Heidrick & Struggles Names CFO
December 10, 2024 – Executive search, leadership consulting, and culture shaping services provider Heidrick & Struggles has appointed Nirupam Sinha as its new CFO. “Nirupam Sinha is a proven financial leader with a passion for strategy, transformation, and people leadership across professional services, financial services, and technology,” said Tom Monahan, CEO of Heidrick. “Throughout his career, Nirupam has helped lead transformative financial management and value creation, all while advancing organizational growth, making him the ideal leader to create value for clients, colleagues and shareholders.”
“Nirupam has the strategic insight, leadership skills and deep experience to support Heidrick & Struggles as the world’s most trusted partner in leadership and critical talent decisions, focused on building differentiated, deep and durable relationships with the world’s most leadership-obsessed companies,” Mr. Monahan said.
Mr. Sinha is a tested leader with extensive experience across professional services, financial services, and technology. He currently serves as CFO of Checkout.com, a global payments company, where he oversees a team of more than 200 across accounting, treasury, tax, FP&A, investor relations, and strategy as well as other groups.
Mr. Sinha also served as the global head of product at asset management firm T. Rowe Price, where his tenure also included senior finance and strategy roles. With nearly 20 years of experience, he has a proven track record of transforming finance functions, scaling organizational growth, and engaging across stakeholder groups. Mr. Sinha began his career at McKinsey & Company in the financial services practice and also worked at Serent Capital as a private equity investor.
“We are in a pivotal time when people and leadership can make or break a business, making the work at Heidrick & Struggles ever more important,” said Mr. Sinha. “Heidrick & Struggles has long served at the heart of talent strategy and continues to innovate and expand its offerings in an increasingly transformative market. I believe we have an exciting road ahead as a firm and I’m honored to be a part of it. As Heidrick & Struggles continues to grow, I look forward to helping the company continue to scale and deliver strong performance for our clients and shareholders around the world.”
Newly Appointed CEO and President
Earlier this year, Heidrick announced that Krishnan Rajagopalan has decided to retire, after more than 23 years with the firm. Following a planned succession process, the board has appointed Mr. Monahan to succeed Mr. Rajagopalan as CEO and member of the board, which was effective March 4. Mr. Monahan was managing partner of Norton Street Holdings and was previously president and CEO of DeVry University. “Search firms are highly focused on trying to leverage data, innovative technology, analytics, and IT to not only lift their client’s performance, but also their own,” said Scott Scanlon, CEO of Hunt Scanlon Media. “Bringing in this outsider at this time makes a whole lot of sense.”
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“The board of directors, including Krishnan, have thoughtfully and deliberately developed this succession plan, and we are confident these leadership announcements position Heidrick & Struggles for continued success well into the future,” said Adam Warby, chairman of the board of Heidrick & Struggles. “Tom Monahan is a proven and innovative executive with a deep passion for the leadership arena and a unique view into what matters – and what works – when driving corporate performance. Tom’s decades of experience in growing technology-enabled services firms focused on delivering C-suite advice makes him the right person to build on our strengths in leadership advisory and to unlock transformative growth through our strategy of innovative diversification.
Heidrick & Struggles Elects New Board Members
Heidrick & Struggles has elected Vijaya Kaza and Timothy Carter to its board of directors as independent directors, effective immediately. The firm also announced that long-serving board member Lyle Logan will depart. Following these changes, the company’s board of directors consists of nine directors, eight of whom are independent. “We are thrilled to welcome both Vijaya and Tim to our board, and on behalf of Heidrick & Struggles and the board of directors, I would like to thank Lyle for his valuable contributions to the company and wish him well with his future endeavors,” said Tom Monahan, CEO of Heidrick & Struggles. “Vijaya’s executive experience overseeing digital products, consumer experience, and cybersecurity, combined with Tim’s record of value creation in complex advisory businesses, will greatly enhance our board’s capabilities and value in the marketplace as we continue to innovate and grow across diverse industries. Furthermore, Tim’s appointment marks the first time a public company CFO joins our board, bringing a new depth of financial expertise to help guide our strategic decisions.”
“Anyone who knows me, understands that I am passionate about the work of finding, developing, and supporting great leaders,” said Mr. Monahan. “Heidrick & Struggles has shaped the leadership advisory industry for decades. As a longtime client, I can see endless possibilities to extend our strength in search, which will continue to be the cornerstone of our strategy, and leverage our diverse assets — including our On-Demand, Consulting and Digital solutions — to deliver value for our clients and our shareholders, and I look forward to leading the company’s talented team as we help clients put the right leadership teams and strategies in place to change the world.”
Heidrick also announced that Mr. Murray, global managing partner of Executive Search, has become president, reporting to Mr. Monahan. In addition to continuing to lead Executive Search, he will have operational responsibility for On-Demand Talent, Heidrick Consulting and go-to-market in his new role. Based in Heidrick’s Boston office, Mr. Murray is a member of the global management committee and is responsible for leading the firm’s global executive search business and client operations.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
