Heidrick & Struggles Appoints Leader of Israeli Office
July 12, 2023 – Executive search, leadership consulting, and culture shaping services provider Heidrick & Struggles has named Cheli Nachman as partner in charge of its Tel Aviv, Israel office. She also becomes a partner in the technology practice.
“Cheli is highly regarded both as a super-dedicated recruitment consultant and trusted advisor,” said Claire Skinner, regional leader, Europe and Africa. “She will provide clients with access to talent and leadership at a time when they seek creative, nimble, and high-performing talent to achieve their strategic business objectives.”
Ms. Nachman specializes in cybersecurity, data and analytics, artificial intelligence, enterprise software, industrial technology, and financial technology executive search work. She also has experience working closely with clients at venture capital and private equity firms.
Ms. Nachman has more than 20 years of experience in human resources and C-level recruiting. Prior to joining Heidrick & Struggles, she was a senior partner at an Israeli boutique search firm for 12 years, specializing in the high-tech industry, focusing on cybersecurity, data analytics and AI, enterprise software, industrial tech, and fintech. Previously, Ms. Nachman lived and worked for 10 years in the U.S., working for seven years as a VP of human resources at Citigroup, supporting global groups.
Tel Aviv has been ranked as the 25th most important financial center in the world. It is home to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE), Israel’s only stock exchange, which has reached record heights since the 1990s. Many international venture-capital firms, scientific research institutes, and high-tech companies are headquartered in the city. Industries in Tel Aviv include chemical processing, textile plants, and food manufacturers.
Growing Via Acquisitions
Heidrick & Struggles closed the acquisition of Atreus, one of the leading players for executive interim management in Germany. Together, Atreus and Heidrick & Struggles’ wholly owned, U.S.-based Business Talent Group (BTG), which was acquired in 2021, constitute the company’s on-demand talent segment and build on its strong market position in this space. The brand name Atreus, well-known in the German market, will be retained, and the Atreus management team, led by Harald Linné and Rainer Nagel, will remain in place.
“Heidrick & Struggles is on an exciting transformation journey to broaden and diversify our suite of executive talent and leadership advisory services,” said Krishnan Rajagopalan, president and CEO of Heidrick. “Our on-demand talent business is core to our overall growth strategy and a key client imperative that will only accelerate as companies continue to seek alternative ways to approach talent management with speed, agility, and flexibility – whether it’s through on-demand access to executive leaders for interim roles or strategic project work.”
“The acquisition of Atreus is a highly complementary investment for Heidrick & Struggles,” said Mr. Rajagopalan. “The addition of Germany, a strategically important market for the firm, along with our existing on-demand talent businesses in the United States and the United Kingdom, gives us a strong springboard to scale this powerful platform across Europe and globally.”
Heidrick & Struggles Acquires Business Talent Group
Heidrick & Struggles has closed the acquisition of Business Talent Group (BTG), a marketplace for high-end independent talent on demand. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The addition of BTG complements Heidrick & Struggles’ strategic growth initiative to expand its suite of executive talent solutions to address new and ongoing client demands and builds on a two-year exclusive collaboration with BTG that began in 2019. BTG will continue to be led by co-founders and co-CEOs, Jody Greenstone Miller and Amelia Tyagi, and operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Heidrick.
“Heidrick & Struggles was a forerunner of the executive search industry when the firm was founded more than 65 years ago,” said CEO Krishnan Rajagopalan. “The seismic changes over the past year have accelerated the future of work and underscored the importance of agile leaders and workforces. We are excited to be the first global leadership advisory firm to enter the on-demand, independent talent space and partner with BTG, a leader and pioneer of the high-end independent talent marketplace.”
Demand trends demonstrate that executives are beginning to understand the benefits that on-demand talent can offer given the attractive economics for project-based work. According to recent Heidrick & Struggles market research, more than 60 percent of executives surveyed in Europe have used some form of on-demand talent in the past, and 85 percent believe they will start to use on-demand talent services more in the future.
Heidrick also entered into an agreement to acquire businessfourzero, a London-headquartered consultancy specializing in developing and implementing purpose-driven change. “This acquisition will not only deepen Heidrick & Struggles’ existing set of leadership advisory and industry-leading culture and organization solutions, but also accelerate the company’s ability to help clients drive successful business transformations by linking purpose and strategy to leadership and culture,” said the firm.
“Powerful, purpose-driven cultures and inspired and engaged workforces are critical drivers of successful business transformations and long-term, sustainable performance,” said Mr. Rajagopalan. “businessfourzero will form an integral part of Heidrick Consulting’s offering, strengthening our ability to work with clients who are focused on developing future-ready cultures and organizations with pragmatic, actionable strategies. We look forward to welcoming Atif Sheikh and the entire team.”
Related: Heidrick & Struggles and Eightfold AI Form Alliance
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
