Strategy & Practice Management

Three Partners Join Heidrick & Struggles in Asia Pacific and the Middle East

Heidrick & Struggles has announced that it has added two partners to executive search and a partner to its Heidrick Consulting business in Asia Pacific and the Middle East in February and March 2022.

"In this challenging corporate and economic landscape, companies are looking to develop high-performing, agile leadership teams able to operate in a constantly changing environment," said Stephen McAlinden, Regional Leader, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. "Elsie and Aki's combined wealth of experience will help our clients build leadership teams to facilitate success in driving business objectives."

Yoshiaki Ito joined Heidrick & Struggles as a partner in the Tokyo office and as a member of the Global Technology & Services Practice. Previously, he founded and led a management consulting firm, X-TANK Consulting, that specializes in turnaround and business transformation initiatives. A transformation leader and change agent, Ito has led business turnarounds at several Fortune 500 companies.

Elsie Zhang joined Heidrick & Struggles as a partner in the Tokyo office and as a member of the Healthcare & Life Sciences Practice. She specializes in recruiting C-suite leaders in all functions for multinational corporations, especially manufacturers, across Japan and other countries. Previously, Zhang led the industrial practice for the Japanese market for another global executive search firm.

"As our clients continue to operate in a dynamic economic environment, they are turning to us to help them build high-performing leadership teams able to navigate a constantly changing environment and optimize performance," said Markus Wiesner, APAC Regional Managing Partner, Heidrick Consulting. "Jan will be a valued resource for our clients looking to enhance organizational effectiveness and accelerate their performance."

Jan Hendrik Kraus joined Heidrick & Struggles as a partner in the Dubai office. Bringing 23 years' experience in financial services and consulting, Kraus focuses on strategy development and implementation, working with boards, CEOs, and global functional and regional teams across multiple industries on organizational alignment, leadership engagement, team effectiveness, and change management. Previously, Kraus was a senior partner with another international executive search firm.