Heidrick & Struggles Launches AI-Enhanced Leadership Assessment Platform
June 4, 2026 – Heidrick & Struggles recently launched Heidrick Immersive, a next generation, AI-enhanced leadership assessment platform. “Today’s leaders must navigate constant disruption, shifting stakeholder expectations, and accelerating technological change,” said David Peck, partner and global leader of the High-Impact Leadership Center of Excellence at Heidrick & Struggles. “By integrating AI-driven simulation and personalized feedback into our advisory offering, we’re advancing how organizations understand agility in leadership through science and human insights in tandem with AI.”
“We’re excited to bring Heidrick Immersive to life and help organizations cultivate two essential CEO qualities: agility and resilience,” Mr. Peck said. “As organizations navigate increasing complexity and disruption, the ability to adapt quickly and lead through uncertainty has never been more critical. Heidrick Immersive represents an innovative approach to leadership insight, positioning Heidrick & Struggles among the first leadership advisory firms to introduce a capability of this kind.”
While traditional assessments evaluate experience, track record, and self-reported behaviors, Heidrick’s new platform uses AI-enabled simulations of strategic inflection points, such as market shifts, technological disruption, and critical stakeholder decisions, to observe how leaders think, decide, and operate under pressure. Advanced behavioral analysis and real-time feedback translate those observations into actionable insights on decision making, adaptability, resilience, and team dynamics.
“For the first time, leadership behavior can be observed in motion: consistently, rigorously, and in minutes rather than days,” Heidrick said. “What emerges is a leader’s decision imprint—the observable pattern of how judgment holds under pressure and how assumptions evolve as conditions change. Powered by AI and backed by behavioral science, the platform creates enterprise-level pressure with cinematic realism. Heidrick & Struggles translates this observable behavior into strategic, board-level insight, giving organizations a clearer view of how leaders will operate when the stakes are highest.”
New Interim Leaders
In March, Heidrick appointed Christian Frank and Mike Schwanke as managing directors of its interim management business in Germany, Atreus. They will immediately assume responsibility for Atreus’ in-country operations and strategy. Founders Harald Linné and Rainer Nagel will remain part of the management team through the end 2026 to ensure a smooth leadership transition.
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“Germany represents a core market for our executive interim strategy, reflecting both its significance to our clients and its role within our global interim management leadership platform,” said Sunny Ackerman, global managing partner, on-demand talent at Heidrick. “Christian and Mike bring extensive experience in leadership and transformation and are well placed to lead the next phase of growth in the German market as part of our global interim offerings.”
Since Heidrick acquired Atreus in 2023, Atreus has contributed to expanding the firm’s interim management footprint across Germany and Europe, reinforcing its leading position in the executive interim segment. Heidrick noted that this leadership transition marks the next step in integrating and scaling interim management in one of Europe’s largest economies.
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“Organizations today are navigating increasing complexity and change, and they need experienced leadership that can create stability and deliver results,” said Mr. Schwanke. “Demand for executive-level interim and transformational leadership solutions continues to grow across Germany, Europe, and beyond.”
“The past few years have reinforced how critical seasoned leadership is during periods of disruption,” said Dr. Frank. “We partner closely with our clients as trusted advisors, combining practical expertise with hands-on support to drive meaningful, measurable outcomes. That client focus continues to fuel our momentum and our growth.”
“Over the past three years, our business across the DACH region has grown strongly in all our solution areas – executive search, interim management, and consulting. With this new leadership team in place, we are even better positioned to support our clients through complex leadership transformations,” said Nicolas von Rosty, managing partner of Heidrick & Struggles, Germany and cluster leader, DACH.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
