2021 ESG Report

Contents
About this Report
This is Heidrick & Struggle’s second ESG report, covering 
environmental, social, and governance activities that took place 
during fiscal year 2021, beginning January 1, 2021 through 
December 31, 2021, except where otherwise noted. This report  
was produced in line with globally-recognized frameworks  
including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Sustainability 
Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standard for Professional & 
Commercial Services. This report covers impacts within our corporate 
boundary—through our network of leased office space in  
46 cities in 26 countries around the world.
Forward-Looking Statements 
This report contains forward-looking statements within the  
meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. 
Forward-looking statements generally are identified by words such 
as “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “projects,” 
“could,” “should,” “will,” “continue,” and other similar expressions. 
All statements other than statements of historical fact could be 
forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they  
are made, are not guarantees of future performance, and are  
subject to certain risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many 
of which are beyond our control and are difficult to predict. We 
describe risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to 
differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, any of these 
forward-looking statements in our SEC filings, including our most 
recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and our subsequent reports on 
Forms 10-Q and 8-K. Except as required by law, we do not intend  
to update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result  
of new information, future events, or otherwise.
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
2
Executive Summary
A Message from  
Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
7	
Our Company
Our Services
9	
Executive Search
9	
Heidrick Consulting
9	
On-Demand Talent
10	 Our Broader Impact with Clients
15	 Industry Recognition 
and Commitment
Our People
3
4
6
8
16
30
34
40
18	 Health and Safety
19	 Our Policies
20 Our Benefits
21	 Talent Development
22	 Employee Engagement
23	 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
28	 Philanthropic Impact
Environmental Sustainability
31	 Carbon Emissions
32	 Carbon Reductions
33	 Supplier Responsibility
Governance
35	 Our Board of Directors
37	 Ethics
38	 Cybersecurity and Privacy
Appendix
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Table of Contents

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, 
Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. 
(Nasdaq: HSII) is a global leadership 
advisory firm providing executive search, 
on-demand talent, and leadership 
advisory services. We are a publicly traded 
company with shares listed on the Nasdaq 
Stock Market. We offer our services to a 
broad range of clients across virtually  
every industry and sector, working at the 
board of directors, C-suite, and senior 
executive levels, and serving more than 
70% of the Fortune 1000. With our data-
driven, tech-enabled capabilities and 
consultants located in major cities around 
the world, we act as trusted leadership 
advisors to our clients. We are uniquely 
positioned to further augment the 
advice we provide by sharing key trends, 
insights, and best practices informed by 
the work we do with the world’s leading 
organizations. We help our clients find the 
best leaders for their organizations, build 
diverse, equitable and inclusive cultures, 
and transform their teams to achieve new 
levels of performance.
This is our firm’s second ESG report. It 
references both GRI and SASB frameworks 
with respective indices available in the 
appendix at the end of this report. We 
look forward to sharing our progress in 
these areas as we advance on our ESG 
journey. Some highlights from our 2021 
report include: 
•	Globally, 67% of our cumulative slate of 
initially proposed board candidates to 
our clients were diverse, exceeding our 
annual Board Diversity Pledge.
•	73% of our board placements  
were diverse in the United States,  
and 68% globally1.   
•	51% of our overall placements in  
the United States were diverse, and  
49% globally1.
•	Our client-facing global ESG and 
Sustainability Office continued to grow – 
we worked with clients on ESG-focused 
board placements and placed executives 
with ESG market leaders and Chief 
Sustainability Officers across a wide 
range of industries.
•	Maintaining our firm’s own commitment  
to diversity and starting at the top,  
37% of our board of directors were  
women, and 25% consisted of people  
of color (for board diversity statistics as  
of May 2022, see table on page 26). 
•	Of our overall workforce, women 
represented 64% globally, and people  
of color represented 26% in the  
United States.
•	We continued our firm’s DE&I journey, 
applying our own assessment  
methodology and mapping future  
priority actions, beginning with our  
senior leadership. 
•	We enabled employees to voluntarily 
self-identify with respect to their gender, 
ethnicity, and LGBTQ+ identity in our  
HR information system.
•	We maintained a hybrid work  
environment for our employees,  
providing flexibility while balancing  
the need for in-person client and  
employee collaboration.
•	We delivered more than 12,800 hours 
of learning and development to our 
employees globally across virtual,  
in-person, and hybrid formats.
•	As part of our ongoing commitment  
to support our employees’ mental  
health and well-being, we began 
recognizing World Mental Health Day  
as a holiday.
•	We had 35 offices around the  
world participate in our 3rd Global  
Day of Service.
•	We began measuring and publishing  
our full Scopes 1, 2, and 3 carbon 
footprints, which shrank by over  
21% from 2019 to 2021.
•	We continued addressing our  
climate impact through emissions 
reductions and the purchase of carbon 
offsets through our partnership  
with Indigo Ag.
 Executive Summary
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
3
Table of Contents
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Executive Summary

Our client engagements range from 
placing Chief Sustainability Officers, and 
working with boards and companies that 
want to attract leaders who are passionate 
about ESG, to bringing our highly 
experienced consultants together to help 
build diverse and inclusive leadership 
teams, cultures, and organizations. The 
clients we work with include: major global 
companies who are increasingly focused 
on ESG; market leaders in the ESG arena; 
sustainable product or service businesses; 
as well as sustainable asset managers, 
private equity funds, philanthropic 
organizations, and much more.
Alongside our client work, we are intently 
focused on being leaders in our own 
industry on the ESG front, exemplifying 
our firm’s values, holding ourselves 
accountable, and measuring our progress 
publicly on an ongoing basis. As a trusted 
partner in helping our clients attract, 
develop, and retain great talent and build 
thriving workplaces, we also continually 
seek to learn and incorporate best 
practices on sustainability, governance, 
leadership, culture, diversity, equity, and 
inclusion across our own organization. 
We strive to create a committed, open  
and engaging culture where our 
employees can find fulfillment through 
their jobs and deliver their best 
professionally because they feel safe 
bringing their whole selves to work. This 
work begins by implementing policies  
and programs that support our employees’ 
Dear Stakeholders,
I
am proud to present Heidrick & 
Struggles’ second ESG report, covering 
our firm’s environmental, social, and 
governance activities during the fiscal 
year 2021.  
As a premier provider of global leadership 
advisory and on-demand talent solutions, 
we have the privilege of advising the 
world’s leading organizations on their 
most important talent, leadership, 
culture, workplace, and organization 
needs, helping them address their key 
stakeholder concerns. More recently, ESG 
has moved to the top of their agendas, 
and we are helping our clients with their 
ESG priorities in a variety of ways. 
A Message from  
Our President & CEO
Krishnan Rajagopalan
President & CEO, 
Heidrick & Struggles
“We are intently focused on 
being leaders in our own 
industry on the ESG front, 
exemplifying our firm’s 
values, holding ourselves 
accountable, and measuring 
our progress publicly on an 
ongoing basis.”
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
4
Table of Contents
Appendix
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
About Heidrick & Struggles
Executive Summary
Our People
Our Services
A Message from Our President & CEO

success—creating a welcoming 
environment that is diverse, equitable, and 
inclusive, and free from harassment and 
discrimination, while providing meaningful 
professional growth opportunities and 
thoughtful care and support through our 
health and wellness benefits. 
In addition, we recognize the effects our 
offices and global operations have on the 
planet, and we are committed to pursuing 
sustainability initiatives and reducing our 
environmental impact. For example, we 
are focused on measuring our carbon 
footprint and reducing our carbon impact 
using a variety of approaches, including 
leasing office space in green buildings, 
managing e-waste through recycling, and 
purchasing carbon offsets. Importantly, 
we continue to explore more ways we can 
mitigate our climate impact as part of our 
ESG commitment.  
I am pleased to share some of the key 
highlights and achievements from our  
ESG efforts in 2021:
•	Globally, 67% of our cumulative slate of 
initially proposed board candidates to 
our clients were diverse, exceeding our 
annual Board Diversity Pledge. 
•	73% of our board placements in  
the United States, and 68% globally1, 
were diverse.  
•	51% of our overall placements in  
the United States, and 49% globally1, 
were diverse.
•	Our ESG client work grew and expanded 
in scope, including working with boards 
on ESG-focused roles, as well as placing 
Chief Sustainability Officers across a 
wide range of sectors and industries.
•	We maintained our firm’s own 
commitment to diversity, starting at the 
top with our board of directors—37% 
consisted of women, and 25% were 
people of color.
Krishnan Rajagopalan
President & CEO, Heidrick & Struggles
•	Women represented 64% of our 
workforce globally, and people of color 
represented 26% of our workforce in  
the United States.
•	We maintained a hybrid work 
environment for our employees, 
providing flexibility while balancing  
the need for in-person client and 
employee collaboration.
•	We delivered more than 12,800 hours 
of learning and development to our 
employees globally.  
•	As part of our ongoing commitment to 
support our employees’ mental health 
and well-being, we began recognizing 
World Mental Health Day as a holiday.
•	We maintained our commitment to 
giving back to our communities and 
organized our firm’s third Global Day 
of Service, with 35 offices participating 
around the world. 
•	We began measuring and publishing  
our full Scopes 1, 2, and 3 carbon 
footprint, which shrank by over 21%  
from 2019 to 2021.
•	We continued addressing our climate 
impact through emissions reductions 
resulting from a greener, smaller  
office footprint, and the purchase of 
carbon offsets through our partnership 
with Indigo Ag.
I want to thank all of our colleagues 
around the world for their dedication 
to supporting and promoting our ESG 
commitment and initiatives. Our work is 
rooted in our purpose—to help our  
clients change the world, one leadership  
at a time—and I am proud to lead  
Heidrick & Struggles in these endeavors. 
As we look ahead, we see tremendous 
opportunity to amplify the work we do in 
ESG, both for our clients and our firm. We 
look forward to sharing our progress as we 
continue to advance on our ESG journey.  
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
5
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
A Message from Our President & CEO

H
eidrick & Struggles (Nasdaq: HSII) is a premier provider of global 
leadership advisory and on-demand talent solutions, serving 
the senior-level talent and consulting needs of the world’s top 
organizations. In our role as trusted leadership advisors, we partner 
with our clients to develop future-ready leaders and organizations, bringing 
together our services and offerings in executive search, diversity and inclusion, 
leadership assessment and development, organization and team acceleration, 
culture shaping and on-demand, independent talent solutions. Heidrick & 
Struggles pioneered the profession of executive search more than 65 years 
ago. Today, the firm provides integrated talent and human capital solutions to 
help our clients change the world, one leadership team at a time.®
About Heidrick & Struggles
Serving the executive talent and leadership advisory 
needs of the world’s top organizations 
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
6
Table of Contents
Appendix
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Executive Summary
Our People
Our Services
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles

Our Culture & Values 
We view our culture as a strategic differentiator and integral to attracting, developing,  
and retaining the highest-performing talent, as well as building a more diverse, equitable, and 
inclusive firm. Our culture stems from our values, which were developed by our board and senior 
leaders and are exemplified daily by our employees around the world. We strive to create an 
open, inclusive, and committed culture, where our colleagues can engage deeply in their work 
and bring their authentic selves to the workplace. We believe this type of culture creates an 
environment that is most conducive for developing dynamic, productive teams.
Our Company
Our Purpose 
We help our clients change the world, one leadership team at a time
® 
Our Vision 
We are committed to serving our clients as trusted advisors providing diversified 
solutions across executive search, leadership assessment and development, team 
and organizational effectiveness, and culture shaping. 
Our Values 
Our employees are guided by five primary values, which serve as the firm’s 
foundation. These five values build on the principles that have guided the actions 
of Heidrick & Struggles’ employees for more than 65 years. They have led us to 
our ongoing success, earning the respect of our peers in the industry and the 
organizations we serve. As we help our clients build the best leadership teams in 
the world, these values will continue to be at the core of everything we do: 
•	 Respect and value each individual 
•	 Grow with our clients 
•	 Win as one firm 
•	 Always act with integrity 
•	 Own the results
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
7
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
Our Services
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
About Heidrick & Struggles

A
t our core, we help boards, 
leaders, and organizations  
be successful and focus on 
building strong, long-term 
partnerships with our clients. In doing  
so, we are able to assist them on their  
own sustainability and ESG journeys  
a number of different ways, such as: 
placing highly experienced sustainability 
leaders into board roles, developing  
the best leadership teams, creating 
enhanced governance and leadership 
structures, and building diverse, inclusive 
cultures—ultimately helping our clients 
achieve new levels of performance.
HIGHLIGHTS
•	 73% of our board placements in the United States, and 68% of our board 
placements globally1, were diverse. 
•	 51% of our overall placements in the United States, and 49% of our global1 
placements, were diverse.
•	 Our work in both our ESG and Sustainability Office and Social Impact Practice 
continued to grow and expand in scope. 
•	 We published a report in partnership with INSEAD’s Corporate Governance 
Centre on how boards are responding to climate change. 
•	 We added on-demand talent to our service offering, addressing the growing 
demand for more fluid ways of working by independent consultants and 
companies hiring them.
Our Services
Delivering world-class talent and leadership advisory solutions for today and the future
For our clients, one of our critical 
differentiators is our global network, 
including our access to, and knowledge  
of, regional and functional markets  
and candidate talent. 
Our work spans:
•	Fortune 1000 companies
•	Middle market and emerging growth  
companies around the world
•	Government, higher education and  
nonprofit organizations
•	Other leading private and public entities
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
8
Table of Contents
Appendix
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
About Heidrick & Struggles
Executive Summary
Our People
A Message from Our President & CEO
Our Services

Supporting Candidate Pay Equity
In an effort to address pay inequality for women and minorities, a number of state 
and local jurisdictions in the United States have enacted legislation barring the use 
of historical compensation information during the hiring process. We elected to 
apply a country-wide approach in response to these laws. Throughout the United 
States, we do not ask for, or use, candidates’ historical compensation information. 
The client may, however, opt out of this policy if both the position and the client are 
based in a jurisdiction that has no legislative or regulatory restrictions prohibiting 
inquiries into compensation history.
Heidrick Consulting
Heidrick Consulting offers clients 
groundbreaking approaches to human 
capital development through a myriad of 
solutions, including leadership assessment 
and development, team and organization 
acceleration, digital acceleration and 
innovation, diversity and inclusion advisory 
services, and culture shaping. We focus 
on identifying, developing, and shaping 
future-ready, inclusive leaders, cultures, 
and organizations. Our tools and experts 
use data and technology to bring science 
to the art of human capital development, 
accelerating the effectiveness of individual 
leaders, teams, and organizations.
On-Demand Talent
Recognizing the rising use of independent 
talent by companies incorporating more 
fluid ways of working, in 2021, we acquired 
a market-leading company specializing 
in sourcing high-end, on-demand, 
independent talent. With on-demand 
talent, companies can take advantage of a 
wide range of expertise and perspectives, 
both in-person and remotely, to fill interim 
roles and discrete business projects, 
while independent professionals can 
We work with our clients to create leaders, teams, cultures, and companies that thrive. Our service offerings include:
flexibly adapt their work life and continue 
enriching their own skills and experiences. 
Notably, 90% of all on-demand talent 
project requests in 2021 required a 
remote work engagement. This new 
fluidity of work and widespread shift to 
remote work opens up a broader array of 
possibilities for our clients and business 
leaders in need of interim and critical 
project resourcing.
Executive Search
Through our relationship-based, data-
driven and tech-enabled approach, 
we partner with our clients—respected 
companies across the globe—to find the 
right leaders for their organizations and  
set them up for success.
Our Executive Search consultants 
specialize in searches for boards of 
directors, CEOs, and the C-suite level, 
including functional officers, such as Chief 
Diversity Officers, Chief Financial Officers, 
Chief Human Resources Officers, Chief 
Technology Officers, and others.
We employ a data and insights-driven 
approach to Executive Search, and 
our consultants serve a broad range of 
clients across virtually every industry and 
sector. In addition, we have a global 
network and can offer cross-sector 
consultant search teams with specific 
geographical knowledge, industry 
insights, or expertise based on the 
particular role the client is looking to 
fill. By taking advantage of our global 
presence in this way, we are able to 
provide our clients with best-in-class 
market intelligence and service.
“In delivering our go-to-
market strategy, we have 
been focused on building 
long-term, sustainable, 
global relationships to 
ensure  we can serve our 
clients as true partners and 
share the full breadth of our 
talent and human capital 
capabilities.”
Jenni Hibbert
Global Managing Partner, 
Head of Search Go-To-Market, 
Heidrick & Struggles
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
9
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Our Services

CEO & Board of  
Directors  Practice
In our work through our CEO & Board 
of Directors Practice, we are helping to 
drive diversity, starting at the top. We 
believe that strategic intent, coupled 
with purposefully expanding the views 
and definitions of the requirements for 
successful boards of directors, can go a 
long way to achieving more diversity  
at the board level. 
Over the past decade, we have seen a 
long-term progression of gender, racial, 
and ethnic diversity at the board director 
level. On an annual basis we track trends 
in non-executive director appointments 
on Fortune 500 boards, and we also track 
similar trends in 25 other countries around 
the world. In our 13th annual U.S. Board 
Monitor report, published in 2022, we saw 
sustained progress in the appointment 
of women directors in 2021—45% versus 
41% in 2020, with the previous high 
of 44% in 2019. Overall, 41% of board 
directors appointed in 2021 were racially 
or ethnically diverse, on par with 2020.
The appointment of Black directors held
relatively steady at 26% in 2021 compared
to 28% in 2020, while appointments of
Asian, Asian American, and Hispanic and
Latino directors remained mostly flat at
9% and 6%, respectively. 
We expect more progress will be made  
on diversity as the number of diverse 
directors entering the boardroom and 
gaining influential positions, such as  
board chair or chair of the nominating  
and governance committee, continues  
to grow. At Heidrick & Struggles, in  
2021, 73% of our board placements in  
the United States were diverse, and  
68% of our board placements globally1  
were diverse. Through our work, we see 
boards continue to seek fresh thinking  
as evidenced by the appointment of 
directors with more diverse backgrounds, 
as well as new members who can connect 
with organizational purpose and are able 
to meet today’s challenges with agility  
and resilience.
Our Broader Impact with Clients
Demand is growing for leaders and workplaces to be more diverse, equitable, and 
inclusive, and to place a greater emphasis on ESG and community engagement with 
a multi-stakeholder focus. Our teams are engaging with clients in a number of these 
critical areas, and we partner with them to provide talent and human capital solutions 
that support them on their ESG journey.
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
10
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Our Services

“Boards have long known that the 
stakeholders they serve are not a 
monolith. In 2018, Heidrick & Struggles’ 
Board Diversity Pledge was a pioneering 
call-to-action to take a proactive stance 
on expanding diversity at board levels. 
While there is still much more that needs 
to be done, without a doubt, this pledge 
has led to greater inclusivity, equality 
and diversity on boards over time, and  
we will continue to partner with our  
clients to advance these goals.”
Lyndon A. Taylor
Managing Partner,  
Americas CEO & Board of Directors Practice, 
Heidrick & Struggles
CASE STUDY
Creating diverse boards
Our client, a pharmaceutical company spin-off dedicated  
to women’s healthcare, approached us to help them 
identify and place board members in the lead-up to 
becoming a public company. We helped them place eight 
directors, all of whom are diverse.
Board Diversity Pledge
In 2018, we became the first global leadership advisory firm to 
formally announce our Board Diversity Pledge. Developed in 
collaboration with Stanford’s Rock Center for Corporate Governance, 
our pledge is designed to increase the number of women and 
members of underrepresented groups considered by boards. We 
announced that, on an annual and cumulative basis, at least half of 
our board candidates presented to clients on initial slates would 
be diverse. We have exceeded that goal each year since then. In 
2021, 67% of our 2021 cumulative slates of initially proposed board 
candidates globally were diverse, up from 61% in 2020, exceeding 
our Board Diversity Pledge.
Supporting Women on Boards
We take a proactive approach to preparing diverse leaders  
for board roles. In the United Kingdom, through our Board Network, 
launched in 2014, and our Leadership Network, launched in 
2016, we support women who are on public boards or want to join 
public boards. Each group creates networking and professional 
development opportunities, as well as forums for peer-to-peer 
exchange on business and board topics. The Board Network  
connects female board directors from a diverse range of commercial 
businesses and social enterprises with a shared interest in board 
effectiveness, dynamic board leadership, and governance. The 
Leadership Network is building a sustainable talent pipeline of  
female senior executives who aspire to public board roles.
Director Institute 
Our Director Institute program is 
designed to help diverse executives 
prepare for serving on boards and 
accelerate their performance during 
their early days of service and  
overall tenure. We do this a 
number of ways, including creating 
customized programs and offering 
coaching on effectiveness and  
board-readiness for new directors. 
We are also exploring new 
approaches to developing 
connectivity across our diverse 
director community to ensure 
the candidates we work with are 
supported and their impact and 
advancement is accelerated, 
furthering their overall success.
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
11
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Our Services

CASE STUDY
Developing inclusion as a leadership competency
Diversity, Equity  
& Inclusion Practice 
Through our global Diversity, Equity & 
Inclusion (DE&I) Practice we bring together 
our global network of experienced 
consultants to help clients build 
diverse and inclusive leadership teams, 
organizations, and cultures.
Since launching, the DE&I Practice has 
built a comprehensive, integrated suite 
of services and solutions that can be 
adapted to meet our clients’ DE&I needs. 
The practice brings together Executive 
Search and Heidrick Consulting with a 
complementary lens on talent recruitment, 
leadership development, and building 
inclusive cultures, enabling us to help our 
clients achieve their DE&I goals, no matter 
where they are in their journeys.
In 2021...
51%
49%
of our overall  
U.S. placements 
were diverse.
of our overall  
global1 placements  
were diverse.
As our clients look to develop new 
leadership competencies required  
to create more inclusive, healthy, and 
high-performing cultures, we are well 
placed to advise and support them.  
One such relationship began in 2018 
when we placed two senior executives 
and conducted a board mapping for  
a major global advertising company.  
The client felt that inclusive leadership 
was a critical lever to accelerate their 
business and culture transformation.  
We began by facilitating a series of 
sessions on “Inspiring Inclusion” with 
their top 800 leaders, followed by  
a digital learning journey rolled out  
to 45,000 employees worldwide in  
18 languages. We have since  
broadened our work with the client  
to include leadership assessments, 
culture shaping, leadership 
development, coaching, and additional 
placements of senior executives. We 
have also continued to reinforce the 
original work on inclusion through 
toolkits, additional digital modules, 
onboarding, and continued engagement 
with leaders.
“We are expanding the ways in which we work with our clients to  
meet their DE&I goals, now and in the future. Based on decades  
of experience building great teams and cultures, we are 
continually innovating in this space, and we are often called upon 
to co-create and test new solutions that fit our clients’ needs. We 
are committed to doing our part to ensure a world better led.”
The DE&I Practice’s approach is built 
around three core areas:
•	Accelerating DE&I Impact & Results 
We focus on accelerating business 
performance through DE&I by equipping 
leaders to lead on and align their DE&I 
goals and broader business strategy.
•	Building Visible Representation  
Our Search and Consulting teams come 
together to help clients hire, promote, 
and retain new and existing diverse 
talent, delivering diverse slates of 
candidates for executive searches and 
designing talent development programs 
for diverse leaders.
•	Creating an Inclusive Culture 
We assess the existing culture around 
inclusivity and equity and develop 
tailored programs and toolkits to train 
leaders and teams on building and 
maintaining an environment that fosters 
inclusion and identifying opportunities 
for positive change.
Jonathan McBride
Global Managing Partner, 
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Practice, 
Heidrick & Struggles
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
12
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Our Services

CASE STUDY
Placing the right 
leader for the role
A leading global real estate logistics 
company committed to sustainability 
approached us to build a team, 
including their Chief Energy and 
Sustainability Officer who could 
help them meet their science-based 
targets and reduce emissions. We 
placed the former president of an 
energy efficiency and technology 
company in the role. This new leader 
is spearheading a plan to achieve 
100% carbon-neutral construction 
by 2025 with a growing team that 
included the VP, Global ESG, and 
the Global Head of Sustainability 
Solutions, both placed by Heidrick  
& Struggles.
ESG and Sustainability Office 
Heidrick & Struggles has a long-standing 
commitment to assisting mission-driven 
organizations in their leadership transitions 
and placements. In 2017, we established 
our firm’s global ESG and Sustainability 
Office, which has become one of our 
fastest growing areas in our Executive 
Search business. Our clients span multiple 
industries and, in 2021, we completed 
hundreds of ESG-related engagements in 
partnership with our clients, candidates, 
employees, and communities.
Over the past 20 years, we have seen  
an evolution in these types of leadership 
roles, moving from leaders with experience 
in Environmental Health and Safety 
or Corporate Social Responsibility to 
Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) roles. 
In addition, the scope of these roles 
has evolved from ESG reporting and 
Changing the Climate in the Boardroom
We partnered with INSEAD’s Corporate Governance Centre to conduct a global 
survey of board directors in the lead-up to the United Nations’ COP26 climate 
conference. We collected data on how well boards understand, and are coping with, 
the process of decarbonization, and how far climate change has been integrated into 
their oversight responsibilities. Our report explored what boards around the world  
are doing, the gaps that need to be addressed, and what they should do.
“We are increasingly seeing 
sustainability themes 
dominate executives’ 
agendas today, and leaders 
are seeking to engage and 
empower global talent to 
deliver transformational 
change. At Heidrick & 
Struggles, we actively work 
with boards and companies 
across many different 
industries and sectors  
around the world to 
help them maximize and 
accelerate their sustainability 
and ESG efforts to deliver 
lasting impact for their 
people and the planet.”
Scott Atkinson
Partner, Co-Head of Global 
ESG and Sustainability Office, 
Heidrick & Struggles
compliance to broader stakeholder 
engagement, policy advocacy, and 
operational delivery across global 
businesses and their supply chains.  
Today CSOs increasingly have board 
sponsorship as leading, progressive 
organizations recognize the critical 
importance of ESG across strategic 
business and investment decisions. 
We also work with clients on board 
placements with a lens on ESG, in 
addition to offering search and leadership 
consulting services to a variety of 
businesses focusing on and investing 
in sustainability, including sustainable 
product or service businesses, businesses 
working to embed sustainability into their 
strategy, sustainable asset managers, 
private equity funds, non-profits, 
foundations, philanthropic organizations, 
development banks, and others.   
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
13
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Our Services

CASE STUDY
Finding leaders to support those in need
In early 2020, we were approached by a large global NGO focused on alleviating 
poverty to identify a new CEO. We successfully placed a Black woman, a first in their 
history, in the role. The organization returned to us in 2021 to help them place a  
new Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Development Officer. 
Of the three new placements, two were diverse and one was an internal promotion.
“As we witness a real-time 
rise in the importance of 
multi-sector leadership, 
which requires a nuanced 
understanding of 
complex, stakeholder-rich 
environments, the talent 
strategies and advisory 
solutions we provide carry 
critical weight. Many of 
the world’s most impactful 
organizations trust us to 
identify those who can  
guide and transform  
their organizations,  
creating a ripple effect  
for advancing good.”
J. J. Cutler
Managing Partner,  
Social Impact Practice, 
Heidrick & Struggles
Social Impact Practice
Our clients serve many worthy causes, 
from education to conservation to 
human rights, and we understand from 
the breadth of our clients that passion, 
connection to mission, and cultural fit  
are key to the success of leaders.  
Through our Social Impact Practice,  
we are placing transformative leaders  
for the most impactful organizations— 
non-profit, government, or corporate— 
and counseling our clients on how to 
attract and secure dynamic leaders,  
both from the social impact space and 
many other sectors and industries.  
Our work in social impact has continued 
to grow over the last few years, and we 
have made great progress, particularly 
at the CEO and board levels, placing 
executives with organizations focused 
across a range of areas, such as: women 
in investing, education access, combating 
anti-Semitism, youth homelessness, and 
destigmatizing mental health. In addition, 
we have a strong focus on placing diverse 
leaders, with 73% diverse placements 
across the Social Impact Practice over  
the past two years.
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
14
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Our Services

Jaimee Eddington, Americas 
Regional Leader, was awarded 
the AESC’s Future of The 
Profession Award in 2021, 
designed to recognize the 
next generation of leaders in 
executive search and leadership 
consulting. It honors innovation 
and forward-thinking leadership, 
and recipients are viewed as 
trailblazers in the profession.
Industry Recognition and Commitment
Bonnie Gwin, Vice Chairman and Co-managing Partner of the 
Global CEO & Board of Directors Practice, and Theodore Dysart, 
Vice Chairman of the Global CEO & Board of Directors Practice, 
were named to the 2022 National Association of Corporate 
Directors (NACD) Directorship 100—the 10th year for Bonnie  
Gwin and the 14th year for Theodore Dysart. The NACD is  
the recognized authority on the leading edge of corporate 
governance, setting standards of excellence that have elevated 
board performance.
AESC Diversity Pledge
As members of the Association of Executive Search Consultants 
(AESC), in 2020 we worked with fellow member firms to develop  
the AESC Diversity Pledge, a global pledge to combat racism, 
prejudice, and discrimination within our own organizations, with our 
clients and candidates that we serve, and within the communities 
where we live and work. 
We continue to be an active participant as part of the AESC’s 
Diversity Leadership Council, supporting initiatives to advance and 
implement the goals outlined as part of the Diversity Pledge.
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
15
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Our Services

Our People
Winning teams come from an extraordinary culture
A
s leaders in helping clients attract, 
develop, and retain great talent, we 
are constantly learning and promoting 
leadership and management best 
practices, which we also seek to incorporate into  
our own firm. 
We strive to create an open, inclusive, and 
committed culture, where our employees find 
fulfillment through their jobs and can deliver  
their best because they feel safe bringing their  
whole selves to work. This work begins by 
implementing policies and programs that support 
our employees’ success by creating a welcoming 
environment that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive, 
providing growth opportunities and care through 
health and wellness benefits, and creating a 
welcoming environment free from harassment  
and discrimination.
HIGHLIGHTS
•	 We onboarded more than 450 new employees 
globally, established a presence in Finland, and 
welcomed 90 on-demand talent employees.
•	 Of our overall workforce, women represented 
64% globally, and people of color represented 
26% in the United States. 
•	 We enabled employees to voluntarily self-identify 
with respect to their gender, ethnicity, and 
LGBTQ+ identity in our HR information system.
•	 We expanded our Advancing Black Leaders 
mentorship program in the United States for 
ethnically diverse mid-level and junior new hires 
in Executive Search and Heidrick Consulting, 
creating 50+ mentor/mentee matches.
•	 We delivered more than 12,800 hours of learning 
and development to our employees globally across 
virtual, in-person, and hybrid formats.
•	 As part of our ongoing commitment to support  
our employees’ mental health and well-being,  
we began recognizing World Mental Health Day  
as a holiday.
•	 We had 35 offices around the world participate 
in our 3rd Global Day of Service, continuing our 
commitment to give back to our communities.
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
16
Table of Contents
Appendix
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
About Heidrick & Struggles
Executive Summary
Our Services
A Message from Our President & CEO
Our People

1,846
Total
1,846
Total
1,081 
in the 
Americas
482 
in Europe
283 
in Asia Pacific
575 
Associates
837
Other search, 
consulting, 
on-demand, 
support, and 
global operations 
support 
employees
434 
Consultants
365 related 
to Executive 
Search
69 related 
to Heidrick 
Consulting
Total Number of Employees by Employment Type  
(Full-time and Part-time), by Gender 
as of December 31, 2021
Male
Female
Full-time
652
1,149
Part-time
17
28
Total Number of Employees by Employment Contract  
(Full-time and Temporary), by Gender  
as of December 31, 2021
Male
Female
Full-time
647
1,149
Temporary
22
28
Total Number of Employees by Employment Contract  
(Full-time and Temporary), by Region 
as of December 31, 2021
Americas
Asia
Europe
Full-time
1,069
274
453
Temporary
12
9
29
“Our people and culture make 
Heidrick & Struggles a top 
destination for talent and serve as 
a strategic differentiator. We make 
strong investments to attract, 
develop, and retain our people 
and teams. These investments 
and commitment drive increased 
engagement, productivity, and 
performance, ultimately, helping 
us better serve our clients. We 
are dedicated to fostering a 
diverse and inclusive culture and 
supporting the well-being of our 
employees, offering robust total 
rewards and improved ways of 
working to enable employees to 
flourish and bring their authentic 
selves to the workplace.”
Sarah Payne
Chief Human Resources Officer,  
Heidrick & Struggles
Employed by 
Heidrick & Struggles 
 as of December 31, 2021
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
17
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Our People

Health and Safety
As we continue to navigate the effects of 
the COVID-19 pandemic, our top priority 
has been to help ensure the health and 
safety of our employees, clients, and the 
communities where we live and work 
around the globe. We regularly monitor 
guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention, World Health 
Organization, and other relevant health 
authorities, and we share this guidance 
with our employees.
In 2021, we initiated a phased  
approach to returning to offices. 
To minimize the risk of exposure to 
COVID-19, and in line with guidance 
and mandates from local and national 
governments and health authorities, 
we embraced a Flexible Workspace 
philosophy across the Americas,  
Europe, and Asia-Pacific regions. 
In September 2021, we rolled out a 
COVID-19 vaccination policy in the  
United States and Canada, requiring  
all employees, contractors, and guests 
to provide a proof of vaccination to visit 
a Heidrick & Struggles office in either 
country. We continue to engage with 
both state and national governments 
to understand their approaches to 
vaccination (including the extent to 
which regulation may cover some of our 
employees), and with our employees to 
educate them about vaccines and the 
importance of being vaccinated. 
More broadly, we offer various  
benefits and resources in support of  
our employees’ overall health and  
safety, including mental health resources 
and recognizing World Mental Health  
Day as a holiday. In addition, we 
encourage our leaders to communicate 
frequently with their team members  
to support them in maintaining  
work-life balance.
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
18
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Our People

Our Policies
Our employees are highly sought after 
and, to attract the best to our firm, we 
offer professional development and 
learning opportunities, benefits, and a 
culture and environment that create an 
enriching work experience. Through our 
Code of Ethics and additional policies, we 
outline both standards of professionalism 
that employees can expect in our offices 
and benefits made available to them. 
A Respectful Environment
We recognize that, in order to bring 
their best selves to work, each of our 
employees needs to feel respected 
and valued. This requires creating 
a supportive professional work 
environment, free from conduct that 
can be considered harassing, coercive, 
or disruptive. Part of our work to create 
such an environment is through strict 
policies against harassment and sexual 
harassment. All U.S. employees are 
regularly trained on these policies. 
Employees can lodge harassment 
complaints anonymously 24/7 to our 
independent, third-party resource, 
EthicsLine, through their manager, Human 
Resources, or the Legal Department. 
Allegations of harassment are handled by 
our Legal and HR teams, and appropriate 
action is taken as warranted. Furthermore, 
we do not tolerate any form of retaliation 
against anyone who reports misconduct 
in good faith or who participates in an 
investigation. We make every reasonable 
effort to prevent potential instances of 
retaliation, stop retaliation if it occurs, 
provide remedies to victims, and 
appropriately discipline perpetrators  
of retaliation.
Flexible Work
In January 2021, we launched our new 
Flexible Workspace philosophy across the 
Americas, Europe and later in the Asia-
Pacific region. Under this guidance, our 
employees have the flexibility to work 
remotely several days per week, with 
variations depending upon location and 
role, and in alignment with country- or  
state-level guidance. Our offices will 
continue to remain a hub for employees, 
clients, and candidates to work from as 
needed. Flexible working has allowed us 
to reconfigure or redesign our offices to 
both meet the future needs of the business 
and reduce our real estate footprint by 
downsizing both the number and size  
of our offices. As we plan for the future  
of work, we expect to continue providing 
our employees with flexibility in how  
and where we work while maintaining  
our culture of mentorship, collaboration, 
and community.   
Pay Equity
We have aligned compensation at all 
levels to reflect our values of respect  
and integrity, and to continue moving 
toward equity.
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
19
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Our People

Our Benefits
In 2021, we put a special focus on 
supporting our employees’ mental health. 
We hosted our Global Forum on Mental 
Health & Wellness, discussing how leaders 
and colleagues can approach mental 
fitness in the workplace and create a 
supportive environment for our teams. 
We introduced a global company-paid 
subscription to a platform offering virtual 
events, classes, meditations, and a range 
of other tools for building healthy habits. 
We also initiated “No Video Fridays” for 
teleconference calls and granted every 
employee a day off in recognition of World 
Mental Health Day.
Our Global Employee Assistance Program 
(EAP) provides confidential counseling 
and a host of other resources that allows 
employees and all their household 
members access to support and guidance 
to help them live their best lives. In 
addition to live or virtual counseling 
sessions, the EAP includes: support for 
finding child or eldercare; emotional 
support by qualified clinicians to help 
with anxiety, stress, and grief; legal 
and financial guidance by credentialed 
professionals; and other services. 
Every employee is also covered under 
our Business Travel Accident policy and 
Travel Guard program, which provide 
for generous accidental death or 
dismemberment coverage of at least five 
times their salary, emergency medical care 
and support, baggage insurance, safety 
or evacuation support and coverage, 
concierge services, and identity theft 
support, as needed. 
Our U.S. employees working 25 or more 
hours per week are eligible to participate 
in medical, prescription, dental, and 
vision benefits. All medical options 
include telemedicine, and we give all U.S. 
employees access to a tool to empower 
employees to choose the best care for 
themselves and their dependents. We 
offer Health Savings Accounts and Flexible 
Spending Accounts to help our employees 
reduce their taxable income while paying 
for health and dependent care expenses, 
and commuter benefit plans to provide 
tax-free parking and public transportation. 
We provide generous basic life and 
accidental death and dismemberment 
insurance, and short-term and long-
term disability coverage. Critical illness, 
long-term care, hospital indemnity, and 
supplemental life insurance, as well  
as group legal and pet insurance, are  
also available.
Our 401(k) Profit Sharing and Retirement 
Plan in the United States provides a 
generous dollar-for-dollar company match 
up to the greater of $6,000 or 6% of 
eligible compensation. All U.S. employees 
have access to an employee discount 
program and to premier membership in a 
national network that provides access to 
childcare, senior care, pet sitters, tutors, 
and housekeepers through an online 
platform. We also offer generous paid  
time off and wellness programs focusing 
on physical, emotional, social, and  
financial wellbeing. 
We provide similar, competitive benefits 
in each of the markets where we operate, 
based on local norms and benchmarks.
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
20
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Our People

Talent Development
Our growth demands that we attract 
exceptional people. Managing talent isn’t 
just our business, it is our passion. We 
provide career opportunities at all levels 
from internships and entry-level positions 
to advanced and partner-level positions. 
Our ongoing, comprehensive learning and 
development opportunities are one part of 
our unique offering to our employees.
Our learning and development 
programs have been created with the 
goal of building leadership, business 
development, account management, 
and client service skills among our 
employees. We are committed to growing 
our consultant base from within through 
the professional development of our 
employees and promoting a culture of 
continuous learning within our firm. 
In 2021, our Learning & Development 
team delivered more than 12,800 hours 
of learning and development to our 
employees globally across virtual,  
in-person, and hybrid formats throughout 
the year. We continued offering virtual 
formats due to the pandemic, and our 
learning catalog outlines dozens of live 
and virtual programs and thousands of 
e-learning courses designed to help 
video topics include lessons on Leadership 
Development, Communicating with 
Purpose, Strategic Account Management 
Training, and Managing Difficult 
Conversations, to name a few.
LinkedIn Learning
We have partnered with LinkedIn Learning 
to provide their entire catalog of online 
courses to all employees. LinkedIn 
Learning is an award-winning industry 
build and enhance employee leadership, 
business acumen, and business 
development skills. These programs 
are continually updated to reflect best 
practices and feedback received from 
employees.
Leadership Development
In 2021, as part of our commitment to 
supporting our firm’s people and values, 
we laid the foundation for the 2022 rollout 
of a new transformational leadership 
development program. The goal of the 
program is to support our firm’s leaders  
as they maximize their impact and 
build upon existing leadership skills 
and experiences, focusing on courage, 
resilience, vulnerability, trust, and living 
our values. The program is a multi-year 
investment in our leadership and will 
cascade across multiple cohort groups 
throughout the organization.
Peer Learning
Peer learning is the informal sharing 
of knowledge among colleagues 
that happens every day at work. Our 
employees are encouraged to create 
and share video lessons with each other 
through our peer learning portal. Past 
leader in online training, with a digital 
library of over 6,000 courses covering 
a wide range of technical, business, 
software, and creative topics, all taught  
by industry experts. 
In addition to the programs and learning 
tools above, we also have a set of talent 
development programs targeted towards 
women and people of color. To read more 
about these programs, see page 24.
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
21
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Our People

Employee Engagement
As a firm, we view our culture as a 
strategic differentiator to attract, develop, 
and retain the highest-performing talent 
and build a more diverse and inclusive 
firm. In addition to equipping our Partners 
in Charge of offices and people managers 
to facilitate regular team and one-on-one 
conversations, we listen to our employees 
using various channels and through 
intentional connections to invest in the 
areas that most increase engagement. 
We provide all employees with the 
opportunity to share their perceptions of 
the organization and feedback on their 
experience within our company through 
our proprietary Organization Accelerator 
Questionnaire (OAQ), historically 
conducted every two years, and through 
additional pulse surveys. Survey results 
are measured, analyzed, and discussed 
in live sessions in each office to enhance 
the employee experience, drive change, 
and leverage the overall success of our 
organization. In 2021, we introduced a 
digital Voice of Employee tool on our 
online platform that helped us deploy 
our pulse surveys, as well as hold virtual 
conversations that we analyze to identify 
actionable initiatives. 
The surveys demonstrated that 
respondents felt connected to our 
purpose and committed to delivering 
best-in-class service. These surveys also 
helped us identify areas for improvement; 
for example, we saw employees were 
struggling with work-life balance, with 
some experiencing burnout. To respond 
to these challenges, we promoted and 
enhanced our wellness offerings.
Recognizing  
Employee Excellence
In 2021, we held our regional Connections 
Conferences, bringing together team 
members from Executive Search and 
Heidrick Consulting for a chance to 
connect across offices, practices, and 
business functions, learn from each other 
and recognize the great work of our team 
members. In 2021, these conferences 
were held virtually and at each regional 
conference—Americas, Asia Pacific & 
Middle East, and Europe & Africa—awards 
were given to deserving individuals based 
on each of the firm’s five core values,  
as well as recognizing exceptional new  
joiners to the firm.
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
22
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Our People

Our Diversity & Inclusion Principles
“We see diversity, equity, and 
inclusion as a foundation to 
our efforts to promote ESG 
within our own employee 
population—beyond a strategy 
or an initiative. Likewise, our 
employees also bring this lens 
to every talent and advisory 
engagement. Our success 
is realized when we help our 
clients affect change within 
their organizations through 
diverse and inclusive boards 
and leadership teams.”
Jaimee Eddington
Partner, Americas Regional Leader,  
Heidrick & Struggles
We Build.
We build talent pipelines for our clients 
and ourselves that intentionally target 
and develop diverse talent. We build 
diverse and inclusive teams to best 
represent our clients and their interests. 
We build innovative solutions to enhance 
the success of diverse individuals.  
We build quantifiable measures that 
define and track diversity statistics to 
create accountability.
We Create.
We create a culture of inclusion 
where everyone is valued and 
respected. We create a culture that 
embraces differences and encourages 
authenticity. We create innovation  
by maximizing the contributions of  
our diverse populations. We offer 
services to our clients to help them  
do the same.
We Invest.
We invest in the advancement, 
experience, and success of diverse  
talent within our organization. We  
invest in leaders both internally and 
externally who are inclusive and 
empathetic and champion diversity.  
We invest in our communities, specifically 
targeting those groups who have  
been historically underrepresented  
and disadvantaged.
We believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) are key elements of an organization’s ability to mobilize, execute and transform 
with agility. Our commitment to DE&I is a key imperative that is deeply rooted in our organizational values. We are dedicated to 
building diverse leaders and teams and creating an inclusive culture and workplace where all voices are heard; all individuals feel safe, 
valued, and accepted; and where all feel a sense of belonging and are able to thrive and achieve equitable success. In 2021, we:
•	Enabled employees to voluntarily self-identify with respect  
to their gender, ethnicity, and LGBTQ+ identity in our HR 
information system.
•	Launched monthly global DE&I learning journeys with articles, 
trainings, and content around a relevant theme to deepen our 
employees’ knowledge around inclusive culture.
•	Launched our Culture Calendar, a global forum established  
as a dedicated place for all employees to share holidays, dates, 
and events that are important to them, the history behind  
them, and how they plan to celebrate. 
•	Expanded our Advancing Black Leaders mentorship  
program in the United States for ethnically diverse  
mid-level and junior new hires in Executive Search and  
Heidrick Consulting, creating 50+ mentor/mentee matches.
•	Continued our Accelerating Women’s Excellence  
leadership program, completing the third cohort of our  
flagship program.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
23
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Our People

Equitable Advancement 
Programs
Change the Race Ratio
In October 2020, we became one of the 
first 50 signatories to sign the Change 
the Race Ratio pledge, a commitment to 
publish our board and senior leadership 
diversity targets and our progress towards 
them, and to create a culture that enables 
diversity to thrive. We are proud to share 
that at the end of December 2021, 34% 
of our board and senior leadership was 
gender diverse, and 10% was racially/
ethnically diverse.
We also understand that there is  
more work to do. We aspire to achieve 
leadership that is as diverse as the 
communities we serve. We are actively 
working to develop our next generation  
of diverse leadership internally.
Accelerating Women’s Excellence 
In 2017, we joined Paradigm for Parity, 
a coalition of business leaders, board 
members, and academics committed to 
narrowing the corporate leadership gender 
gap. In support of this agenda, and given 
our own commitment to expanding career 
development opportunities for women 
within our firm, we created and launched 
the program Accelerating Women’s 
Excellence (AWE) in 2018 to prepare 
high-potential women for promotion 
into leadership positions and to advance 
commercially. The year-long program 
provides a sustainable and consistent 
opportunity for the development of  
our top female talent. AWE has the 
following objectives:
•	Promote gender parity though a  
culture of sponsorship among both 
women and men. 
•	Advance the skills and capabilities 
of current leaders and high-potential 
women, enabling them to contribute  
to their highest level. 
•	Create a pipeline of female candidates 
who can be promoted to broader roles. 
•	Create a cohort of women who  
will mentor the next generation of 
female and male leaders within  
Heidrick & Struggles.
Professionals of Color  
Development Program
In June 2020, we launched our Advancing 
Black Leaders (ABL) group with a mission 
to increase our empathy, understanding 
and cultural competency on the issues 
of race, diversity, and inclusion. The 
action group was charged with creating a 
roadmap for helping to solve for  
the unique set of challenges facing our 
Black employees. 
In 2021, the ABL group grew into a 
broader Professionals of Color mentorship 
program. The idea behind this initiative is 
to support our ethnically diverse mid-level 
and junior new hires in Executive Search 
and Heidrick Consulting with a consultant 
mentor pairing to introduce them to 
more consultants across the firm and 
expand the network of colleagues they 
can speak with, ask questions of, and 
learn from at the firm. We matched  
50+ mentor-mentee pairings and 
launched several listening sessions  
with the group to hear and understand 
their experiences as diverse talent  
at the firm.
Accelerating Women’s Paths to Promotion
Accelerating Women’s Excellence (AWE) was created as part of our ongoing 
commitment to promote gender parity in leadership roles and foster a strong culture 
of sponsorship by both men and women. AWE prepares high-potential women for 
promotion into leadership positions through a year-long training and development 
program. Following the launch of AWE, from 2019 to 2021,the number of women 
promoted to Partner stands at 45%:
2021:
of Partner promotions 
were women
of Principal promotions 
were women
25%
65%
2020:
of Partner promotions 
were women
of Principal promotions 
were women
50%
55%
2019:
of Partner promotions 
were women
of Principal promotions 
were women
54%
52%
2018:
of Partner promotions 
were women
of Principal promotions 
were women
40%
53%
2017:
of Partner promotions 
were women
38%
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
24
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Our People

Diversity Begins at Home 
As part of our ongoing journey, we have made an internal commitment  
to hold ourselves accountable by measuring our own progress on DE&I.  
Our achievements as of December 31, 2021:
•	Our Chief Human Resources Officer, 
Chief Legal Officer & Corporate 
Secretary and Global Managing  
Partner, Head of Search Go-To-Market, 
were women. 
•	Our Regional Leader for the  
Americas was a Black woman; our 
Regional Leader for Europe and  
Africa was a woman.
•	The leader of our Americas CEO & 
Board of Directors Practice and global 
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion practice 
was a Black man, and our Managing 
Partner for Culture Shaping was a 
Hispanic woman.
•	Women led our CEO & Board of 
Directors, Chief Human Resource 
Officers, Corporate Officers and 
Financial Officers Practices, and two  
of our largest offices.
•	Women represented 64% of our overall 
workforce globally.
•	Women represented 69% of our new 
hires and 65% of our promotions 
globally.
•	People of color represented 26% of our 
overall workforce in the United States.  
•	People of color accounted for 35% 
of our new hires and 21% of our 
promotions in the United States.
•	37% of our board of directors consisted 
of women, and 25% consisted of people 
of color, including three women, one 
Black man and one Asian man (for board 
diversity statistics as of May 2022, see 
next page).
•	Our Management Committee, a global 
body, was 32% gender diverse and 9% 
racially/ethnically diverse, including nine 
women, one of whom was Black, and 
one Asian man. 
•	Half of our CEO’s direct reports were 
diverse, including seven women, one  
of whom was multiracial. 
Diversity Statistics in our Governance Bodies, Board of Directors,  
and Management Committee 
as of December 31, 2021
Gender
Age Group
Race/Ethnicity
Male
66%
Under 30
0%
Asian
3%
Female
34%
30-50
34%
Black or African-American
7%
Over 50
66%
Hispanic or Latino
0%
Two or More Races
0%
White
90%
Diversity Statistics in our Employee Population (VPs and Above)  
as of December 31, 2021
Gender
Age Group
Race/Ethnicity (USA only)
Male
62%
Under 30
0%
Asian
6%
Female
38%
30-50
58%
Black or African-American
4%
Over 50
42%
Hispanic or Latino
2%
Two or More Races
1%
White
87%
Diversity Statistics in our Employee Population (Below VPs)   
as of December 31, 2021
Gender
Age Group
Race/Ethnicity (USA only)
Male
27%
Under 30
33%
Asian
12%
Female
73%
30-50
49%
Black or African-American
8%
Over 50
18%
Hispanic or Latino
8%
Two or More Races
2%
White
70%
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
25
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Our People

African American/Black 
Race/Ethnicity/Nationality
Years on the Board
Gender
Average Age
Asian/South Asian
White/Caucasian
Resident Outside
of the U.S.
1 of 7
1 of 7
43%
Women
61 Years
Average Age
4.5 Years
Average Tenure
5 of 7
1 of 7
1-3
Years
4+
Years
4
3
60+
Years
55-60
Years
45-50 
Years
5
1
1
Board of Directors Diversity 
 as of May 2022
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
26
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Our People

Supplier Diversity
As a global company, we make a 
significant outlay when it comes to 
purchasing supplies and services.  
Our Supplier Code of Conduct  
outlines the following expectations  
of our suppliers: 
•	They will work with diverse suppliers 
while performing work on our behalf.
•	They will meet the same standards for 
supplier diversity as set by relevant 
government entities.
•	They will take reasonable efforts to 
engage minority-owned businesses, 
women-owned businesses, LGBT-owned 
businesses, and small businesses.
•	They will regularly report the amount 
they spend with qualified diverse 
companies on our behalf.
Employee Resource Groups 
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are  
our affinity groups for women, people 
of color, people with disabilities, and 
LGBTQ+ employees that give our 
employees a chance to share experiences, 
mentor, advocate, and engage internally 
and with external networks.
In 2021, our ERGs remained active  
despite being virtual:
•	Our Professionals of Color (POC)  
ERG continued holding its “Courageous 
Conversations” on race and equity 
issues, including hosting a webinar  
with U.S. Congresswoman Grace Meng, 
New York State’s first and only  
Asian-American Member of Congress.
•	Our Professionals of Color (POC)  
ERG hosted a panel discussion, attended 
by our Chief Human Resources Officer, 
Sarah Payne, covering the AWE, ABL, 
and POC development mentorship 
programs at Heidrick & Struggles, as well 
as the differences between mentorship 
and sponsorship.
•	Pride@Heidrick held a number of 
educational “office hours” on topics 
such as Gender, Sex and Sexuality;  
The LGBTQ+ Acronym; Inclusive 
Language; and Tips for Being an Ally. 
•	Our Pride@Heidrick, Americas 
Women’s Inclusion Network, and  
POC ERGs came together to host a 
session called “Unraveling Identity,” 
discussing the ways unique identities 
shape our experiences in the  
workplace and beyond. 
•	On August 26, Women’s Equality Day, 
the Americas Women’s Inclusion 
Network led our U.S. offices in 
commemorating the anniversary of the 
passing of the 19th Amendment that 
granted women the right to vote in 
the United States and reaffirming our 
Paradigm for Parity pledge to achieve 
gender parity by 2030.
Our 2021 ERGs 
Affinity Group
Americas
Europe & Africa
APAC & Middle East
Women
Women’s Inclusion 
Network—Americas 
(WIN)
Women’s Inclusion 
Network—Europe  
(WIN)
Women’s Inclusion 
Network—APAC  
(WIN)
Ethnically Diverse
Professionals of Color 
(POC)
Ethnic Diversity 
Engagement Network—
Europe (EDEN)
Not available 
LGBTQ
Pride@Heidrick
Pride@Heidrick
Pride@Heidrick
Disability
#HEID (Honor Equality 
and Inclusion for 
Disability)
#HEID (Honor  
Equality and Inclusion for 
Disability)
#HEID (Honor Equality 
and Inclusion for 
Disability)
2021 Pride Month
In 2021, as part of our Pride Month 
celebrations, the Pride@Heidrick 
ERG hosted a global webinar entitled 
“The Journeys We Are On…” This 
global discussion included LGBTQ+ 
colleagues and allies across all 
levels of the organization sharing 
their experiences and journeys, with 
in-depth and breakout sessions to 
explore experiences and reactions in 
a candid and safe space. 
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
27
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Our People

Philanthropic Impact 
We strongly believe that the benefits 
of our success and scale should enrich 
all of our stakeholders, especially the 
communities in which we operate. We 
are committed to being responsible 
global and corporate citizens by positively 
contributing to the communities in which 
we work and live. Our global Philanthropic 
Committee, formed in 2019, leads our 
approach to supporting charitable causes 
and philanthropic endeavors that matter to 
our employees, clients, and communities 
around the world. We give back through 
volunteer service, charitable giving, and 
pro-bono work.
While working in a hybrid environment  
in 2021, our teams continued to  
partner together to find ways to support 
our communities.
In 2021, we hosted the “Great Heidrick 
Bakeoff,” a global cooking, baking, and 
mixology competition and fundraiser for 
the United Nations World Food Program’s 
“ShareTheMeal,” a phone app from the 
United Nations WFP that enables people 
to “share their meals” with children  
in need. Colleagues competed by 
submitting recipes for their best dishes 
while also giving back to a global 
organization that fights hunger throughout 
the geographies where we live and work.  
In total, employees donated more than 
3,600 meals through the program to  
those in need.
•	Our Amsterdam office donated 250 meal 
kits to families affected by the pandemic.
•	Our San Francisco office sorted and 
distributed 1,000 meals for delivery.
•	Our Dallas office wrote over 60 notes of 
appreciation to healthcare workers.
•	Our Chicago and Tokyo offices  
donated over 100 books to each of  
their communities.
Global Day of Service 2021
participating  
employees
global offices  
represented
non-profits and 
organizations 
supported
442
35
38
967
total hours  
volunteered
Philanthropic Support and Volunteer Work
We hosted our third Global Day of Service, a day where we, as a firm, gave back to our 
communities through fundraising and volunteering. In 2021, we supported non-profits and 
organizations focused on education, food insecurity, healthcare and other local causes.
Some highlights from our 2021 Global Day of Service include:
•	Our Atlanta, Bremen, Dublin, Houston, 
and Zurich offices helped clean local 
parks and areas around their cities.
•	Employees in Beijing, Shanghai,  
and Dubai mentored local students  
and scholars.
•	Employees in Hong Kong, Singapore, 
London, and Los Angeles raised 
funds to donate to philanthropic 
organizations through athletic events. 
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
28
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Our People

“As the world continued to face unprecedented challenges,  
our employees found opportunities to step up in ways big  
and small. Our firm’s global philanthropic efforts highlight the 
best of our firm and demonstrate the impact we can have  
when we come together to give back to others.”
Elizabeth Langel
Partner, Financial Services Practice,  
Head of Global Philanthropic Committee,  
Heidrick & Struggles
Pro-Bono Work
In addition to volunteer work carried out 
by our employees in their communities, 
we also make financial and pro-bono 
contributions to non-profits and 
organizations around the world that are 
aligned with our values. 
Through our Pro Bono Assignment 
Program, launched in 2020, we offer a 
variety of professional services pro bono  
to nonprofits and select for-profits that 
meet our criteria to receive assistance. 
Recipients from 2021 included mission-
driven organizations from around the 
world, and we supported organizations 
that offered healthcare services to 
underserved populations, addressed  
food insecurity, provided humanitarian  
aid to at-risk groups, educated youth  
and teens, and more.
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
29
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix
Our People

HIGHLIGHTS
A
s one of the world’s largest 
executive recruiting and 
leadership advisory firms, we 
recognize the impact our offices 
and operations have on the planet and 
we acknowledge our responsibility to 
reduce our environmental impact where 
possible and pursue environmental 
sustainability initiatives. We care about 
our communities—local and global—
and we are committed to reducing our 
environmental impact and creating 
transparency around our activities.
•	 We measured and disclosed our full Scopes 1,  
2, and 3 carbon footprint.
•	 We reduced our carbon emissions by over 21% 
versus 2019.
•	 We decreased our global office square footage  
by 26%.
•	 We continued to reduce our waste through 
overall recycling and e-waste recycling.  
•	 We continued addressing our climate impact 
through emissions reductions and the purchase 
of carbon offsets through our partnership  
with IndigoAg.
“We continue to gain momentum on our ESG 
journey as we advance our long-term strategy and 
execute on our priorities for all of the stakeholders 
we serve. Our ESG commitment is aligned with 
our purpose as a firm and further reinforces our 
efforts to reduce our environmental impact and 
demonstrate good corporate citizenship.”
Tracey Heaton
Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary,  
Heidrick & Struggles
Environmental Sustainability
Mitigating our climate impact
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
30
Table of Contents
Appendix
Governance
About Heidrick & Struggles
Executive Summary
Our People
Our Services
A Message from Our President & CEO
Environmental Sustainability

Scope 3** 
61%
 
Amount 
Percent
 
of Emissions 
of Total 
 
(MT CO2e) 
Emissions
Purchased Goods & Services 
1,010 
14.6%
Capital Goods 
392 
5.7%
Fuel- and Energy- Related Activities 
866 
12.5%
Upstream Transportation & Distribution 
20 
<1%
Waste Generated in Operations 
84 
1.2%
Business Travel  
624 
9.1%
Employee Commute 
1,170 
16.9%
Scope 1 
<1%
 
Amount 
Percent
 
of Emissions 
of Total 
 
(MT CO2e) 
Emissions
Vehicle Emissions 
18 
<1%
Fugitive Emissions 
(Refrigerants)  
47 
<1%
Scope 2* 
38.9%
 
Amount 
Percent
 
of Emissions 
of Total 
 
(MT CO2e) 
Emissions
Electricity 
(Location-Based) 
2,690 
–
Electricity 
(Market-Based)    
2,700 
38.9%
 * Location-based electricity emissions are not assigned a percentage because this category is considered an 
alternative calculation methodology to the market-based emissions values. Market-based emissions factors take 
into account the emissions intensity of local energy providers, if known. The location-based emissions factors 
take into account regional emissions based on the EPA’s eGrid system.
 ** Eight of the 15 Scope 3 categories do not apply to Heidrick & Struggles’ business model.
Total 2021 Emissions
6,920
MT CO2e
Carbon Emissions 
In 2019, we began measuring our  
carbon footprint with the goal of 
identifying hotspots, finding efficiencies, 
and mitigating our carbon footprint. 
As a professional services firm, most of 
our carbon emissions historically have 
stemmed from business air travel and 
office electricity use. In 2020 and 2021,  
we responded to the COVID-19 pandemic 
by significantly reducing both our  
business air travel and our leased office 
space due to hybrid working approaches. 
Due to these changes, our largest sources 
of emissions in 2021 were electricity use 
and employee commuting.
In 2021, we expanded our carbon footprint 
measurement to include a complete 
assessment of our Scopes 1, 2, and 3 
emissions. Our largest impact category is 
purchased electricity, accounting for nearly 
40% of total emissions. Our next largest 
emissions source is the purchase of goods, 
including capital goods. In total, emissions 
from these categories account for 
approximately 20% of our total emissions. 
Additional significant sources of emissions 
come from employee commuting and 
business travel, which together account 
for a little over a quarter of our total 
emissions. Employee commuting covers 
both traditional commuting to an office 
location and telecommuting; however, 
most emissions in this category are  
from traditional commuting. Business 
travel includes emissions from air travel, 
hotel stays, and car or train rides, though 
the largest impact within this category 
is from air travel. Air travel decreased 
significantly during the COVID-19 
pandemic and remained low in 2021. 
While we do not anticipate travel returning 
to pre-pandemic levels, it will likely 
increase again in the coming years.
Emissions by Scope 
 as of December 31, 2021:
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
31
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Our People
Governance
Appendix
Environmental Sustainability

Carbon Reductions 
Real Estate
We pursue environmental sustainability 
initiatives when building, furnishing, and 
maintaining our offices globally, including 
working with vendors who focus on 
sustainable materials and products to help 
ensure our offices are as green as possible. 
We lease space in over 20 green buildings 
in the United States. We do not own any 
real estate. We are committed to making 
environmentally responsible choices, such 
as eliminating waste, reducing pollution, 
promoting recycling, utilizing repurposed 
materials, and increasing energy efficiency 
to reduce our carbon footprint.
 
In 2020, as most of our employees 
began working remotely under our newly 
formalized Flexible Workspace philosophy, 
we began to reassess our total real estate 
footprint. We entered 2020 with 441,084 
rentable square feet. Since 2020, we have 
successfully reduced our square footage 
to roughly 330,000—a 111,084 reduction 
in square footage, or roughly 26% of our 
real estate footprint. With office shrinkages 
occurring, it has also given us the 
opportunity to recycle furniture throughout 
our various offices. In 2021, Heidrick & 
Struggles served clients through a network 
of leased office space in 46 cities in 26 
countries around the world.
CASE STUDY
Shrinking our real 
estate footprint and 
our emissions
In 2019, we began studying our 
carbon footprint, which shrank 
considerably in 2020 and 2021 as 
we transitioned to serving clients 
virtually due to the pandemic. Our 
teams quickly adapted to our new 
hybrid working style. In order to 
reduce the amount of unused office 
space we leased and reduce our 
emissions, we downsized our office 
footprint by roughly 26% from 2020 
to 2021. We also worked to retain 
and repurpose as much of the 
furniture and office supplies from 
those downsized offices as possible. 
In fact, we furnished 95% of our new 
Miami office with furniture from a 
previous office space in California.
Carbon Offsets
In addition to our real estate efforts, we 
are committed to addressing our carbon 
emissions through a variety of approaches, 
including the purchase of carbon offset 
credits. We have partnered with Indigo 
Ag for a multi-year offset program (see 
chart). Indigo Ag develops biological and 
digital technologies that improve farmer 
profitability, environmental sustainability, 
and consumer health. Their carbon 
offset credits support farmers who adopt 
regenerative, sustainable agricultural 
practices that reduce and sequester 
carbon dioxide while enriching their 
soil. Indigo Ag’s model is unique among 
carbon credit vendors—it offers technical 
and other support to growers and verifies 
carbon sequestered through a third-party 
audit for buyers. Indigo Ag’s work also 
supports U.N. Sustainable Development 
Goal 15: Life on Land by helping protect 
and restore soil and farmland through 
regenerative practices.
Year
Number of Credits
Offset (Against 2021 Baseline)
*
2021
2,000
28.9%
2022
3,000
43.4%
2023
4,000
57.8%
*Percentages in this column are based on 2021 emissions. Exact percent offset will depend on the relevant year’s emissions. 
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
32
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Our People
Governance
Appendix
Environmental Sustainability

Decrease in  
Total Carbon Emissions
From 2019 to 2021, our total carbon 
emissions decreased by 1,880 MT 
CO2e, the equivalent of removing 
408 passenger vehicles from the 
road for a year. 
For our non-digital documents, we 
securely shredded and recycled our 
printed paper. In 2021, we recycled 
over 42 metric tons of paper, 
avoiding over 220 MT of CO2e from 
being emitted.
Paper
In 2020, we began shifting some of our 
paper contracts to DocuSign, an electronic 
signature software company. The use of 
DocuSign has increased efficiency by 
precluding the use of printing and mailing 
or faxing documents. In 2021, we more  
than tripled our environmental savings  
from using DocuSign versus 2020, as our 
use of it became more mainstreamed 
throughout the company.
Our environmental  
impact reduction through 
the use of DocuSign:
E-Waste
We continued to expand our efforts 
globally around decommissioning 
electronic waste in a secure and 
sustainable fashion, ensuring our data 
is not put at risk. We also continued 
working with certified vendors to manage 
our e-waste recycling as we recognize  
the important benefits, such as reducing 
non-biodegradable waste from ending 
up in landfills.
1,813 lb  
of waste
32,846 gal  
of water
11,155 lb  
of wood
26,184 lb  
of carbon
Supplier Responsibility 
Our efforts to reduce our carbon impact 
include selecting our suppliers responsibly. 
We expect suppliers to adhere to our 
Supplier Code of Conduct that, among 
other expectations, addresses protecting 
the environment. According to the Code, 
suppliers must:
 
•	Comply with all environmental laws 
and regulations where our business is 
conducted.
•	Conserve resources and protect the 
communities and environment that 
surround them. 
•	Minimize the use of non-renewable 
resources, reduce and recycle waste, and 
minimize the environmental impact of 
their operations where possible. 
•	Present environmentally preferable 
options and ensure that materials are 
disposed of in an environmentally 
responsible manner. 
•	Establish targets and be transparent 
in their progress toward those 
environmental goals, including 
measuring, reporting, and reducing 
emissions, transport footprints, the  
use of materials and resources, water 
use, and waste.
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
33
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Our People
Governance
Appendix
Environmental Sustainability

HIGHLIGHTS
O
ur organization is 
governed according  
to our values and  
ethics by our board  
of directors and management 
team. Through its committee 
meetings and regular interactions 
with senior leadership, the board 
provides strategic direction to 
our Executive Search, Heidrick 
Consulting and On-Demand Talent 
operations, while encouraging  
the development of new initiatives 
to ensure we continuously  
meet stakeholder needs and  
set industry standards.
•	 We have an experienced and trusted board of directors2, 
and more than 70% of our board are women or people  
of color.
•	 Our board2 is committed to ongoing refreshment to  
meet the evolving needs of the firm, and the average 
tenure of our directors was 4.5 years. 
•	 As a leading global professional services firm, we have 
developed a set of corporate values and a Code of Ethics 
that guide our firm’s culture, ensuring we hold ourselves  
to the highest professional ethical standards.  
•	 In order to maintain the trust of our clients, candidates, 
and employees, we have a comprehensive set of data 
protection and privacy programs, policies, and practices 
deployed and maintained throughout our organization.
Governance
A progressive culture starts at the top
“The role of boards, CEOs and leaders is changing as 
they address an increasingly complex set of issues and 
challenges with far broader implications than in the 
past. As we advise our clients and partner with various 
stakeholders and experts in the governance arena, 
we are committed to leading by example, starting at 
the top with our board and management team. This is 
a perpetual, ever-evolving process, and our goal is to 
ensure the effective leadership and sound governance 
of our organization, today and well into the future.” 
Krishnan Rajagopalan
President & CEO, 
Heidrick & Struggles
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
34
Table of Contents
Appendix
Environmental Sustainability
About Heidrick & Struggles
Executive Summary
Our People
Our Services
A Message from Our President & CEO
Governance

T. Willem Mesdag
Audit & Finance 
Committee Chair 
and Member of the 
Human Resources & 
Compensation Committee 
Elizabeth L. Axelrod
Human Resources & 
Compensation Committee 
Chair and member of 
the Nominating & Board 
Governance Committee
Our Board of Directors 
Our firm’s success is due in part to our vast network of global colleagues, including our experienced and trusted leadership team. 
Well-run boards take an ongoing approach to refreshment and develop succession practices to meet evolving needs related to board 
composition. Our board of directors2 is currently composed of six independent members and our President and CEO.
Meg Bear
Member of the 
Human Resources 
& Compensation 
Committee 
Adam Warby
Chairman of the board, 
Ex Officio member of all 
committees
Lyle Logan
Member of the Audit & 
Finance Committee and 
the Nominating & Board 
Governance Committee
Krishnan Rajagopalan
President and Chief 
Executive Officer, and 
member of the board of 
directors
Stacey Rauch
Nominating & Board 
Governance Committee 
Chair and member of 
the Audit & Finance 
Committee 
Experience
Public Company CEO Experience
•
Professional Services Industry Experience
•
•
•
•
•
•
Human Capital Expertise
•
•
•
•
•
•
C-Suite Leadership / General Management Experience
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
International
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Risk Management
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Information Security / Cybersecurity Expertise
•
•
•
Mergers & Acquisitions
•
•
•
•
•
Financial Literacy
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Technology / Digital Expertise
•
•
•
Product Strategy & Development
•
•
Customer-Focused / Sales
•
•
•
•
•
•
Public Company Board Experience
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Axelrod
Bear
Logan
Mesdag
Rajagopalan
Rauch
Warby
Skills & Experience
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
35
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Appendix
Governance

Board Committees
The board conducts its business through meetings of the board and its three 
committees: the Audit & Finance Committee, the Human Resources & Compensation 
Committee, and the Nominating & Board Governance Committee. Each committee has 
an approved written charter that is reviewed and revised annually, as needed.
•	The Audit & Finance Committee 
appoints and oversees our 
independent auditors and monitors 
the integrity of our financial reporting 
and audited financial statements. It 
is also responsible for establishing 
procedures around whistleblower 
complaints, ensuring compliance with 
our Code of Ethics, and reviewing  
any regulatory matters related to  
our financial statements with the  
Chief Legal Officer.
•	The Human Resources & 
Compensation Committee discharges 
the board’s responsibilities relating 
to compensation of executives and 
firm-wide compensation plans. 
Additionally, it annually reviews 
human capital matters such as our 
diversity and inclusion practices,  
key metrics and talent pipeline,  
as well as senior leadership  
succession planning.
•	The Nominating & Board Governance 
Committee is responsible for CEO 
succession planning and identifies 
and recommends Director nominees, 
considering how they bring diversity 
and complementary skills and 
experience to the board. Additionally, 
it oversees corporate governance 
matters, including our ESG initiatives, 
and partners with the Audit & 
Finance Committee to recommend 
amendments to our Code of Ethics.
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
36
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Appendix
Governance

Ethics 
Our Code of Ethics applies to all of 
our employees, officers, directors, and 
independent contractors. It establishes 
clear ethical and professional guidelines, 
ensuring we hold ourselves to the highest 
professional ethical standards. The Code 
is a reflection of our values and our 
commitment to acting with integrity and 
high standards in all business practices. 
Guidelines presented in the Code include:
•	Fostering a respectful workplace  
free of harassment.
•	Embracing diversity and inclusion.
•	Dealing fairly and honestly,  
respecting private information, and 
rejecting corruption.
•	Preventing retaliation against anyone 
who reports misconduct.
•	Using social media responsibly,  
and more.
Compliance with the Code is overseen 
by the Audit & Finance Committee of the 
Board. The Code is available in multiple 
languages, and all employees generally 
are required to certify that they have 
reviewed, and are familiar with, the  
Code annually.
EthicsLine
The EthicsLine is an outlet for reporting 
alleged breaches of legal or regulatory 
obligations, financial fraud, or violations 
of the Code or other corporate policies. 
Available 24/7 via the internet or a toll-
free hotline, the EthicsLine is available 
to all company employees, contractors, 
vendors, stockholders, clients, or other 
interested parties. It is administered by an 
independent third-party that specializes in 
running whistleblower hotline programs for 
companies throughout the United States. 
Calls are not recorded, and callers may 
remain anonymous. For access, dial  
800-735-0589 toll-free in the United 
States, or 704-731-7242 outside the 
United States, or visit www.Heidrick.
ethicspoint.com for a full list of local  
phone numbers.
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
37
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Appendix
Governance

Cybersecurity and Privacy 
Our clients, candidates, and employees 
place a tremendous amount of faith in  
us to protect their most sensitive 
information. Our success is, in part,  
built upon our dedication to not  
allowing such information to become 
public. Personal data is a critical 
component of our business, and we are 
committed to the security and appropriate 
usage of that data in compliance with 
applicable data protection laws and 
regulations. In order to maintain the trust 
of candidates, clients, individuals, and 
the broader public, we have deployed a 
comprehensive set of data protection and 
privacy programs, policies, and practices 
throughout our organization, which we 
regularly assess and update to reflect  
the evolving regulatory landscape and 
threat environment. 
Cybersecurity Operations
Confidentiality and information security are 
core to our Corporate Vision and Values.  
It takes a combination of people, technical 
safeguards, and processes to protect 
information at Heidrick & Struggles. 
Some key safeguards we have in place are: 
Policies & Process
•	Robust information security policies 
based on the ISO 27001 framework
•	Cybersecurity incident response
•	Secure software development lifecycle
•	Third-party information risk  
management process
•	Well documented processes to provide 
and remove access in a timely manner
•	IT change control
•	Access provided on a “need to know” 
basis applied with “least privilege” 
principle
•	Regular, independent SOC1/SOC2 
audits for key SaaS providers 
•	Regular security awareness training, 
covering topics like phishing, social 
engineering, mobile and device security, 
and protection of sensitive information
Technical Controls
•	Frequent, independent third-party 
vulnerability and penetration testing
•	Regular system patching
•	Remote access using multi-factor 
authentication
•	Use of world class data centers 
protected by robust physical and 
environmental controls 
•	Encrypted data transmission
•	7x24x365 security monitoring
•	System redundancy and resilience to 
ensure business continuity  
Oversight
Our Chief Information Security Officer and 
the cybersecurity team are responsible for 
defining, implementing, and administering 
appropriate measures to protect 
information across the firm.
Cybersecurity matters are overseen by 
the Audit & Finance Committee of the 
board of directors. The Committee or full 
board regularly reviews our cybersecurity 
program with Management and receives 
periodic updates on the evolving 
threat landscape and our enhanced 
efforts in light of those emerging risks. 
Cybersecurity risks are also reviewed and 
discussed with the Committee and the 
board as part of the annual Enterprise Risk 
Management assessment. Management 
has an annual SOX compliance program, 
which incorporates the review of enterprise 
technology controls. This program 
includes reviews by our internal and 
external auditors. We also maintain a cyber 
enterprise insurance policy to potentially 
defray some of the costs associated with 
a breach. In 2021, we did not experience 
any information security breaches.
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
38
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Appendix
Governance

Privacy
We have adopted a Global Privacy Policy 
to address compliance with applicable 
data privacy laws, including data 
collection, use, processing, disclosure, 
retention, and destruction. We regularly 
update our Privacy Policy, which is 
available in multiple languages, to reflect 
new and updated data protection laws 
and regulations that apply to our business 
and our new service offerings. Through 
our privacy policies and approaches, we 
inform individuals whose personal data 
we process what data we collect, how we 
use it, who we share it with and for what 
purpose, how long we keep it, and how 
we protect it. 
The foundations to our business are 
confidentiality and security. Without  
them, we would not be the trusted 
partner we are to our clients. Our staff 
are engaged in our ongoing training 
and awareness program to remind them 
that privacy comes first, to protect our 
candidates, our clients, our participants, 
and our colleagues. 
Data Ethics and Transparency
We maintain reasonable technical and 
organizational measures to protect 
personal information from loss, misuse and 
unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, 
and destruction. As part of our data 
governance processes, we periodically 
assess our data privacy compliance 
program with external experts to help 
identify ways to improve and evolve our 
policies and practices. We will continue 
our efforts to make our dealings in relation 
to personal data transparent, including 
informing individuals how they can 
exercise their rights to access and control 
their personal data, thereby empowering 
individuals to make informed choices in 
the process. Certain jurisdictions, such as 
the EU, assign rights to such individuals 
(called “data subjects”), or anyone whose 
personal data is being used, processed,  
or transferred. To ensure transparency 
around this process, we maintain a 
data subject rights phone hotline and 
dedicated email via which our data 
subjects can easily request information on 
their personal data. Regardless of location, 
we seek to honor all data requests from 
individuals. Learn more about our Data 
Subject Rights Hotline.
Endnotes
1 Global updates include women globally and ethnic diversity for women and men in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom  
and the United States, where we currently track ethnicity. (pages 3, 5, 8, 10, 12)
2 As of May 2022. (pages 34, 35)
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
39
Governance
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Appendix
Governance

Appendix
Organizational Profile
Disclosure
Description
Cross-Reference or Answer
102-1
Name of the organization
Heidrick and Struggles International, Inc.
102-2
Activities, brands, products, and services
About Heidrick & Struggles
102-3
Location of headquarters
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
102-4
Location of operations
Heidrick & Struggles operates in 26 countries. 
See our Annual Report on Form 10-K for regions where significant operations are located.
102-5
Ownership and legal form
Heidrick & Struggles is a publicly traded company under the symbol "HSII" on the NASDAQ Stock Market.
102-6
Markets served
Annual Report on Form 10-K
102-7
Scale of the organization
Annual Report on Form 10-K
102-8
Information on employees and other workers
Our People
102-10
Significant changes to the organization and its supply chain
Our Services 
Real Estate
102-12
External initiatives
We are members of the AESC Diversity Pledge, Change the Race Ratio and Paradigm for Parity. Additionally, we have 
created the Board Diversity Pledge, Board Network and Leadership Network to support our DE&I commitment and bring 
together leaders across organizations for mutual benefit.
102-13
Membership of associations
We have relationships with a broad array of respected organizations that we draw upon in our journey and help us 
advance our business goals and fulfill our commitments to our employees, clients and the communities where we live and 
work. These include: Ascend Pinnacle; Asian American Business Development Center; Association of Executive Search 
and Leadership Consultants (AESC); The Conference Board; The Executive Leadership Council; The Latino Corporate 
Directors Association; The National Association of Corporate Directors; FTSE Women Leaders; NASDAQ; INSEAD; and 
Stanford University.
GRI 102: General Disclosures
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
40
Appendix
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix

Strategy
Disclosure
Description
Cross-Reference or Answer
102-14
Statement from senior decision-maker
A Message from Our President & CEO
Ethics and Integrity
Disclosure
Description
Cross-Reference or Answer
102-16
Values, principles, standards, and norms of behavior 
Our Culture & Values 
Ethics
102-17
Mechanisms for advice and concerns about ethics
Ethics
Governance
Disclosure
Description
Cross-Reference or Answer
102-18
Governance structure
Governance
102-19
Delegating authority
Governance
102-20
Executive-level responsibility for economic, environmental, 
and social topics
Governance
102-21
Consulting stakeholders on economic, environmental, 
and social topics
We engage with our stakeholders regularly through a variety of avenues, including meetings, forums, conferences  
and events, recruitment events, marketing communications, social media, newsletters and more.
102-22
Composition of the highest governance body and its committees
Our Board of Directors
102-23
Chair of the highest governance body
Our Board of Directors
102-26
Role of highest governance body in setting purpose, values, 
and strategy
Governance
102-27
Collective knowledge of highest governance body
Our Board of Directors
102-36
Process for determining remuneration
Our Board of Directors
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
41
Appendix
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix

Stakeholder Engagement
Disclosure
Description
Cross-Reference or Answer
102-40
List of stakeholder groups
We engage with the following stakeholders to advance our purpose as a firm: employees and potential employees; 
clients and potential clients; candidates and potential candidates; stockholders and potential stockholders; and 
vendors/suppliers. 
Reporting Practice
Disclosure
Description
Cross-Reference or Answer
102-45
Entities included in the consolidated financial statements 
Annual Report on Form 10-K
102-46
Defining report content and topic boundaries
About this Report
102-47
List of material topics
We have not yet conducted a materiality analysis but hope to do so in future years.
102-48
Restatements of information
No information has been restated.
102-50
Reporting period
January 1 - December 31, 2021
102-51
Date of most recent report
April 2021
102-52
Reporting cycle
January 1 - December 31, 2021
102-54
Claims of reporting in accordance with the GRI Standards
About this Report
102-55
GRI content index
Appendix
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
42
Appendix
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix

Economic Topics
GRI Topic
Disclosure
Description
Cross-Reference or Answer
Economic performance
201
Management Approach
See Annual Report on Form 10-K
201-1
Direct economic value generated and distributed
See Annual Report on Form 10-K
201-2
Financial implications and other risks 
and opportunities due to climate change
Environmental Sustainability
201-3
Defined benefit plan obligations and other retirement plans
Our Benefits 
See Annual Report on Form 10-K
Indirect Economic Impacts
203
Management Approach
Philanthropic Impact 
Real Estate
203-1
Infrastructure investments and 
services supported
Philanthropic Impact 
Real Estate
Procurement Practices
204
Management Approach
Environmental Sustainability 
Supplier Diversity 
Supplier Responsibility
Anti-corruption
205
Management Approach
Ethics
Taxes
207
Management Approach
See Annual Report on Form 10-K
207-1
Approach to tax  
See Annual Report on Form 10-K
207-2
Tax governance, control, and risk management  
See Annual Report on Form 10-K
GRI 200-400: Topic-Specific Disclosures
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
43
Appendix
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix

Environmental Topics
GRI Topic
Disclosure
Description
Cross-Reference or Answer
Materials
301
Management Approach
Environmental Sustainability
Energy
302
Management Approach
Environmental Sustainability
302-4
Reduction of energy consumption
Environmental Sustainability
Emissions
305
Management Approach
Environmental Sustainability
305-1
Direct (Scope 1) GHG emissions
Carbon Emissions
305-2
Energy indirect (Scope 2) GHG emissions
Carbon Emissions
305-3
Other indirect (Scope 3) GHG emissions
Carbon Emissions
305-5
Reduction of GHG emissions
Carbon Reductions
Waste
306
Management Approach
Environmental Sustainability
306-4
Waste diverted from disposal
Carbon Reductions
Supplier Environmental 
Assessment
308
Management Approach
Environmental Sustainability
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
44
Appendix
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix

Social Topics
GRI Topic
Disclosure
Description
Cross-Reference or Answer
Employment
401
Management Approach
Our People
401-1
New employee hires and employee turnover
Our People and SASB table
Occupational Health  
and Safety
403
Management Approach
Our People
403-6
Promotion of worker health
Our Benefits
Training and Education
404
Management Approach
Our People
404-1
Average hours of training per year per employee
Talent Development
404-2
Programs for upgrading employee skills and transition  
assistance programs
Our People 
Equitable Advancement Programs
Diversity and Equal 
Opportunity
405
Management Approach
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
405-1
Diversity of governance bodies and employees
Diversity Begins at Home
405-2
Ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women to men
Pay Equity
Non-discrimination
406
Management Approach
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion 
Our People
Local Communities
413
Management Approach
Philanthropic Impact
413-1
Operations with local community engagement, impact assessments,  
and development programs
Philanthropic Impact
Supplier Social Assessment
414
Management Approach
Supplier Diversity 
Supplier Responsibility
Customer Privacy
418
Management Approach
Cybersecurity and Privacy
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
45
Appendix
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix

SASB Topic
Metric
Category
Unit of Measure
Code
Cross-reference or answer
Data Security
Description of approach to identifying and  
addressing data security risks
Disucssion and analysis
n/a
SV-PS-230a.1
Cybersecurity and Privacy
Description of policies and practices  
relating to collection, usage, and retention  
of customer information
Disucssion and analysis
n/a
SV-PS-230a.2
Cybersecurity and Privacy
(1) Number of data breaches,  
(2) percentage involving customers'  
confidential business information (CBI) or  
personally identifiable information (PII),  
(3) number of customers affected
Quantitative
Number, percentage (%)
SV-PS-230a.3
Cybersecurity and Privacy 
0 material data security breaches
Workforce 
Diversity & 
Engagement
Percentage of gender and racial/ethnic  
group representation for (1) executive management  
and (2) all other employees
Quantitative
Percentage (%)
SV-PS-330a.1
Diversity Begins at Home
(1) Voluntary and (2) involuntary turnover  
rate for employees
Quantitative
Rate
SV-PS-330a.2
Employee turnover rate  
(between January 1 - December 31, 2021): 
Voluntary terms: 17% 
Involuntary terms: 2%
Employee engagement as a percentage
Quantitative
Percentage (%)
SV-PS-330a.3
We do not currently track this metric.
Professional 
Integrity
Description of approach to ensuring  
professional integrity
Disucssion and analysis
n/a
SV-PS-510a.1
Ethics
Total amount of monetary losses as a  
result of legal proceedings associated with professional 
integrity
Quantitative
Reporting 
currency
SV-PS-510a.2
We do not publicly disclose this information.
Acitivity Metrics
Employee hours worked, percentage billable
Quantitative
Hours, percentage (%)
SV-PS-000.B
Not all Heidrick employees work on a billable hours basis.
Number of employees by: (1) full-time and  
part-time, (2) temporary, and (3) contract
Quantitative
Number
SV-PS-000.A
Our People
SASB:  Professional & Commercial Services Sustainability Accounting Standard
HEIDRICK & STRUGGLES  |  2021 ESG REPORT
46
Appendix
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
A Message from Our President & CEO
About Heidrick & Struggles
Our Services
Our People
Environmental Sustainability
Governance
Appendix

Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. 
233 South Wacker Drive Willis Tower - Suite 4900 
 Chicago, IL 60606-6303
+1 312 496 1200
www.heidrick.com
legaldepartment@heidrick.com