Adyen appoints Gary Yang as Asia-Pacific President

Adyen has appointed Gary Yang as President for Asia-Pacific, succeeding Warren Hayashi in the regional role.

Based in Singapore, Yang will oversee commercial growth and operations across Asia-Pacific. Hayashi is due to retire at the end of the year. The change puts a long-serving internal executive in charge of one of the payments group's key international regions.

Yang joined Adyen in 2018 and most recently served as Senior Vice President, Global Head of Account Management and Partnerships, overseeing merchant relationships and the company's partner network worldwide.

Before joining Adyen, he held senior roles at several technology businesses, including Vice President of Operations at Peek and an early General Manager role at viagogo.

His career has also included strategy consulting at BCG, product management at Microsoft, software engineering at Booz Allen Hamilton, and venture capital at GGV Capital. He holds an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business and degrees in Computer Engineering and Finance from the University of Maryland.

Adyen operates across a broad Asia-Pacific footprint, with teams in Singapore, Sydney, Shanghai, Hong Kong SAR, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Auckland. It works with businesses in travel, retail, hospitality, and eCommerce, including Agoda, Amazon Japan, Cathay Pacific, Hungry Jack's, Klook, Mandai Wildlife Group, MECCA, Oyo, Raffles Hotel, ROLLER, Singapore Airlines, Xiaomi, Temu, and UNIQLO.

Regional shift

The leadership handover also marks Hayashi's planned departure later this year. The transition reflects Adyen's practice of moving senior leaders into regional roles as it expands its presence and responds to customer demand in local markets.

Asia-Pacific remains a closely watched market for payments groups because it combines large established economies with fast-growing digital commerce markets. Businesses operating across the region face a mix of consumer payment preferences, regulation, and competitive pressures, making local execution important for global financial technology companies.

Yang pointed to those shifts in his remarks on taking the role.

"We are witnessing a critical era across Asia-Pacific, with major fintech transformations in key markets like India and Japan, and a demand for innovation in more mature markets such as Singapore and Australia as we enter the age of AI-driven commerce," said Gary Yang, President of Asia-Pacific at Adyen.

"I am energized to take on this role and build upon the incredible foundation Warren and the team have established. Adyen is uniquely positioned to help businesses scale amid this transformation, and I look forward to working closely with our customers to help them achieve their ambitions faster," Yang said.

Hayashi described the transition as a handover to an executive with deep knowledge of Adyen's commercial organisation and technical work.

"Leading Adyen's APAC team has been an incredibly rewarding journey, and I am immensely proud of the foundation we've built," said Warren Hayashi, outgoing Asia-Pacific President.

"Passing the baton is always easier when the next leader is as exceptionally qualified as Gary. I look forward to working side-by-side with him over the coming months to ensure a smooth transition. Gary's profound understanding of our global commercial operations, as well as his strong technical background, make him the ideal leader to build on our momentum and pilot the region forward," Hayashi said.

Growth focus

For Adyen, the move brings a global commercial executive into a regional leadership role at a time when payment providers are competing for large merchants seeking to unify online and in-store transactions across several countries. Yang's background in account management and partnerships suggests the company is placing weight on customer retention and expansion in the region, as well as relationships with external partners.

Roelant Prins, Adyen's Chief Commercial Officer, said the appointment fits a broader management approach.

"Bringing our most seasoned global talent into critical regional roles is a fundamental pillar of our growth strategy. It allows us to share deep institutional expertise across the business while staying hyper-focused on the evolving needs of local merchants," said Roelant Prins, Chief Commercial Officer at Adyen.

"We are incredibly grateful to Warren for his outstanding leadership and dedication in building our strong footprint across Asia-Pacific. We are excited to welcome Gary to Singapore. His proven track record in driving commercial growth will be invaluable as we accelerate our ambitions in Asia-Pacific," Prins said.