DHR International Acquires Calgary-Based Search Firm

November 18, 2016 – Executive search firm DHR International has acquired Calgary-based executive search firm BluEra. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The deal brings more than a dozen new employees to DHR and its Chicago-based partner company Jobplex.

Founded in 2008, BluEra focuses on executive search, team transformation and executive coaching. It serves a wide array of industries with a particular concentration on the renewables, power, oil & gas, retail, telecommunications, and information technology sectors. BluEra was named to Canada Business ‘PROFIT 500’ list this year, highlighting Canada’s fastest growing companies. It was also honored on the top 25 list of ‘Calgary’s Fastest-Growing Companies.’

BluEra’s co-founder Shahauna Siddiqui has over a decade of experience leading a search practice with a vast network of highly educated and successful candidates. She international executive search experience in industries including renewables, oil and gas, power, technology, retail, not for profit, education and financial services.

Catherine R. Bell, BluEra’s other co-founder, brings to DHR more than a decade of international executive search experience in industries including industrial, specifically, renewables, oil & gas, power, infrastructure, advanced technology, and private equity.

“BluEra embodied what we are most passionate about here at DHR International – working together in all aspects to best serve our clients while focusing on our relationships within our business and our communities,” said Geoffrey Hoffmann, chief executive officer. “We’re excited to increase our abilities in Canada and introduce a global reach to our new colleagues’ current and potential client base.”

Growing M&A Activity Among Recruiters

There has been quite a bit of M&A activity among executive search firms in recent months. Whether this points to mass consolidation throughout the sector remains to be seen. Here is a look at just a sampling from the Hunt Scanlon archives:

  • Diversified Search acquired San Francisco-based BioQuest, a recruiting boutique specialist serving healthcare innovators in the life sciences market. Under the terms of the agreement, BioQuest will operate as an independent, wholly-owned subsidiary within Diversified Search. With $37.5 million in annual fees prior to this acquisition, the deal with BioQuest will boost revenues at Diversified Search by about 10 percent and bring the firm’s consultant headcount to nearly 60.
  • Options Group recently acquired Broadstreet Global, a financial services search and strategic consulting firm based in Sydney, Australia. Broadstreet Global specializes in search and consulting for a number of interrelated sectors, including investment banking, capital markets, structured products, alternative asset classes and insurance. Its client base includes some of the world’s largest financial institutions, regional banks, asset managers, insurers and selective boutiques.
  • Heidrick & Struggles acquired Philosophy IB, a leadership consultant based in Florham Park, NJ. Philosophy IB was established in 2000 by founding partners Christine Lotze and Kaveh Naficy and today serves Fortune 100 companies focused on assisting clients execute their strategies by changing how people work. Heidrick also recently acquired JCA Group, a well-known London-based executive search advisory boutique. JCA Group is led by founding partners Jan Hall and Emma Fallon, and has 40 employees, including eight partners. The firm has been a leader in addressing gender disparity among boards, as a policy advocate and in placing women on boards in both non-executive and executive roles.
  • Focus Search Partners acquired San Francisco-based firm Charlson Partners, which conducts senior executive search assignments for enterprise technology and service companies. Its client base includes some of the largest enterprise technology platforms, as well as some of Silicon Valley’s better known equity-owned and venture capital-backed organizations. Founder Adam Charlson has recruited leaders for a wide variety of companies in the space, including Adobe Systems, Cisco, Cornerstone OnDemand, Convergys, Experian, Google, HP, Informatica, JDA Software, Microsoft, PayPal, Progress Software, Salesforce.com, SAP, and Verint, among others.
  • Odgers Berndtson acquired Charleston Partners, an executive search and talent advisory firm that exclusively recruits HR professionals and advises on human capital management issues. Francis Luisi, founding principal of Charleston Partners, will lead the Odgers Berndtson U.S. HR practice and will work from the firm’s New York and Houston offices.

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief, Hunt Scanlon Media

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