Who We Are

For more than 60 years, we have focused on quality service and built strong leadership teams through our relationships with clients and individuals worldwide. Today, Heidrick & Struggles leadership experts operate from principal business centers in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.

Our beginning

In 1953, Gardner Heidrick and John Struggles sent a printed card to businesses in the Midwest announcing the organization of Heidrick & Struggles in Chicago, Illinois.

This announcement heralded the beginning of one of the first executive search firms in the United States, a firm that would grow to have global representation and presence in every major industry.

A global force

By 1957, the firm signed its first clients outside of the Midwest and soon expanded its US office locations coast to coast, into Los Angeles and San Francisco, and east into New York. In 1968 Heidrick & Struggles established its first international presence with an office in the United Kingdom.

The firm continued its expansion during the subsequent decades into the principal cities of North America and Europe and, later, in Asia Pacific and Latin America. Along with this growth came the development of specialized industry and functional practices to allow for intense focus and expertise.

Executive search became accepted by companies all over the world and our assignments were increasingly global in nature. As new kinds of businesses arose, changing the needs of markets and clients, Heidrick & Struggles evolved its geographic structure and practice categories to reflect the new environment.

In 1983, Heidrick & Struggles International was established as a separate entity, encompassing all European operations. The two corporations reunited in 1999 to form the integrated global firm of today. That same year, Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. (HSII) became a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ stock market.

In recent years, Heidrick & Struggles has developed services to complement the core executive search business and to serve the broader leadership needs of clients. Uniting these services with a greater focus on major account development has enabled us to build deeper, lasting relationships and evolve into the world's first leadership advisory firm.

Our purpose

We Help Our Clients Change the World, One Leadership Team at a Time^®

Our vision

We are committed to serving our clients as trusted advisors providing diversified solutions across executive search, leadership assessment & development, team & organizational effectiveness, and culture shaping.

Our Values

After a mutual friend introduced them, Gardner and John realized they were in full agreement on the values and principles by which they would run their business. Today our global network of search professionals and leadership consultants are guided by five primary values serving as the firm's foundation. These five values build on the principles that have guided the actions of the people of Heidrick & Struggles for more than 60 years. They have led us to success, earning the respect of both our peers in the industry and leaders of the organizations we serve. These values will continue to be at the core of everything we do to help our clients build the best leadership teams in the world.

Respect and value each individual

Grow with our clients

Win as one firm

Always act with integrity

Own the results

To view our Code of Ethics, please click here.