Richemont Audit Committee.
• Support market management in applying regional escalation procedures and reporting critical control failures or compliance incidents to the APAC Regional Compliance Committee.
• Support the Regional Compliance Committee to track remedial actions and spearhead special risk mitigation initiatives for recurrent / high-risk areas.
• Act as the regional point of contact for control assurance matters, supporting audit requests, resolving findings, and establishing practical regional policies and governance guidance.

SUSTAIN AND OPTIMIZE THE APAC IC

• Shape and evolve the regional IC…?
• Build strong connections with Group and regional peers to share insights and adopt best practices for new policies, systems, and compliance requirements.
• Partner with local CFOs to provide structured mentoring for new market IC…?
• Foster a continuous-learning culture, keeping teams current on controls methodology, the COSO framework, Group and regional policies, and relevant technology developments.
• Continuously evolve the APAC GRC framework, boutique controls manual, and risk‑assessment approach to address changing business models, systems, regulations, new projects, and high‑risk areas—while balancing control requirements with business priorities and customer experience.
• Strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of IC through automated testing tools and real‑time dashboards, enabling earlier identification of key risks, remediation needs, and execution bottlenecks.

KEY CHALLENGES

• Build trusted, constructive partnerships within a complex matrix organisation, while maintaining the independence to challenge when needed.
• Maintain a resilient and proportionate control framework that supports diverse business needs while reinforcing risk awareness and customer‑centricity.
• Anticipate and manage governance risks arising from regulatory developments, policy and process changes, system transformations, and new business activities.

Education / Experience

• University Degree graduate or above, preferably with major in Business / Accounting / Finance / Law.
• Certified Internal Auditor or equivalent (e.g. CPA) with in‑depth knowledge of International Accounting and Auditing Standards. CISA qualification will be a real plus.
• 15 years of experience at large multinational companies with multiple stakeholders in a matrix organisation, including at least 5 years in managerial position of internal control, internal audit, compliance or consultancy roles in a listed company environment (US SOX / UK / Swiss Financial Governance etc.).
• Knowledge of or experience in launching corporate‑wise systems e.g. SAP; exposure to IT‑based audits and knowledge will be a real plus.
• The candidate should ideally have exposure in large‑scale physical retail & e‑Commerce business environment with APAC context.
• Experience in team management and development.

Skills

• Leadership and stakeholder management: Strong people leadership, team‑development experience, and the ability to build trusted relationships and influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Communication and business partnering: Excellent written, verbal, presentation, and report‑writing skills in English; additional Asian language capability is an advantage.
• Strategic, analytical, and delivery capability: Strong analytical and business acumen, with proven project‑management skills and the ability to turn insight into action.
• Digital mindset and adaptability: Digitally and IT savvy, ideally with systems‑audit experience; proactive in driving innovation and leading change.

COMPETENCIES

• An open‑minded team player with impeccable integrity, highly agile and able to deal with ambiguity.
• An independent, mature and self‑motivated team lead, demonstrating a proactive and “can‑do” attitude to promote cross‑market team rapport.
• A people‑oriented leader able to deal with multi-cultural team members.
• Capacity to deal with deadlines; analytical and detail‑minded with good global view.