Hong Kong SAR, August 2026 — Colgate-Palmolive has appointed Saada McNamee as Senior Vice President, People – Asia Pacific, marking her return to the global consumer products company after previously spending more than a decade with the organization. In her new role, McNamee takes on senior people leadership responsibilities for the Asia-Pacific region, bringing extensive international experience across human resources, talent strategy, organizational transformation and business leadership.
Prior to rejoining Colgate-Palmolive, McNamee served as Country Head, People & Organisation at Novartis Australia & New Zealand from 2024 to 2026. Before Novartis, she was Director at Two Twelve Limited in New Zealand, while also holding a series of leadership assignments with Comvita Limited. Her roles at Comvita included Interim General Manager – Australia and New Zealand, Interim Chief Marketing Officer, Project Lead – Special Projects, Chief Customer Officer, Chief Operating Officer – Brand, and Chief People and Culture Officer.
McNamee’s new appointment represents a return to Colgate-Palmolive, where she previously spent more than 10 years between 2008 and 2019 across New Zealand, the United States and Europe. She most recently served as HR Director, Hill’s Europe for more than five years, based across Prague and Basel. Earlier, she held positions as Associate Director HR – U.S. Marketing, HR Manager – U.S. Marketing, and HR Manager – Colgate-Palmolive New Zealand.
Her earlier career includes human resources assignments with The Warehouse Ltd, HP, Euroclear and ANZ. She served as HR Manager at HP in Auckland, worked as an HR Generalist with Euroclear in London, and spent more than three years in human resources with ANZ across New Zealand and Australia.
With more than 25 years of professional experience, McNamee brings a distinctive combination of senior HR leadership and broader commercial and operational experience. Her career has spanned Asia-Pacific, Europe and the United States, with responsibilities across people strategy, talent, culture, organizational transformation, marketing, customer leadership and general management. Her return to Colgate-Palmolive brings this cross-functional and international perspective to the company’s People leadership across Asia Pacific.
About Colgate-Palmolive
Colgate-Palmolive is a global consumer products company with a history spanning more than 200 years. The company develops, produces, distributes and sells health and hygiene products and pet nutrition offerings through brands including Colgate, Palmolive, elmex, Tom’s of Maine, hello, Softsoap, Irish Spring, Protex, Sanex, Ajax, Fabuloso, and Hill’s Science Diet and Hill’s Prescription Diet, among others.
The company describes itself as a caring, innovative growth company focused on reimagining a healthier future for people, pets and the planet. Its sustainability and community initiatives encompass areas including plastic waste reduction, recyclability, water conservation and oral health education, including its long-running Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures program.
Read Also : How HR Leaders Are Redefining Talent Development for the Future of Work
Selective Increments, Strategic Hiring: How AI Skills Are Reshaping India Inc’s Appraisal Cycle
From Org Charts to Skill Graphs: The Reinvention of Enterprise Design
Rethinking Talent in the Age of AI: Why Workforce Agility Starts with the 4Bs
The HR Leader’s Real AI Problem Is Not Adoption. It Is Architecture.
