100 young leaders selected for leadership and service to society; 54 percent are women

GENEVA, Switzerland, March 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A world with both new and enduring challenges needs a rising next generation of global leaders to develop innovative solutions and drive positive change. Each year, the World Economic Forum selects and brings together a new class of Young Global Leaders (YGL) to collaborate and encourage each other to help change the world for the better. For the tenth consecutive year, Heidrick & Struggles (Nasdaq: HSII), a premier provider of executive search, leadership consulting and culture shaping worldwide, has partnered with the World Economic Forum to help identify and assess worthy candidates to be selected as Young Global Leaders for 2017.

View the complete list of the 2017 Young Global Leaders at http://wef.ch/ygl17.

With decades of experience identifying and evaluating executive talent for many of the world's leading organizations, Heidrick & Struggles assists the World Economic Forum in evaluating YGL nominations. The 2017 cohort of 100 YGLs includes a tech entrepreneur whose mobile app has helped over 100,000 smallholder farmers in Africa, a Yale graduate who shunned a big-city salary to help millions of villagers in rural China, a micro-insurance pioneer who is providing a safety net for the most vulnerable segments of society and transformative scientists who are pioneers in gene therapy, artificial intelligence, experimental psychology and mathematics.

This year, more than half of the 100 YGLs—all under the age of 40—are women.

"We share the World Economic Forum's dedication to bring together extraordinary young leaders to solve some of the world's greatest challenges," said Valerie Germain, partner - Heidrick & Struggles and executive sponsor for the firm's strategic partnership with the World Economic Forum. "Over 100 of our colleagues helped to assess hundreds of worthy nominees to join the Young Global Leaders community. The class that was selected is incredible."

Current and former YGLs head governments and Fortune 500 companies, win Nobel Prizes and Academy Awards, and become UN Goodwill Ambassadors and social entrepreneurs. The new leaders will be asked to work together over the next five years on globally meaningful endeavors, including finding a cure for spinal paralysis, tackling water scarcity, creating a global emergency response network and promoting waste-free circular economies.

YGLs are selected through a qualified nomination process and assessed according to rigorous selection criteria. Of the thousands of candidates, those selected must have a proven track record of professional accomplishments, a breadth of expertise, a commitment to society, and an ability to overcome adversity, among other criteria. With the purpose of creating a truly representative body, candidates are evaluated by the Forum's Young Global Leaders Team, professionals from Heidrick & Struggles and, as a final step, screened by a selection committee.

The Forum of Young Global Leaders has three objectives:

• To transform the next generation of leaders: through personal experiences that exchange knowledge, build better understanding and define the major global challenges.
• To build a global community of peers: by engaging Young Global Leaders into networks and processes that search for forward-looking and innovative solutions for humankind.
• To positively impact global challenges: by engaging Young Global Leaders in collaborative actions that leverage individual contributions in to collective action and taskforces.

About Heidrick & Struggles
Heidrick & Struggles (Nasdaq: HSII) serves the executive talent and leadership needs of the world's top organizations as a premier provider of leadership consulting, culture shaping and senior-level executive search services. Heidrick & Struggles pioneered the profession of executive search more than 60 years ago. Today, the firm serves as a trusted advisor, providing integrated leadership solutions and helping its clients change the world, one leadership team at a time. www.heidrick.com

About The Forum of Young Global Leaders and World Economic Forum
Established by Professor Klaus Schwab in 2004, the Forum of Young Global Leaders is a unique, multi-stakeholder community of more than 900 exceptional young leaders. Bold, brave, action-oriented and entrepreneurial, these individuals commit both their time and talent to make the world a better place. The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas. Incorporated as a foundation in 1971 and based in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum is impartial and not-for-profit; it is tied to no political, partisan or national interests. www.weforum.org

H&S Media Contact:  
Alex Brown
abrown@heidrick.com

SOURCE Heidrick & Struggles