Heidrick & Struggles hires Kati Najipoor-Smith from rival Egon Zehnder

Heidrick & Struggles has appointed former strategy consultant Kati Najipoor-Smith as Regional Co-Managing Partner of its CEO & Board practice.

In her new role, Kati Najipoor-Smith will co-lead the CEO & Board practice, which support boards and CEOs in navigating complex leadership challenges, across Europe and Africa. In this region, Heidrick & Struggles has 22 offices, with Najipoor-Smith herself based out of the Frankfurt office.

She brings around three decades of experience to her role, gained in executive search and strategy consulting. Najipoor-Smith advises chairs and CEOs of publicly traded, family-owned, and private-equity-backed companies across sectors and regions, focusing on building effective and strong boards and senior leadership teams.

Speaking about her appointment at Heidrick & Struggles, Najipoor-Smith said: “In this era of unprecedented uncertainty and complexity, business leaders are under immense pressure and the quality of leadership – at both board and C-Suite levels – is being tested like never before. With that in mind, I am excited to join Heidrick & Struggles and to work alongside a highly qualified and diverse team to support our clients’ most critical leadership decisions.”

Najipoor-Smith joins Heidrick & Struggles from rival Egon Zehnder, where she most recently led the Global CEO Practice over several years. Before her 20+ years in executive search, she worked at Roland Berger and at FEV Group, a leading engineering services firm.

“We are very pleased to welcome Kati to Heidrick & Struggles, where I look forward to working with her as she brings her unique talent and experience to bear to make a meaningful impact on our clients across the region,” said Jenni Hibbert, Global Managing Partner Go-To-Market and Regional Leader for Europe & Africa at Heidrick & Struggles.

Alongside her role at Heidrick & Struggles, Najipoor-Smith is a frequent speaker and panel guest on leadership topics and is often invited to provide global perspectives on leadership. She also co-founded a private network of senior female executives 10 years ago to support female leaders’ advancement.