Heidrick & Struggles CEO Kevin Kelly Participates in Women and Economic Decision-Making Panel Discussion During World Economic Forum Annual Meeting

1/25/2013 4:14 PM EST

Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.
Press release

Heidrick & Struggles CEO Kevin Kelly Participates in Women and Economic
Decision-Making Panel Discussion During World Economic Forum Annual Meeting

High-Profile Plenary Session Includes Some of World's Most Accomplished Women

CHICAGO, 2013-01-25 22:14 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Heidrick & Struggles
International, Inc. (Nasdaq:HSII), the premier provider of Executive Search and
Leadership Consulting services worldwide, today announced that Chief Executive
Officer Kevin Kelly was part of a high-profile panel on gender parity during
the 43rd World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland. 

Kelly was part of a prominent seven-member panel focused on "Women in Economic
Decision-Making" that highlighted examples of women leading high-level economic
decision-making and the mechanisms that advance gender parity and
representation in senior leadership. 

The panelists included: Drew Gilpin Faust, President of Harvard University;
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook; Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the
International Monetary Fund; Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Justice,
Fundamental Rights and Citizenship; Laura Tyson, Economist and Professor at
Haas School of Business and Lubna Olayan, CEO of Olayan Financing Company. 

Asked to comment on Heidrick & Struggles' recently released Board of Directors
survey, which found sharp disagreement between men and women directors on board
diversity and the use of quotas, Kelly said: "Although quotas did not garner
overwhelming support from either gender, more than half of all female
respondents (51 percent) agreed that quotas are a useful tool to affect
meaningful change, while only a quarter of the men shared the same view.
Progress on improving female representation on boards has been slow to come and
for that reason we see greater willingness among women to entertain the topic
of quotas." 

Kelly also noted that "gender diversity isn't about simply increasing the
number of women at senior levels – it is about bringing varied, important and
relevant perspectives to boards and executive committees that raise the overall
quality of their collective performance." 

The 43rd World Economic Forum Annual Meeting is taking place from January 23-27
under the theme Resilient Dynamism. More than 2,500 participants from over 100
countries are taking part in the meeting. Participants include nearly 50 heads
of state or government and more than 1,500 business leaders from the Forum's
1,000 Member companies, as well as representatives from the media, academia and
the arts. This is the sixth year Heidrick & Struggles has attended The World
Economic Forum Annual Meeting as a Strategic Partner. 

About Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.

Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. (Nasdaq:HSII) is the premier provider
of senior-level Executive Search and Leadership Consulting services, including
culture shaping, executive assessment, succession planning, board
effectiveness, leadership development and leadership strategy. For 60 years, we
have focused on quality service and built strong leadership teams through our
relationships with clients and individuals worldwide. Today, Heidrick &
Struggles leadership experts operate from principal business centers in North
America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information about
Heidrick & Struggles, please visit www.heidrick.com. 


         Jennifer Nelson
         +1 (404) 682.7373