Heidrick & Struggles Posts 6.9 Percent Revenue Increase

May 6, 2025 – Executive search, leadership consulting, and culture shaping services provider Heidrick & Struggles / (NASDAQ:HSII) has posted first quarter revenues of $283.6 million, a 6.9 percent increase compared to consolidated net revenue of $265.2 million in the 2024 first quarter (up 8.1 percent, or $21.6 million on a constant currency basis). The revenue increase was driven by year-over-year growth in each of the company’s lines of business — Executive Search, On-Demand Talent, and Heidrick Consulting.

The Chicago-headquartered recruiter — the fifth largest global firm as ranked by Hunt Scanlon Media — reported first quarter net income was $13.3 million and diluted earnings per share was $0.62 which included an acquisition-related earnout and contingent compensation fair value adjustment of $1.3 million related to the On-Demand Talent segment. Excluding this charge, 2025 first quarter adjusted net income was $14.2 million compared to adjusted net income of $14.0 million in the 2024 first quarter. 2025 first quarter adjusted diluted earnings per share was $0.67, consistent with the prior year period.

Executive Search net revenue was $213.4 million in the 2025 first quarter compared to net revenue of $201.5 million in the 2024 first quarter, an increase of $11.9 million, or 5.9 percent (up 7.0 percent on a constant currency basis). The higher revenue versus the year-ago period was driven by increases in all regions including 5.7 percent in the Americas (up 6.3 percent on a constant currency basis), 9.4 percent in Europe (up 11.4 percent on a constant currency basis), and 1.2 percent in Asia Pacific (up 3.5 percent on a constant currency basis) when compared to the prior year first quarter.

On-Demand Talent net revenue increased $4.7 million, or 12.4 percent, to $42.6 million in the 2025 first quarter compared to net revenue of $37.9 million in the 2024 first quarter (up $5.4 million, or 14.3 percent on a constant currency basis).

Heidrick Consulting net revenue increased $1.8 million, or 6.8 percent, to $27.6 million in the 2025 first quarter compared to net revenue of $25.9 million in the 2024 first quarter (up $2.0 million, or 7.8 percent on a constant currency basis).

“Our first quarter results exceeded the high end of our outlook, a testament to our resilient business model, our team’s intense focus, and the deep trust that clients place in Heidrick,” said Tom Monahan, CEO of Heidrick & Struggles. “When navigating economic uncertainty, we remain committed to serving as a highly strategic advisor, helping organizations turn complexity into opportunity. In addition, our new leadership team is focused on sharpening execution and ensuring our professionals have the resources to deliver exceptional results.”

“While mindful of current macroeconomic conditions, we know that by staying close to our clients and enabling our exceptional professionals with new tools and solutions, we can continue to engineer differentiated, deep and durable client partnerships,” Mr. Monahan said. “We are confident in our ability to create lasting value for our clients, our people and our shareholders.”

Related: Heidrick & Struggles Unveils 2025 Global and Regional Leadership Appointments

The board of directors declared a 2025 first quarter cash dividend of $0.15 per share payable on May 29, 2025, to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 15, 2025.

Newly Appointed CFO

Heidrick recently 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 Mr. Monahan. “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.”

Heidrick & Struggles Taps Outsider as CEO; Other Leadership Moves Announced

Heidrick & Struggles has announced that president and CEO Krishnan Rajagopalan has decided to retire, after more than 23 years with the firm. Following a planned succession process, the board has appointed Thomas L. Monahan to succeed Mr. Rajagopalan as CEO and member of the board, effective March 4. Mr. Monahan currently serves as managing partner of Norton Street Holdings and was previously president and CEO of DeVry University. Mr. Rajagopalan will step down, effective March 4, 2024, and will retire from the firm as of April 1, 2024, after which he will continue to serve as an advisor. “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.”

Mr. Sinha is a tested leader with extensive experience across professional services, financial services, and technology. He previously served 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.

“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.”

Outlook

Heidrick expects 2025 second quarter consolidated net revenue between $285 million and $305 million, which may be impacted by external factors, such as the foreign exchange and interest rate environments, foreign conflicts, inflation and macroeconomic constraints on pricing actions. In addition, this outlook is based on the average currency rates in March 2025 and reflects, among other factors, management’s assumptions for the anticipated volume of new Executive Search confirmations, On-Demand Talent projects, and Heidrick Consulting assignments, consultant productivity, and consultant retention along with the current backlog.

Related: Heidrick & Struggles Elects New Board Members

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor  – Hunt Scanlon Media