Spotlight on Kevin Jeffrey, our Asia Pacific representative

Tell me a little about yourself: Hello, I’m Kevin – a South African living in Hong Kong with my fiancé Katy. I’ve been in Hong Kong since late 2014 – if you haven’t been, I’d strongly recommend a visit. I’ve also lived in London, Cape Town and was fortunate enough to take a year off in 2014 to explore Canada and parts of Asia. I enjoy spending time in the mountains – whether covered in snow or otherwise – there is something quite special about living in cities with direct access to beautiful trails. Cape Town and Hong Kong are both world class in this respect.  I’m an Investment Director in the Asia Investment Team and a small part of my role is to help share the Thinking Ahead Institute’s thought leadership to this corner of the world.

What has been the highlight of your career so far? I’ve had a few roles within WTW and they’ve all come with a number of memorable moments. An important highlight was certainly working directly with our Portfolio Management Group for a number of years – seeing high quality governance in action across a wide range of practical investment topics. Moving to Hong Kong and working with clients across Asia (Japan, Australia, Singapore, Korea, Macau, Thailand, Malaysia and China – to name a few) has been humbling, interesting and absorbing.  What is your favourite thing about working for TAI? While I’m not a full time member of the team, I do get to take a look under the hood.  I think it’s two main things I enjoy most.  First the content and output – which is thoughtful and beautifully communicated. Second, the team is full of passionate people and passion is contagious.   If you could have any animal, what would be your dream pet and why? Easy one, Labrador. I grew up alongside litters of labs – my parents were ‘those people’ – and now labs are a symbol of my childhood and happy memories. If I didn’t live in a tiny Hong Kong apartment – I’d have a dog to join me on my runs.  Where is your favourite place to go to unwind? Usually any slice of nature – a mountain, river or beach normally does the trick. What is the best advice you have ever been given? A friend once told me about this thing brilliant decentralized digital currency called bitcoin when it was around $30 for 1. I know, I know, the price isn’t the point.

Say hello LinkedIn: Kevin Jeffrey