IIC Partners Adds New Member Firm in Singapore

January 11, 2017 – IIC Partners Executive Search Worldwide has added Singapore-based Hofer Tan & Partners as its newest member firm. This marks its seventh office in the Asia Pacific region. IIC Partners now has 53 offices in 35 countries.

Established over 20 years ago, Hofer Tan & Partners is a boutique search firm that specializes in senior level executive and board search, leadership development and talent management mandates across industries and markets.

“We are very pleased to join IIC Partners and combine the knowledge and experience of our international partners with our own local expertise and insights and create further value and growth,” said Cecile Hofer, a Hofer Tan managing partner. “As we help our clients in increasingly complex business environments to achieve sustainable human capital solutions, joining IIC Partners will greatly support our continuous quest to deliver best-in-class service, build business growth and preserve customer satisfaction.”

The Singaporean economy is known as one of the freest, most innovative, competitive, dynamic and business-friendly. The Index of Economic Freedom ranks Singapore as the second freest economy in the world and the Ease of Doing Business Index has also ranked Singapore as the easiest place to do business for the past decade.

Singapore’s largest companies are in the telecommunications, banking, transportation and manufacturing sectors, many of which started as state-run enterprises and are now listed on the Singapore Exchange, including Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel), Singapore Technologies Engineering, Keppel Corporation, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), Development Bank of Singapore (DBS), and United Overseas Bank (UOB).

“Singapore is a significant market for executive search and we are thrilled to be represented by Hofer Tan & Partners in this key Asian city,” said Christine Hayward, IIC Partners executive director. “Hofer Tan & Partners is a trusted, high-caliber firm with a strong commitment to delivering superior results and client satisfaction.”

Branding Partnerships

IIC Partners just recently formed a marketing and brand management partnership with CoolBrands, a multinational branding company with over 10 years of experience in creating and packaging profiles for companies and for C-suite executives who are seeking broader market exposure. Through the partnership, CoolBrands will host webinars for IIC Partners members in 2017 covering online reputation management and the importance of portraying brands in the digital space. Together, CoolBrands and IIC Partners will also collaborate on content subject relevant to executive search and reputation management.

This partnership follows IIC Partners launching the IIC Partners Knowledge Academy. The platform provides IIC Partners members with access to a library of professional development webinars, training and educational resources and collaborative learning tools. Knowledge Academy serves as an opportunity for members to grow their business through the exploration of a wide array of topics relevant to today’s industry trends and demands. It was created with the intention to capitalize on the wealth of knowledge that IIC Partners holds as an organization and to bring new tools, services and ideas to its membership community on a complimentary basis.

Other Growing Consortiums

A number of executive search consortiums have expanded their memberships in recent months. Here’s a closer look from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:

• AltoPartners added Backer Wurzel & Partners in Argentina and Equation Partners in Peru as its newest member firms. Based in Buenos Aires, Backer Wurzel & Partners was founded in 2012 by Ricardo Backer and Gustavo Wurzel, former managing partners of Korn Ferry and Heidrick & Struggles. The firm’s focus is on helping CEOs and senior directors in leveraging performance and effectiveness at both management team and individual levels. Equation Partners provides executive search services to a wide diversity of sectors and industries (financial sector, retail, real estate, telecommunications, health and life science, energy, construction, mining services, manufacturing industry and nonprofit organizations);

• IMD International Search Group added Palo Alto, CA-based Fortra Executive Search and London-headquartered Hill Coates Associates as its newest member firms. Fortra is a boutique firm specialized in the specific niche of the venture-funded and private equity technology market in San Francisco. Hill Coates, founded in 2008, specializes in leadership roles in private equity-backed companies. IMD International Search Group also strengthened its presence in South America with the addition of Osser & Osser. Headquartered in São Paulo, Osser & Osser is led by Anna Luiza Osser and Patricia Osser Sales who founded the firm in 2002;

• In August, IRC Global Executive Search Partners added Cabot Consultants and E.A. Hughes as member firms. Founded in 1991 by Elaine Hughes, E.A. Hughes serves clients in the retail and consumer apparel, home furnishings, beauty, digital, e-commerce, footwear and other industries. Cabot Consultants focuses on the advanced technologies, aerospace & defense, clean technology, financial services, government services, life sciences & healthcare, not-for-profit & trade associations, venture capital & private equity sectors, professional services, and semiconductor sectors. IRC also added Chile-based Inquest Consultores as a member firm. Inquest Consultores, led by Pia Puebla Menne and Isabel Walker, has been a key player in the Chilean executive search and compensation management consulting sector for more than 14 years;

• Access Search Partners (ASP) added White Ocean Expert Consulting (WOEC) as its newest member for to address the growing executive search market in India. WOEC is a global executive search and consulting firm focusing on technology and industrial sectors across India and Asia Pacific;

• Penrhyn International announced a further strategic expansion into North America with a joint venture partnership between Canadian executive search firms Leaders & Co and Davies Park Executive Search. With offices in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver, Leaders & Co. / Davies Park Executive Search specialize in board level positions, leadership succession, and executive recruitment assignments based on fundamental, in-depth research on human capital, providing a seamless and human-centric approach to executive search;

• AIMS International added Danish executive search firm Totem Search & Selection as its newest member firm. Founded in 2000 and led by founder Torsten Miland, Totem serves a wide array of clients in many different industries, including Ramboll; Maersk; Citi; Novartis; Accenture; Daman; Eltel; Capevo; Saxo Bank; TDC Hosting; and Falck Safety Services; among others;

• The Sanford Rose Associates Executive Search Network added Horizon Hospitality Associates and MedCore Talent as its newest member firms. Horizon Hospitality is an executive search firm focused on recruiting talent for the hotels, resorts, restaurants, country clubs and other hospitality-related industries. Since 1998, the firm has placed executive level, vice president, director, management, sales and culinary professionals nationwide. Founded in 2008 by Charlie Mayhone, MedCore Talent is a healthcare executive search and consulting firm niched in the emerging transitional care market. Areas of expertise include recruiting leadership and staff positions for case management, transitional care, care coordination and bundled payment for care improvement specialists for acute, post-acute and payer clients.

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