Arrann Young — People · BakLok Advisors

The advisor

Performance improves through people. He has spent three decades proving it at the highest level of the profession.

Arrann Young advises BakLok on the architecture of leadership development — how capability is actually built, sustained and carried into the rooms where it counts. His counsel shapes how the practice thinks about long-term client growth, not just single engagements.

He has spent a career doing this at institutional scale: as Partner and Head of Leadership Development at KPMG China, and before that leading leadership solutions for the John Swire & Sons group.

At KPMG he was responsible for the talent and leadership development of 750 Directors, Partners and high-potentials, sat on the Global Talent Council, and redesigned the partner leadership curriculum to align with the firm's strategic growth.

He now advises selected practices and runs his own leadership development work from Europe.

30+

years in leadership & talent development

750+

Directors, Partners & HiPos developed at KPMG China

1000+

leader talent pool developed

His discipline

Performance improvement through people — not process. Build the leader, and the results follow.

It is the premise underneath BakLok's own method: the spoken exchange is where capability becomes visible. Young's role is to make sure the practice builds that capability deliberately, over time, rather than only in the moment.

Background

A career building leaders at scale.

2015–2025Partner, Head of Leadership Development — KPMG China. Global Talent Council; development of 750 Directors, Partners & HiPos; succession planning and partner curriculum redesign.
2012–2015General Manager, Leadership Solutions — John Swire & Sons. Centre of Excellence for a 1,000-leader talent pool; INSEAD-based "First 15 Years" curriculum across Cathay, Properties, Beverages.
2006–2012Group Manager, Management & Leadership Development — Swire Beverages (Coca-Cola bottling partner). Led 20 L&D professionals across Greater China; named among Coca-Cola's Top 20 HR staff globally.
2025–Principal Partner — These Three Things, leadership development solutions. France.

Where he advises

The architecture of growth.

Leadership developmentsenior leaders & high-potential managers
Executive & management coachingpractical support for performance
Succession planningleadership pipelines aligned to strategy
Talent processes & skillsframeworks for sustainable pipelines
Curriculum designexperiential, business-school-grade programmes
Career pathwaysstructured progression across levels

Performance improves through people. He has spent three decades proving it at the highest level of the profession.

A career building leaders at scale.

The architecture of growth.

Engagements are reviewed individually. If the brief is suitable, the practice will respond directly.