Executive search · Life sciences and healthcare
Senior hiring for life sciences and healthcare companies entering or growing in Asia.
Ayana Search is a boutique executive search firm based in Singapore. We work with international and Asian companies on the senior appointments that shape their business in the region.
Why Ayana
A journey taken with purpose.
Ayana means a heroic journey in Sanskrit, a path taken with purpose. For us it describes what happens when an exceptional leader joins an organisation with a clear mission.
A company's journey in Asia rarely runs exactly to plan. Priorities shift, timelines move, approvals come early or late, and a role defined in one quarter can look different by the next. Companies need an agile search partner that stays close to the business, adjusts the brief when circumstances change, and gives an honest read of the market at every step.
We don't just fill roles. That idea shapes the care we bring to every step of a search: the role brief, the market research, engaging candidates, checking alignment on values, negotiating the offer and supporting onboarding.
Who we work with
Life sciences and healthcare companies, wherever they are in their journey here.
The leadership a company needs in Asia changes as the business does. We work with international, Singapore and Asian companies at each of these stages, and as they move from one to the next.
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01
Arriving
A first presence in the region.
A trial site or a first office in Singapore, with the regional plan taking shape. The early appointments are usually clinical, regulatory and medical, and they set the tone for everything that follows.
Clinical operations · Regulatory · Medical · Country lead
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02
Building
Approval in sight.
The commercial organisation needs to be in place well ahead of launch. The leaders hired now decide how the product reaches patients across the region.
General manager · Market access · Medical affairs · Commercial
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03
Going direct
From partner to own team.
Already selling in Southeast Asia through a distributor, and ready to bring the business in-house with its own leadership on the ground.
Country and regional GM · Sales · Operations · Supply chain
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04
Established
A business that keeps evolving.
Well established in the region and facing a leadership change: a successor, a new regional role, a confidential replacement, or a team that needs to step up.
Succession · New regional roles · Confidential replacements
Our sectors: pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, medical devices, diagnostics, digital health, consumer health, and the service firms that support them.
How we help
Search with purpose and precision.
Executive search
Senior and leadership appointments, managed end to end. One consultant leads your search from the first brief to the new leader's first months in the role.
Confidential hires
Replacing a leader, preparing a market entry, or building a team your competitors should not hear about yet. Discretion is built into how we approach the market.
Talent market sense-check
What the leadership talent market looks like, including at your competitors, before you decide how to approach a hire.
Benchmarking
An external view of an internal candidate, measured against the people you could realistically hire from the market.
Every search, step by step
- Role briefing
- Market research
- Candidate engagement
- Values alignment
- Offer negotiation
- Onboarding
Where we work
Based in Singapore. Connected worldwide.
Ayana Search is a member of NPAworldwide, a member-owned network of over 550 independent recruitment firms across six continents, working together since 1956. It extends what we can do for the clients and candidates we work with.
Member of
Singapore and Southeast Asia
Our home ground.
Searches run by us, from Singapore. For companies and partner firms abroad, a life sciences and healthcare specialist on the ground for their hiring here.
Around the world
Single contact, global connections.
Hire senior talent in markets around the world without finding and briefing a new firm in each one. Your search starts and ends with us: one point of contact who already knows your business, and one agreement, while partner firms with local market knowledge search on the ground.
Beyond life sciences
Through the network.
The network also lets us support clients in other sectors, with the same care we bring to every search.
The founder
Kumar Bhaya
Managing Partner
Kumar is an executive search professional based in Singapore, with more than 25 years of experience in talent acquisition across Asia.
He has held senior roles at Korn Ferry, Cielo, EMA Partners and Kelly, partnering with HR and business leaders on professional and executive hiring across the region. His clients have included leading organisations in pharmaceuticals, medical devices and healthcare, as well as technology, consumer brands and advanced manufacturing.
Kumar holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Mumbai.
For senior leaders
Thinking about what comes next?
If you lead in life sciences or healthcare in Asia, we would be glad to hear from you, whether or not you are looking today.
Every conversation is confidential. Your details are never shared with a client without your agreement.
Through our NPAworldwide partners, we can also open doors to opportunities beyond the region, always with your consent.
Questions
Frequently asked questions.
What does Ayana Search do?
Ayana Search is a boutique executive search firm based in Singapore. We help life sciences and healthcare companies entering or growing in Asia hire senior leaders: general managers and commercial, medical, regulatory, clinical and market access leaders, as well as functional leaders in supply chain, operations, finance, legal and human resources.
Who is Kumar Bhaya?
Kumar Bhaya is the founder and Managing Partner of Ayana Search. Based in Singapore, he has more than 25 years of experience in talent acquisition across Asia, including senior roles at Korn Ferry, Cielo, EMA Partners and Kelly. Every Ayana Search client has senior-level involvement in their search, from the first brief onwards.
Is Ayana Search a licensed employment agency in Singapore?
Yes. Ayana Search holds an employment agency licence from Singapore's Ministry of Manpower, licence number 26S3524.
Can Ayana Search hire outside Singapore?
Yes. We run searches directly across Singapore and Southeast Asia. As a member of NPAworldwide, a network of over 550 independent recruitment firms across six continents, we can also hire in markets around the world, with Ayana Search as your single point of contact.
Which sectors does Ayana Search work in?
Our focus is life sciences and healthcare: pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, medical devices, diagnostics, digital health, consumer health, and the service firms that support them. Through NPAworldwide we can also support clients in other sectors.
How does Ayana Search work with clients?
Every search starts with a conversation about the role, the business and the market. Terms are agreed with each client to suit the search, with a commitment on both sides so the search gets the attention it needs. One consultant leads the search from the first brief to the new leader's first months in the role.
How long does a senior search take?
A typical senior search takes around 10 to 12 weeks from the initial briefing to an accepted offer. The timing depends on the role, the market and how many people could realistically fill it, so we agree a timeline at the briefing and keep you updated at every stage.
What should a company entering Asia look for in an executive search firm?
Knowledge of your sector, a network in the markets where the role will sit, a licence to operate in Singapore, and continuity: the person you brief at the start should lead the search to the end. For a first leadership hire in the region, look for a firm that understands how the role will change as the business grows.
Does Ayana Search work with candidates?
Yes. We are glad to hear from senior leaders in life sciences and healthcare in Asia, whether or not they are looking today. Every conversation is confidential, and a candidate's details are never shared with a client without their agreement.
Start a conversation
Planning a senior hire in Asia?
- Need to make a confidential or niche hire?
- Want to sense-check the talent market before deciding on an approach?
- Benchmarking an internal candidate against external options?
- Or would simply like an initial conversation first?