Our Team

Yan Sen is the founder and managing director of Makana Partners, based in Japan. He partners with the research team to complete senior searches across industries and functions with a focus on HR. Prior to founding Makana Partners, Yan Sen worked for Hays, one of the world’s largest recruiting firms, and ChapmanCG, where he specialized in senior HR search.

Yan Sen was born in Shanghai, raised in Toronto, and has been living in Tokyo for the past 17 years. He graduated from McMaster University in Canada with a BSc major in psychology and a minor in business. He is extremely passionate about people, culture, and innovation. In addition to English, he speaks fluent Japanese and conversational Mandarin, Cantonese, and Shanghainese.

マカナパートナーズの創設者であり、代表取締役のルー・ヤンセンは日本を拠点とし、リサーチチームと提携して全業界のシニア人事サーチを手掛けています。同社を設立する前は、日本で最大規模の外資系人材紹介企業ヘイズ・スペシャリスト・リクルートメント・ジャパンに勤め、その後シニア人事サーチを専門とするChapmanCGに勤めました。

ヤンセンは上海で生まれ、トロントで育ち、日本に12年在住しています。カナダのマクマスター大学で心理学を専攻し、ビジネスを副専攻、理学士号を取得しました。ヤンセンは人々、文化、革新に非常に興味があり、英語に加え、流暢な日本語と日常会話レベルのマンダリン、広東語、上海語を話します。

Yan Sen is very customer focused and at the same time moderate the interest of the candidates and clients very well. He proactively stays in touch and provides updates on the status of the search and how the finalist is progressing in regards to the decision making process.

Markus Ruh – HR Director, adidas Japan

BSI are extremely satisfied with the candidate we have hired via Makana Partners. We felt Yan Sen really took the time to understand our business; our future vision, where the role fits into our strategy and the importance of the role.  It’s very important to BSI we work with suppliers who understand the journey we are embarking on.  Yan Sen’s knowledge of the APAC market is second to none, being a British (International) company it was crucial we hired a candidate with the right balance of working strategically and culturally – this was evidently clear in the candidates which were submitted. We were provided with a selection of candidates in a tough competitive market, each candidate came prepared to the interview – which is a representation of Makana Partners. We look forward to continually partnering with Makana Partners in all our future recruitment needs in the APAC region.

Sherie Dhindsa-Karwal – Senior TA Partner, BSI

I really appreciated the advice on how to improve my CV quality, the frequent contact and personalized feedback/advice during the interview process. Thank you so much for all your support to make my first job change more successful! Overall, I’m very satisfied with the opportunity introduced.

Senior HR Business Partner, Fortune 500 Tech Company

I’ve known Yan Sen for many years and from my experience he doesn’t push people to make decisions but rather offer different perspectives so they can make the right decision. He’s very supportive, responsive, and open minded (open to feedback). Yan Sen is one of the best agents who I want to have a long-term relationship with.

Kanako Machidori – Head of HR, MathWorks

*150+ total HR introductions across healthcare, manufacturing, IT, consumer, and service industries