Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. (HSII)

Heidrick & Struggles was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Gardner Heidrick and John Struggles, who set out to build a retained executive search firm. Over the following decades the firm expanded internationally, opening offices in Europe, Asia and Latin America and building a reputation for placing chief executives, board members and other senior leaders. Its headquarters remained in Chicago.

The company went public in April 1999 with a listing on Nasdaq under the symbol HSII. By the 2020s it described itself as a leadership advisory and on-demand talent firm. Its core business was retained executive search, in which clients pay for the identification and assessment of senior candidates, and it served large corporations, middle-market companies, private equity firms, governments, universities and nonprofit organizations.

Beyond search, Heidrick built consulting and talent services, including leadership assessment and development, organization and team effectiveness, culture shaping, and board and CEO succession advisory work. It also developed an on-demand talent offering that placed experienced professionals into interim and project-based roles, reflecting demand for flexible senior talent. These services were meant to diversify revenue away from the cyclical search business, which is sensitive to hiring conditions.

The firm reported results through geographic regions and its search and consulting lines, and its financial performance followed the broader executive hiring market. Hiring slowed in several sectors in 2023 and 2024 as economic uncertainty weighed on senior appointments, though the company maintained a strong balance sheet with substantial cash and returned capital to shareholders through dividends and repurchases.

In 2025, Heidrick entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by a group led by Advent International, a global private equity firm, and Corvex Private Equity, with participation from a network of strategic investors. The consortium agreed to pay $59.00 per share in cash, valuing the company at roughly $1.3 billion. The board recommended the transaction to shareholders, who approved it at a special meeting.

The take-private closed in December 2025 after the remaining conditions were satisfied. Each outstanding share was converted into the right to receive $59.00 in cash, and Heidrick became a privately held company. A Form 25 was filed with the SEC on December 10, 2025 to remove the common stock from listing on Nasdaq, ending public trading under the HSII symbol.