Singapore: Brodeur Worldwide is closing its three-year-old
homegrown Asia-Pacific headquarters in Singapore to make Hong Kong
partner EBA its regional hub. Five Brodeur Singapore employees have lost
their jobs.
The Singapore office has not been profitable for some time, but US
economic woes prompted Brodeur to finally close its doors, said CEO
Andrea Carney.
"It's a good office to serve our multinational clients, but it has never
gotten beyond the small start-up stage, said Carney. "Because of the
economy in the states, there is not going to be as much business we can
send over.
Carney denied rumors that the closure is indicative of greater changes
in company strategy, saying Singapore is an isolated situation.
John Back, Brodeur Asia-Pacific MD, will move into business and client
consulting as of January 1. He will stay in Singapore and will either
work out of his home or from the offices of Brodeur partner EastWest,
which has taken on former Brodeur Singapore clients.
Brodeur VP Terresa Christenson will spend a month in the region
searching for a replacement MD either within or outside Brodeur. The new
MD will be responsible for bringing the partners together and building
local services.
Brodeur now has 10 partners in 18 cities in the region. With the closure
of Singapore, only Korea and Australia have Brodeur-branded offices.
Carney said the Singapore closure will not change the company's
acquisition strategy in the region.
