Kennedy Strengthens Presence in Norway
September 22, 2017 – Kennedy Executive Search & Consulting, a network of independent executive search firms, has partnered with Human Assets Consulting Group AS in Oslo, Norway to bolster its presence in Northern Europe.
Human Assets Consulting is a boutique executive search firm founded in 2015 by Petter Berg, Truls Mo and Haakon Heskja. Mr. Berg, who started in executive search five years ago, has a background working for two top tier management consulting firms (including partner-level at McKinsey). He was also a director with a large IT consulting business. Mr. Berg has 16 years in management consulting, including vast international experience in Europe, the Middle-East and Africa.
Mr. Mo has more than 20 years’ top level executive search experience in Norway. He combines this with senior management experience, having served as both managing director for a large Norwegian law firm and as head of the European business unit for Korn Ferry Futurestep.
Mr. Heskja has more than 15 years of domestic and international search experience. He has conducted numerous searches in Norway and globally.
“We have a strong focus on finance, industrial and technology and have worked for both Fortune 500 companies as well as smaller clients,” said Mr. Mo. “In addition to identifying talent for senior leadership positions, we offer board evaluation and composition, advisory and leadership consulting. Combining our vast experience with Kennedy’s global footprint, will create exciting opportunities. We have found the same values and approach with Kennedy Executive Search & Consulting.”
Norwegian Market
Today, Norway is the second wealthiest country in the world in monetary value, with the largest capital reserve per capita of any nation. The Norwegian economy is a mixed economy, a prosperous capitalist welfare state and social democracy country featuring a combination of free market activity and large state ownership in certain key sectors. It has large ownership positions in key industrial sectors, such as the strategic petroleum (Statoil), hydroelectric energy production (Statkraft), aluminum production (Norsk Hydro), the largest Norwegian bank (DNB), and telecommunication provider (Telenor). Through these companies the government controls approximately 30 percent of the stock values at the Oslo Stock Exchange.
“Norway is experiencing a game changing digital shift in all industries,” said Mr. Heskja. “HA Consulting has served numerous clients, developing their digital organizations and securing world leading digital talents. Now we can provide this insight and expertise to clients of other Kennedy Executive partners, and at the same time secure access to even more digital talents for our Norwegian clients. We believe that being able to offer this international footprint and expertise adds substantial value for clients.”
Jorg Stegemann, CEO of Kennedy, said it was crucial for his group to establish a presence in Norway. “With HA Consulting, we have found the right partner,” he said. “Norway’s economy is projected to strengthen. Despite low oil prices, growth has remained positive thanks to accommodative monetary and fiscal policies. Norway has a well-educated workforce. Employment growth will pick up, and increasing activity will lift consumer price inflation from its current low level.”
Scandinavia, he added, “is one of our strongest regions now: With DNA Headhunting in Copenhagen and Kennedy’s Monaco colleague Caroline Frisenberg being Swedish, we are now able to cover the entire region,” said Mr. Stegemann. “At least three of our partners in Oslo and Copenhagen have held regional leadership roles all over Scandinavia which gives us a deep understanding of how Scandinavia ticks. We speak the languages and have run searches all over the region. This makes us a preferred partner for strategic recruitments anywhere in Scandinavia.”
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On the Move
Kennedy Executive Search offers what it calls “360 talent management,” from executive search to coaching during a placement’s integration period, and a host of talent and leadership consulting services. The firm services clients across Europe and North America, with offices in Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Denver, Frankfurt, London, Milan, Paris and Prague.
At the beginning of the year, Kennedy Executive Search partnered with Ikelosz in Budapest to strengthen its presence in Central Eastern Europe. George Kobelrausch, Ikelosz’s founder, has been working in the search sector since 2005 after a career spanning blue chip companies, including Unilever. He has a track record of over 10 years in executive search and has recruited senior leadership functions in Hungary and other countries in CEE. He is an experienced business coach and certified consultant of the Innermetrix personality assessment system. His team includes Klara Gorog, a senior consultant with 20-plus years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry, who heads up its life sciences practice.
This past fall the firm formed an alliance with Frisenberg J. & Associates, a recruiting boutique based in Monaco founded in 2001 by Caroline Frisenberg. Ms. Frisenberg has a 10-year track record in executive search; she has recruited for senior level leadership functions in 17 European countries, the Middle East and South Africa.
Kennedy also recently partnered with Integrated People Solutions (IPS), a Denver-headquartered boutique executive search firm founded in 2000 by Eric Pringle. From animal pharmaceuticals to telecom technologies, from non-profits to waste services providers, IPS helps companies build and maintain innovative people strategies to support their business goals.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Will Schatz, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media