Headhunters for consulting re-unite under new EVVL mantle

After following diverging paths over the past years, a trio of high-profile headhunters in the Dutch consulting scene are back in business. Under their new EVVL mantle, Lara Erdtsieck, Henk-Jan Vrieling, and Frank van Loon help consulting and corporate finance firms with their partner and director searches.

In the past two decades, the three co-founders of EVVL were involved in 1,000+ career transfers in consulting and corporate finance. “By persistently sticking to our area of focus, we’ve been able to build a close-knit network that provides unrivalled access to top talent,” said Henk-Jan.

The trio previously worked together at Fairlane, which they built into the leading recruitment agency for the Dutch consulting industry. In 2017 the firm was acquired by Badenoch + Clark, with Lara, Henk-Jan, and Frank staying on board to play an important role in the integration of the business.  

“It was actually fun to work on projects typical to that of our clients. We received a lot of valuable support from highly experienced post-merger integration consultants”, said Frank about the merger period. 

When the dust settled, Frank – the founder of Fairlane – decided to pursue his long-time dream of investing in start-ups and coaching start-up founders.

Lara and Henk-Jan meanwhile remained with Badenoch + Clark, Lara serving as managing director and Henk-Jan as partner. Both decided to part ways early and mid-2022.

The road to EVVL

“It actually kind of fell into place. Apart from joking about it, we had actually not planned this reunion at all. When you work together as partners for 10+ years you obviously develop a friendship. So we kept in touch regularly,” reflected Henk-Jan.

In the case of Frank, the return to ‘familiar soil’ was born out of coincidence. “A former client asked me to find a partner for a new practice. I decided to jump back in; with the sole ambition of working on a few challenging search projects each year. No strings attached.”

But after teaming up with Henk-Jan, that ambition was rapidly re-jigged. “Henk-Jan and myself started working together in the summer of 2022. It just made great business sense to work together.”

It didn’t take too long before Lara also joined the pack. “When she decided to leave Badenoch + Clark, we of course were quick to invite her to join. EVVL was borne,” recalled Frank.

The ambition

Contrary to their original brainchild Fairlane, EVVL focuses exclusively on director and partner searches in the management consulting and corporate finance segments.

“We are currently helping a number of Dutch consulting firms with expanding their leadership team. And we are also supporting an international player with attracting an entire senior team as part of its market entry strategy,” said Frank. “We have worked on a number of such projects in the past and have extensive experience with all specifics of such team-hires.”

Lara added: “We’re also supporting a renowned private equity firm in their search for buy-and-build take-overs in the Dutch consulting space. Very exciting stuff.”

“There’s never a dull moment in consulting, for partners and directors and as a result, our practice. We’re delighted to be back,” concluded Henk-Jan.