Senior appointments for Heidrick & Struggles in London and Zurich
Human capital consultancy Heidrick & Struggles has in recent months made a number of senior appointments in Europe. Former McKinsey consultant Alice Breeden has been named a Partner in the firm’s newly formed Leadership Consulting arm, while David Boehmer and Marcus de Luca have been added to the Financial Services practice. Sylvain Dhenin meanwhile has taken an executive role for the firm’s CxO offering, based in Heidrick’s Zurich office.
Alice Breeden has more than 20 years of organisational development experience, both in the UK and globally. She was formerly Director of People Operations for Google EMEA and led much of Google's talent management centre of excellence worldwide. Prior to that, she worked twelve years for American management consulting McKinsey & Company in its London office, where, latterly as a Junior Partner, she was one of the leaders of the Organisation Practice worldwide.
Breeden, who received an MBA from London Business School and a bachelor's degree in English language & literature from the University of Durham, has been appointed a Partner in Heidrick & Struggles’ new Leadership Consulting business, which it launched last month.
“The strength and depth of Alice’s industry knowledge will bring considerable value to our clients,” said Colin Price, Managing Partner of the Leadership Consulting practice. Commenting on her new role, Breeden said, “Heidrick has developed a compelling offering for clients and I am delighted to be joining the firm during a time of rapid expansion and increased focus on accelerating the performance of the world's most influential organisations.”
David Boehmer has been named the Global Managing Partner for the Financial Services Practice of Heidrick & Struggles. Boehmer will work out of the firm's London office, and will also continue to lead the Financial Services Practice in Europe and Africa. In his role as Global Practice Leader, he will be responsible for driving the strategic direction of the practice and overseeing a team of approximately 70 consultants worldwide.
Boehmer, a 2012 Young Global Leader (a title given by the WEF), boasts a track record which spans senior front office and functional roles including board, CEO, CIO, COO and general management positions across financial technology, payments, banking, asset management, hedge fund, capital markets, insurance and alternative investment clients. Prior to being appointed, he served as the Regional Managing Partner for the Financial Service unit for the Americas and relocated to London to run the Europe and Africa region for Financial Services.
He is joined in the Financial Service practice by Marcus de Luca, who has been poached from competitor Korn Ferry. He began his career as a lawyer in London specialising in corporate finance, after which he worked at a European bank before moving into executive search. Based in London, de Luca will lead the firm's European Infrastructure and Real Assets Practice, part of the Financial Services Practice. He will work with banks, advisers and investors who are pursuing financing and investment opportunities globally across the energy, utilities, resources, transport, telecommunications and social infrastructure sectors.
Sylvain Dhenin took on a dual role in the firm’s Swiss office in May – he has been appointed head of Continental Europe for the Global CEO and Board Practice. The Zurich based advisor, who will continue his current leadership role as Managing Partner of Western Europe, will report to Bonnie Gwin and Jeff Sanders, Co-Managing Partners of the Global CEO & Board Practice, for his added capacity. Dhenin joined the firm in 2015 and has since recruited CEOs, C-suite executives and non-executive directors for some of the world's leading companies, in industries including manufacturing, financial services, pharmaceutical, technology, media and telecommunications, professional services and private equity.
Prior to joining Heidrick & Struggles, Dhenin was Vice Chairman of global executive search firm CTPartners and head of its European, Middle East and Asia Pacific operations and led a significant expansion of that firm's presence in Europe. He also served as Managing Partner of rival Korn Ferry, leading its operations in France. The experienced headhunter began his career at Danone, the multi-national food products company.