L. Kevin Kelly is CEO of Heidrick & Struggles, the global leadership advisory firm. During his distinguished career as a search consultant, Kevin has helped form corporate leadership teams for some of the world's most innovative companies.
Leaders depend on other people to help them shape events. So it has always been, but the globalization of business has made this truer and more important than ever. Kevin strongly believes that new challenges call for new approaches to leadership and talent. The most nimble businesses are led by women and men who master not just diverse technical skills, but also the less tangible side of leadership: they inspire people to do their best work for them. Kevin coaches clients through these challenges, and identifies executives who can create the optimal culture for organizational success.
Active in search since 1993, Kevin joined the firm’s Tokyo office in 1997. He was regional managing partner of Asia Pacific and then Europe, the Middle East and Africa (2001-2006), before becoming chief executive officer in 2006.
In 2008 Kevin wrote his first book, CEO - The Low Down on the Top Job. Drawing on the experiences of some of the world's top chief executives, as well as his own, he explores what it takes to lead a global organization in the twenty-first century. The US version, Top Jobs - How They Are Different and What You Need to Succeed concentrates on the experiences of American executives. Leading in Turbulent Times (2010) discusses what 35 global CEOs learned from the 2008-2009 economic crisis, and how this new wisdom can inform leadership after the downturn.