Biography
Prior to joining The Global Head Office, Ritchie spent 27 years with Jardines, the last 15 as Group Director of Human Resources, reporting directly to the Group’s Managing Director. Jardines is a Fortune 500, US$62b turnover multinational organisation with over 450,000 employees
Prior to this, he held several positions in Jardine Pacific, the trading arm of the Group. These included; Director of Human Resources, General Manager People Development, General Manager Compensation Services, Senior Manager Training and Development, and Manager Management Development.
Before joining Jardines he spent several years with the Royal Hong Kong Police, holding both operational and training roles. In his last posting, he served as a Detective Chief Inspector with the Organised and Serious Crimes Group. His corporate career began in Kodak Ltd (UK), where he spent 3 years in marketing.
Ritchie’s areas of expertise are leadership evaluation and development, senior executive coaching, organisation development, change management; strategic HR reviews, and implementation. He has extensive experience working with family businesses. He also conducts historical research, working in conjunction with the Pokfulam Village Committee, to preserve the village heritage and hinterland.
He was formerly an Adjunct Professor at Hong Kong University (SPACE), a Visiting Professor at Edinburgh Napier University Business School (UK), Honorary Teaching Fellow at the University of Leicester (UK), a Chartered FCIPD (UK), Fellow of the HKMA, and former Chairman, HKMA HRD Committee. He holds Ph.D (Leicester), M.Sc, and BA (Hons) History degrees.
Publications
- The advantages of a transorganisational approach for developing senior executives. Journal of Management Development, Vol. 34 Iss 5 pp. 621 – 631, 2015.
- Developing Expatriate Managers for Southeast Asia. Williams, G and Bent, R (1996) in Handbook of Intercultural Training, Landis, D and Bhagat R.S, Cap 21, pp. 383-399. Sage Publications: London.
- Riding the Dragon: Managing Diversity in Hong Kong’s Multinationals During the 1997 Transition, Bent, R., and Bond, M.H (1997), Business and Contemporary World, Vol. 1X, No.1, pp. 149-190, John Wiley and Sons, New York.
- Anglo-Chinese Leadership: a Study of Leadership within Asian-Based Executive Teams, Bent, R (1999) PhD Thesis (Ira.le.ac.uk).
- Southeast Asia Needs a New Breed of HR Manager, Bent, R (2000), Mount Eliza Business Review, Vol. 3, No.1, pp.38-46, Winter/Spring.
Recent Assignments
- Senior executive business performance coaching sessions.
- Assessment of senior management team’s leadership capabilities.
- Various projects with large Asian conglomerates.
- A coaching initiative with a board of directors.
- Preparing directors and senior management team for major change initiative.