Korn Ferry Acquires Patina Solutions Group
April 4, 2022 – Acquisitions continue to make news in the recruiting industry, with a number of notable purchases in recent months. The latest: Korn Ferry has acquired interim executive solutions provider Patina Solutions Group. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to Korn Ferry’s adjusted earnings. “This combination presents real, tangible opportunity for Korn Ferry and our clients looking for the right talent, who are highly agile, with specialized skills and expertise, to help them drive superior performance, including on an interim basis,” said Gary D. Burnison, CEO of Korn Ferry. “Patina offers ideal solutions for today’s nomadic labor market.”
Patina brings to Korn Ferry interim executive solutions expertise across multiple industry verticals. Patina’s network of C-suite, and professional interim talent spans functional areas of expertise such as finance, operations, legal, human resources, IT and more. “The new realities of the workplace – including how people work and when they work – is creating vast new opportunities for executive search firms looking to extend their offerings,” said Scott A. Scanlon, founding partner and CEO of Hunt Scanlon Ventures. “Interim solutions are playing right into this new model and the sector has a massive runway ahead.
“As part of Korn Ferry, Patina will have even more great solutions to offer our clients,” said Mike Harris, CEO of Patina. “Korn Ferry is a leading global organizational consulting firm, with world-class solutions and we look forward to further bolstering our interim executive solutions with them. We are thrilled to be joining Korn Ferry and excited for the opportunities ahead.”
Korn Ferry is a Los Angeles-headquartered executive recruiter and leadership consultant and the largest globally and in the Americas as ranked by Hunt Scanlon Media. The firm’s 8,600 colleagues serve clients in more than 50 countries.
Patina Solutions Adds Recruiting Veteran; Secures Funding
Patina partners with companies to solve problems, realize opportunities, improve results, fill a key expertise, or resource gap, develop talent or support any other critical initiative. It uses a tailored approach to deliver its recruiting solutions, including flexible fee structures. It also offers an interim-to-hire option, allowing businesses to work with executive candidates before making them a permanent offer.
The firm raised a capital funding round several years ago in which Patina secured $3.45 million to support its growth and expansion efforts at the time. Individual angel investors contributed a significant portion of that investment. Patina used that funding to grow exponentially.
Recent Acquisition
Korn Ferry has been extending its brand in recent months, notably with its acquisition of Lucas Group. The addition of Lucas Group to Korn Ferry’s broader talent acquisition portfolio – spanning executive search, recruitment process outsourcing, and professional search – is expected to accelerate Korn Ferry’s ability to capture additional share of the professional search and contracting market. Founded in 1970 and headquartered in Atlanta, Lucas Group is a professional search and contract staffing firm, targeting middle market businesses. Key areas of focus span specializations such as accounting & finance, human resources, information technology, legal, military transition, sales & marketing, and supply chain & operations. “This transaction takes aim at the highly fragmented professional search and contract staffing market,” said Mr. Scanlon.
“This combination is the right move at the right time,” said Mr. Burnison. “Today’s workscape is being transformed before our eyes – people working anywhere, everywhere and at any time. Professionals are on the move, Boomers are retiring, and career nomads are looking for change – early and often. We are seizing this opportunity to help clients find the right talent who are highly agile with specialized skills and expertise to help them drive superior performance,” added Mr. Burnison.
Related: Hunt Scanlon Media Launches M&A Advisory Service for Recruiters
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
