ABOUT US
Success in APJ requires local insight, regional alignment, and a clear understanding of how top performers operate country-to-country. With teams across the region, we bring real market context, and talent intelligence on what it takes to win.
GTM PLACEMENTS
SaaS Vendors
Net Promoter Score
Cloud 100 Companies
Our Team
Andrew Wanden
Founder / Co-Director
Andrew is a recruitment leader with 15+ years of experience across APJ, specialising in senior leadership hires and executive team building. He partners with CROs, VC, and PE firms to shape go-to-market strategies for portfolio companies, particularly global SaaS vendors entering the region. Andrew has advised startups, scale-ups, and enterprises on aligning leadership talent with business growth objectives, helping organisations establish strong foundations and expand across ANZ, Southeast Asia, and Japan.
Andrew Wanden
Founder / Co-Director
Jerameel Ramos
Founder / Co-Director
Jerameel is a recruitment leader with 14+ years of experience across APJ, having lived and worked in Singapore, Sydney, and Melbourne. He advises technology vendors on GTM talent strategies when entering new markets, leveraging deep expertise in FinTech, Data Analytics, MarTech, and AI/ML. Known for building high-performance teams across SEA, A/NZ, and Japan, Jerameel has guided startups and scale-ups to $100M ARR.
Jerameel Ramos
Founder / Co-Director
Curtis Richens
Partner
Curtis’ career has been dedicated to helping SaaS vendors build leadership and GTM teams across Asia Pacific. Throughout his 15-year career working in both Australia and Singapore, he has developed an unrivalled network of inspiring leaders and high-impact GTM talent across the APJ region.
Curtis Richens
Partner
Matt Sparrow
Country Manager Japan
As Country Manager of Playbook Japan, Matt specialises in executive search for Country Managers and regional sales leaders. He has supported new market entries, guided leadership transitions, and built high-performing GTM teams for international SaaS vendors. With deep knowledge of Japan’s hiring landscape, Matt partners closely with senior leadership to align global expansion strategies with local execution, delivering the leadership talent that drives sustainable revenue growth.
Matt Sparrow
Country Manager Japan
Amir Jafri
Senior Consultant
Amir lived in Malaysia while recruiting across APAC, completing complex projects in diverse markets throughout the region. Having led numerous GTM buildouts for technology vendors spanning SaaS, IoT, hardware, and telecommunications, he has continued his expertise in recruiting for SaaS across the broader APAC market. Now based in Melbourne, Amir partners with high-growth software companies to accelerate their regional expansion. He is your 'go-to resource', bringing both strategic insight and executional depth to every growth journey.
Amir Jafri
Senior Consultant
Chris Thomson
Senior Consultant
Born and raised in Japan, Chris builds go-to-market teams for global companies entering the Japanese market. He partners with high-growth SaaS and tech firms to bridge global vision with local execution, helping them scale successfully across APJ. With deep market insight and cultural fluency, he enables international brands to thrive in Japan’s unique business landscape.
Chris Thomson
Senior Consultant
Shuya Takehana
Consultant
Born in Malaysia and educated in the U.S., Shuya began his career at Panasonic in Japan, gaining a strong foundation in business and stakeholder management. His experience working across cultures sparked a passion for people and talent, leading him to pursue a career in recruitment, where he now combines commercial insight with a people-first approach to building exceptional teams.
Shuya Takehana
Consultant
Lauren Nugent
Talent Advocate
Lauren is a Senior Talent Advocate Consultant at Playbook. Originally from Dublin, she has lived in Sydney for 7 years and brings 6+ years of recruitment experience, of which, over 4 focused on the SaaS GTM ecosystem. Known for sourcing top talent quickly, she blends relationship building skills with a consultative approach to deliver ideal matches, helping clients and candidates succeed while enabling vendors to build high-performing teams efficiently.
Lauren Nugent
Talent Advocate
Jairus Alpanta
Talent Advocate
With over 10 years of recruitment experience, Jai brings deep expertise and a strong network across the APJ region, including five years specialising in Japan and ASEAN markets. He has a solid grasp of IT market trends and challenges, enabling him to connect businesses with exceptional talent. Jai has successfully recruited top professionals in sales, marketing, presales, customer success, and technical roles, driving growth and success for organisations across diverse markets.
Jairus Alpanta
Talent Advocate
Queny Tabujara
Talent Advocate
Queny is a trusted talent strategist with 9 years of experience scaling teams across APAC. Based in the Philippines, she’s known for her consultative approach and deep expertise in executive and high-volume hiring. She’s led hiring sprints in banking, telecom, retail, supply chain, and IT. Now, she champions the APJ SaaS market, helping startups and scale-ups connect GTM dynamos and technical talent to drive bold, measurable growth across the region.
Queny Tabujara
Talent Advocate
News that keeps us at the forefront of SaaS recruitment
Industry | 17 Nov
Industry | 17 Nov
When SaaS companies expand into new regions, the question is always the same: what’s the minimum viable landing team we need to succeed?
Resource | 13 Oct
Resource | 13 Oct
GTM executives today are choosing between two powerful career tracks. Big AI offers explosive growth and once-in-a-generation upside. Enterprise SaaS provides stability, credibility, and long-term compounding. Both can change your trajectory. The question is which currency you want to optimise for.
Industry | 15 Sept
Industry | 15 Sept
Across APJ, GTM leaders eventually face the same question: join a scale-up racing toward market fit, or step into a mature SaaS organisation with global reach? The choice goes far deeper than company size. Both paths create strong careers. They just build very different types of operators.
Industry | 14 Jul
Industry | 14 Jul
APJ has become one of the most competitive SaaS regions in the world. Diverse operating environments create huge opportunity, but only for teams that understand how differently each country behaves. Here’s a concise look at the trends shaping the region, and the factors that separate successful expansion from stalled motion.
