Executive Assistant

Executive Assistant to President, Food & Nutrition APAC

Location 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (supporting executive based in Singapore)

Role Overview 

The Executive Assistant will provide high-level administrative and coordination support to the Head of Brenntag’s Food & Nutrition business unit in APAC, a USD 600 million business spanning 11 countries in the region. The role requires a proactive, highly organized professional who can operate independently across borders, manage complex priorities, and act as a key point of coordination between the regional head, country teams, and internal and external stakeholders. Chinese language skills are a strong advantage given the regional footprint and stakeholder base.

Key Responsibilities 

Executive support 

- Manage and optimize the executive’s calendar across multiple time zones, including scheduling meetings, workshops, and calls with internal and external stakeholders. 

- Coordinate and prepare materials for meetings (agendas, briefing notes, presentations, follow-up actions). 

- Handle confidential information with discretion and maintain professional standards in all communications. 

- Draft, review, and format correspondence, reports, and presentations on behalf of the executive. 

Regional coordination 

- Act as a central coordination point between the APAC head and country teams across 12 markets, ensuring clear communication and timely follow-up on key initiatives and deadlines. 

- Track progress of strategic and operational initiatives, consolidating updates from different countries and functions into concise summaries. 

- Support organization of regional leadership meetings, townhalls, and functional workshops (virtual and physical), including logistics, invitations, and documentation. 

Travel and logistics 

- Plan and manage complex, multi-country business travel for the executive (itineraries, visas, accommodation, ground transport, meeting schedules). 

- Coordinate travel-related meetings and site visits with local teams and customers. 

- Process expense claims and ensure compliance with company policies and timelines. 

Information and stakeholder management 

- Maintain an organized digital filing and information management system for key documents, contracts, presentations, and strategic materials. 

- Prepare stakeholder lists, contact databases, and distribution lists for internal communications and external engagement. 

- Liaise professionally with internal stakeholders (leadership, country managers, functional heads) and external partners/customers as needed. 

Business and project support 

- Assist with the preparation of business reviews, management reports, and performance updates by consolidating inputs and formatting slides or documents. 

- Support small-scale projects or workstreams (e.g., event coordination, data collection, follow-up tracking) as assigned by the executive. 

- Conduct basic desk research and information gathering to support decision-making and strategic discussions. 

Required Qualifications and Experience 

- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional qualification. 

- 7–10 years of experience as an Executive Assistant or Senior Executive Assistant supporting senior leadership, ideally in a regional or multinational environment. 

- Strong experience working across borders and time zones; prior exposure to APAC or regional roles is an advantage. 

- Demonstrated ability to manage complex calendars, travel, and stakeholder coordination for senior executives. 

Skills and Competencies 

- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English. 

- Proficiency in Chinese (Mandarin) is a strong plus for working with regional stakeholders and materials. 

- High level of professionalism, discretion, and integrity in handling confidential and sensitive information. 

- Strong organizational and time management skills, with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks under tight timelines. 

- Advanced proficiency in Microsoft 365 (Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Teams) and digital collaboration tools. 

- Strong attention to detail and a high standard of accuracy in documents and communications. 

- Proactive, resourceful, and able to work independently with minimal supervision while remaining closely aligned with the executive’s priorities. 

- Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build effective working relationships across cultures and levels of seniority. 

Working Style 

- Based in Kuala Lumpur, with close daily virtual collaboration with the executive in Singapore. 

- Comfortable working in a hybrid, cross-border setup with frequent virtual meetings and occasional regional travel as required. 

- Flexible and responsive to urgent matters that may arise outside standard working hours due to time zone differences in APAC.