Heidrick & Struggles Names Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary
November 16, 2021 – Executive search, leadership consulting and culture shaping services provider Heidrick & Struggles has appointed Tracey Heaton as its new chief legal officer and corporate secretary. “As we continue to expand our suite of future-focused offerings and innovative, tech-driven capabilities, Tracey’s proven global experience across commercial, corporate and digital payments technology arenas will be incredibly valuable to our ongoing growth and success,” said Krishnan Rajagopalan, president and CEO. “We are delighted to welcome Tracey to our firm, and her client-centric approach and in-depth expertise will serve our own teams and clients well.”
Previously, Ms. Heaton was senior vice president, chief corporate counsel for Visa Inc., where she advised the company on complex commercial transactions and corporate areas, including mergers, acquisitions and strategic venture investments, securities and public company reporting, ESG, treasury and finance, marketing and sponsorships and global entity management. During her tenure, she played a key role in driving the company’s strategic growth through acquisitions and partnerships and deepening its relationships with multiple stakeholder groups.
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Prior to Visa, Ms. Heaton served as executive vice president and deputy general counsel at NYSE Euronext Inc. and as associate general counsel at United Technologies Corp. She also previously held roles as an associate in the corporate group of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, while based in New York and Hong Kong, and in the corporate department of Dechert.
“Heidrick & Struggles is in the midst of an exciting transformation journey as it seeks to grow the scale and impact of its search, leadership advisory and on-demand talent businesses, and I am excited to join the firm at such a pivotal time,” said Ms. Heaton.
Leadership Changes
Heidrick & Struggles has appointed Jaimee Eddington as Americas regional leader. “We are excited to have Jaimee take up the Americas leadership role as we continue to bring our clients an integrated suite of executive search, consulting and on-demand talent solutions to help them navigate the many complex talent and human capital issues they face,” said Michael Cullen, chief operating officer. “Jaimee is a proven business leader who possesses the vision and depth and breadth of experience needed to drive the next phase of growth for the Americas, our firm’s largest region.”
In her new position, Ms. Eddington works closely with the firm’s management committee and the Americas leadership team, focusing on increasing revenue, expanding into new growth areas and delivering long-term stakeholder value. She is also responsible for driving cross-collaboration across business lines and the region to deliver the full range of the firm’s leadership advisory solutions.
Heidrick & Struggles also recently appointed Kamau Coar to the newly created role of chief inclusion officer and Jenni Hibbert as global managing partner, head of executive search go-to-market. This is part of the Heidrick’s long-term strategic plans to accelerate business growth and strengthen its focus on diversity and the firm’s workplace culture, said the search firm. “We continue to transform our business and build for the future,” said Mr. Rajagopalan. “As we progress on this journey, our leadership and workplace culture remain foundational to our success. We have a longstanding commitment to developing talent from within our firm, and these new roles and leadership changes put us in an even stronger position to support our employees while delivering world-class advisory services to our clients.”
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
