Viventis Search Asia marks 25 years of trailblazing talent with third ACES Award
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In 2001, with the region still recovering from the Asian financial crisis and the dot-com crash, Yu Ming Chin started an executive search firm in Manila. He later called the decision "entrepreneurial stupidity." The firm nearly closed in its first three years, and he covered the losses with his own savings.
Twenty-five years later, last Oct. 15, Viventis Search Asia was named Asia's Leading SME at the Asia Corporate Excellence & Sustainability (ACES) Awards 2026, held at the Mandarin Oriental in Kuala Lumpur.
It was the firm's third ACES recognition, coming in the year it marks its 25th anniversary.
"When they called our name, I thought of those first three years," says Yu Ming Chin, founder and executive director.
"We almost didn't survive them. This award is not about one good year. It is the result of 25 years of people trusting us, one relationship at a time."
The recognition
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The ACES Awards honor organizations across Asia for corporate excellence and sustainability. The Asia's Leading SME title recognizes a smaller enterprise that has built a lasting reputation in a market full of larger competitors.
That matters in recruitment, a business built on reputation.
Clients trust a search firm with decisions that shape their leadership and culture, while candidates entrust it with their careers. Neither gives that trust easily.
"In our business, we have nothing to sell except trust," Chin says. "A client gives us a decision that can change the direction of the company. A candidate gives us their career. We carry both every day."
Team members from the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia attended the ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, reflecting the collective effort behind the recognition across Viventis' markets.
Why a third recognition matters
One award can mark a good year. A third speaks to consistency.
Repeated recognition points to a firm that has maintained its standards through changing markets and evolving workforce expectations. In an industry where the quality of a search firm can be difficult to assess from the outside, such recognition can help build confidence among clients and candidates.
"The first award felt like an arrival. The third one feels like an obligation," Chin says.
"Recognition raises expectations. If we are honored for the trust we have earned, then we have to keep earning it, one placement at a time."
For Chin, the award is a shared achievement.
"This award belongs to our people, who built this firm when there was very little to build on; to our clients, who gave us their most important hiring decisions; and to our candidates, who let us be part of their careers," he says.
25 years in the making
Twenty-five years is a long time in any industry, particularly one repeatedly reshaped by technology, changing workforce expectations and tougher competition for talent.
Over that time, Viventis has completed more than 15,000 placements and worked with more than 1,500 client organizations.
"People see the numbers. I see the faces," Chin says. "An executive taking on a role they were ready for. A company finding the leader it needed to grow. A professional who took a chance on the next step. That is our real history. A quarter-century is not built on one achievement. It is built on confidence, given again and again."
A philosophy that predates the trophy
Viventis approaches executive search as advisory work rather than a transaction.
A senior appointment can shape business performance, company culture, and future direction. Qualifications and experience matter, but so do leadership ability, an organization's priorities, cultural fit, and a candidate's goals. Looking only at the vacancy can solve an immediate problem while creating a longer-term one.
"Filling a vacancy is easy. Getting the right leader into the right role at the right moment is the real work," Chin says.
"That means understanding where a client is going, whether that is expansion, succession, or transformation, and being honest with both sides about whether the fit is right."
Before founding Viventis, Chin built a career in information technology, including 12 years helping the Center for Research and Communication grow into the University of Asia and the Pacific.
His move into executive search began when a friend asked him to find three country managers. All three candidates he recommended were shortlisted, and two were hired.
"I have a way of reading people," he has said, "and in the business of executive search, it's all about seizing opportunities for candidates."
That emphasis on understanding people has shaped Viventis' approach over the years, helping it build the relationships behind its 25-year record.
What the award says about the work ahead
The world of work continues to change. Artificial intelligence is reshaping how organizations operate, digital transformation is changing business models, and companies are rethinking the skills their leaders and teams need.
Recruitment is evolving too. Technology can speed up sourcing, widen access to information, and handle routine tasks. But choosing a senior leader still requires judgment beyond what data alone can provide. A candidate's motivations, adaptability, decision-making, and leadership style can matter as much as technical expertise.
"AI will make us faster. It will not make us wiser on its own," Chin says. "The more of this process becomes automated, the more valuable it becomes to truly understand people, and to know what an organization really needs rather than what the job description says."
The next 25 years will bring new tools and fresh questions about skills, organizational design, and what it takes to succeed. But the need for effective leaders, companies that can turn strategy into action and professionals seeking roles that match their abilities and ambitions will remain. Viventis aims to continue connecting them.
A lesson for Asia's SMEs
Viventis' journey also offers a lesson for small and medium-sized enterprises across the region. Sustainable growth goes beyond expansion and financial results. It also depends on strong relationships, consistent service, developing people, and creating value for stakeholders over time.
"To every SME founder who is struggling right now: we were you," Chin says. "Size is not what lasts. Consistency is. Keep your promises, develop your people, and stay true to the principles that made you start. Twenty-five years is just one year done well, 25 times."
What comes next
For Chin, the award is an important milestone, but the focus remains on what comes next: deepening client relationships, strengthening collaboration across markets, and helping organizations find the people who will shape their future.
"Businesses will keep changing, but people are what move them forward," he says.
"Our next chapter is about connections that do more than fill positions. They develop leaders, change careers, and help organizations grow. Twenty-five years ago, I wasn't sure we would make it to year three. Today, I am sure the best of Viventis is still ahead."
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Editor’s Note: This article was provided by Viventis Search Asia.
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