Kingsley Gate Acquires Seeliger y Conde in Spain
September 6, 2023 – Private equity-backed Kingsley Gate has acquired Seeliger y Conde, an executive search and leadership advisory firm in Spain. “Despite the unquestionable importance of Spain as a key vertex of North American, European, and Latin American enterprise, this partnership goes beyond mere geographical strengths,” said Eduardo Antunovic, chief client officer and senior partner at Kingsley Gate. “At the end of the day, it’s a merging of the most prestigious executive talent brand in Spain with an innovative, future-ready, and disruptive firm… the birth of a new incumbent.”
The Seeliger y Conde team, led by their president, Luis Conde, will form a part of Kingsley Gate’s global operations. “The goal of this acquisition by Kingsley Gate is to reinforce our position in the European market, expanding the scope of our impact to Latin America and the United States as well,” Mr. Conde said. “We’re also going to be incorporating Kingsley Gate’s proprietary search approach, HELIA, which will help us improve the rigor, quality, and agility of our existing client service.”
Kingsley Gate and Seeliger y Conde will have a team of over 100 consultants and approximately 350 professionals operating in more than 33 countries. Kingsley Gate said it anticipates closing 2023 with a 35 percent revenue growth year-over-year.
Founded in 2015, Kingsley Gate recruits senior leadership for private equity and venture capital portfolio businesses and Fortune 100 companies. Headquartered in New York, the firm employs consultants and recruiters with expertise in private equity, life sciences, financial services, technology, manufacturing, and professional services. Kingsley Gate has completed searches with over 1,700 clients in 33 countries.
Recent Acquisition
Kingsley Gate recently acquired London-headquartered The Omerta Group (TOG), an executive search firm specializing in financial services. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “To have a truly global financial services practice, you must be in three locations: New York, London, and Hong Kong,” said Umesh Ramakrishnan, CEO of Kingsley Gate. “This acquisition strengthens our position in these key markets.”
The Omerta Group will complement Kingsley Gate’s strength in the U.S. and will accelerate the firm’s growing footprint across the U.K., continental Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. The acquisition brings the addition of 50 experienced global financial services specialists and also builds on Kingsley Gate’s existing financial services expertise, particularly in asset management.
Crescent Cove Advisors Takes Equity Stake in Kingsley Gate
Kingsley Gate secured an investment from Crescent Cove Advisors, a multi-asset investment firm focused on technology investments. The equity partnership is expected to fuel the search firm’s growth through global expansion and accelerate a push into talent acquisition AI-enabled software. Umesh Ramakrishnan, one of Kingsley Gate’s co-founders, has been named CEO. “First, I want to thank my co-founders Nancy Albertini and Buster Houchins,” said Mr. Ramakrishnan. “We would not be at this exciting juncture without them. The partnership with Crescent Cove Advisors is a testament to the value that Kingsley Gate has created in just a little over six years. This partnership will ensure that we will continue to disrupt this industry through innovation, continuous improvement of the search process and further attracting world-class talent.”
The Omerta Group’s clients include investment banks, investment managers, private equity, hedge funds, quantitative trading platforms, exchanges, sovereign wealth funds, commodity trading houses, and firms within the digital asset and blockchain ecosystem. Jason Mort, founder and CEO of The Omerta Group, will serve as leader of Kingsley Gate’s global financial services practice and has also been appointed to the firm’s global leadership team.
“Jason Mort and The Omerta Group have built a highly recognizable name in many of the key growth sectors within global financial services; we are thrilled to welcome them to Kingsley Gate,” said Paige C. Scott, senior partner at Kingsley Gate. “The infusion of their geographic and subject matter expertise, especially in capital markets, represents a critical inflection point for the growth of our existing financial services practice. By combining forces, we can bring our clients and our candidates the best regionalized experience in financial services search with a highly integrated global platform.”
Related: Kingsley Gate Expands in London
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
