Heidrick & Struggles Names Head of Chemicals Practice – Europe and Africa

October 4, 2016 – Heidrick & Struggles has appointed Louis Besland as a partner in its industrial practice and as head of chemicals for Europe and Africa.

Based in London with a remit across Europe, he will focus on building the firm’s search and leadership consulting activities in the oil and gas, chemical and energy sectors.

With more than 30 years of consulting and operational experience, Mr. Besland has built a strong reputation as an adviser to corporate boards and management teams. He has been an advisor to international and national oil companies, large energy groups, oil service companies, chemical groups, and government organizations as well as private-equity firms.

Prior to joining Heidrick & Struggles, Mr. Besland was managing director and co-head of the European and Middle East oil, gas & chemicals practice at AlixPartners. He also spent 12 years as a partner at A.T. Kearney, leading the firm’s energy practice. Earlier in his career, he was a partner at Gemini Consulting and PA Consulting Group. He also ran his own company, Expertconsultant, a consulting marketplace.

“Louis’ deep sector expertise and background make him uniquely placed to deliver both search and leadership consulting services at the highest level for our global clients,” said Jamie Page, who leads Heidrick’s U.K. industrial practice.

Global Growth Continues 

Heidrick has been on a recent expansion tear around the globe, making strategic acquisitions, naming a number of key practice leaders, and building out its culture shaping business segment.

• Just recently, Heidrick added Steven Greenberg as a partner in charge of the firm’s financial services practice, based in Tokyo, where he will also leads the firm’s efforts in the insurance sector, covering Asia Pacific and the Middle East. He also serves as a member of Heidrick’s CEO and board of directors practice.

• Heidrick last month acquired Philosophy IB, a leadership consultant based in Florham Park, NJ. Philosophy IB was established in 2000 by founding partners Christine Lotze and Kaveh Naficy and today serves Fortune 100 companies focused on assisting clients execute their strategies by changing how people work.

• In August, the firm acquired JCA Group, a well-known London-based executive search advisory boutique. JCA Group is led by founding partners Jan Hall and Emma Fallon, and has 40 employees, including eight partners. The firm has been a leader in addressing gender disparity among boards, as a policy advocate and in placing women on boards in both non-executive and executive roles. One in three of JCA Group’s recent appointments to FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 boards have been female.

• Just recently, Heidrick appointed Simon Pollock as head of its media and entertainment practice. He is based in the firm’s London office. Mr. Pollock has more than 30 years of experience in the media and entertainment sector. Prior to joining Heidrick, he was a partner at a boutique search firm The SevenArts, where he specialized in searches for media, communication and entertainment businesses.

• The firm also strengthened its healthcare and life sciences practices with the addition of healthcare leader Alan Milinazzo as a partner. He is based out of the firm’s Boston office. Mr. Milinazzo previously served as president and CEO of InspireMD, a global leader in embolic prevention systems (EPS), neurovascular devices and thrombus management technologies.

• Heidrick also expanded its industrial expertise by naming Patrick Gray as a partner and head of its aviation, aerospace, and defense sectors in the Americas. He joined the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. Mr. Gray provides talent and leadership consulting solutions to clients spanning aerospace, defense, industrials, & government services (technology, professional services, technical services, and cyber). He was previously with boutique firm Northwind Partners, where he helped establish its Washington, D.C. office.

• The firm appointed Sylvain Dhenin as head of Continental Europe for its global CEO and board practice. He is based in the firm’s Zurich office and reports to Bonnie Gwin and Jeff Sanders, CEO practice group co-managing partners. Mr. Dhenin will continue in his leadership role as managing partner of Western Europe. He joined Heidrick last year.

• Heidrick‘s culture shaping arm, Senn Delaney, added five new principals to expand its capability and meet increasing demand for its organizational culture transformation services. The newly appointed leaders will serve clients globally from home bases in Chicago, Huntington Beach, Boston, Los Angeles and Dallas. Senn Delaney’s new culture consultants bring backgrounds in strategy consulting, human capital management, business transformation strategy, leader engagement, talent optimization, organizational development, HR transformation, and leadership & talent management, beckoning from Deloitte, Capgemini Consulting, Ernst & Young and Gagen MacDonald.

• In March, Heidrick appointed Jenni Hibbert in London to lead its financial services practice in the U.K. She has responsibility for managing the firm’s U.K. financial services business, overseeing a team of approximately 40 individuals with a focus on providing executive search and leadership counsel to top-tier financial institution. The same month, Heidrick appointed David Boehmer as global managing partner of its financial services practice. He works out of the firm’s London office and continues to lead the firm’s financial services enterprise in Europe and Africa.

Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media