CHICAGO, June 4, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. (Nasdaq:HSII), the leadership advisory firm providing executive search and leadership consulting services worldwide, announced today that it has recruited the premier executive search and leadership consulting team in the Middle East. Michael Morcos, Raed Sater and David Myers join Heidrick & Struggles' Dubai office as Partners from EWK International, effective immediately.

With the addition of Morcos, Sater and Myers and an execution team of five employees, Heidrick & Struggles becomes the top leadership advisory firm in the region.

"In addition to significantly expanding our geographic footprint in a strategically important market, we have aligned ourselves with three of the most respected consultants in the Middle East," said L. Kevin Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of Heidrick & Struggles. "They bring a deep understanding of the entire Gulf region, a complementary client base that includes relationships with C-Suite executives at leading local and regional companies and a client service philosophy that is consistent with our culture."

Morcos will also be Partner-In-Charge of the Middle East Region.

"We are excited to have Michael, Raed, David and their team join Heidrick & Struggles," said Steve Mullinjer, Heidrick & Struggles' Regional Leader, Asia and Middle East. "The GDP of the Middle East economies are growing at healthy rates. High energy prices continue to create massive budget surpluses and there is no sector in the region that does not face a leadership shortage. This is an exciting period for Heidrick & Struggles in the Middle East as we are now uniquely positioned to provide local and global clients with a range of leadership advisory services that our competitors can't match."

Morcos, Sater and Myers formed the Middle East office of EWK International in 2008. Over the past four years, they have established strong relationships with the leadership teams of the major regional companies by providing unparalleled executive search, management assessment and outsourced project recruitment capabilities.

"We are pleased to join Heidrick & Struggles and expand its brand and services throughout the Middle East," said Morcos. "Heidrick & Struggles' global platform and client-focused, advisory approach will give us the opportunity to better serve our clients throughout the world in a seamless manner."

The Middle East and North Africa consist of 21 Arabic speaking countries, 350 million people and a GDP exceeding $2 trillion. Over the next 20 years the economy and political landscape will undergo major structural change and reform especially in areas such as financial services, education and retail, telecom, healthcare, energy and infrastructure and government. These will drive significant changes and opportunities in the region for world-class leadership talent and leadership advisory services to support the growth.

Heidrick & Struggles Dubai office is located at Liberty House, Level 7, Office 718, Dubai International Financial Centre.

About Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.

Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc., (Nasdaq:HSII) is the leadership advisory firm providing executive search and leadership consulting services, including succession planning, executive assessment, talent retention management, executive development, transition consulting for newly appointed executives, and M&A human capital integration consulting. For almost 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 globally. For more information about Heidrick & Struggles, please visit www.heidrick.com

BIOGRAPHIES

Michael Morcos

Michael Morcos brings more than 20 years global experience as a business executive, management consultant and executive search professional. Prior to joining EWK International he held senior international positions with McKinsey & Company, Atlantic Richfield Corporation and Schlumberger.

Michael has a broad range of expertise in the areas of private equity, investment banking, energy and its downstream industries, public sector and professional services. He has also worked extensively in the emerging markets for large multi-nationals, governments and holding companies on strategy, M&A, sector policy and operational transformation.

During his professional career Michael has worked for public and private sector clients in the Middle East, Europe, South and South-East Asia and North America.

He holds a Master's degree in aerospace engineering from Stanford University.

Raed Sater

Raed Sater brings approximately 20 years' of executive experience focused on the Middle East primarily in financial services and family businesses across sectors such as industrial and consumer. Prior to joining EWK International, Raed worked for Korn/Ferry's Financial Services Practice in London and was subsequently based in the Dubai office where he executed assignments across the Middle East.

Raed also worked with Gulf Air where he was Head of Human Resources – being recruited as part of the turnaround team. Among his key responsibilities was sourcing talent for the airline during a very challenging period. His earlier career was spent with Unilever in the Human Resources function. He was closely involved in setting up Lipton's largest international tea packaging facility and the largest graduate recruitment program across the GCC.

Raed holds a BSc degree in finance from King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

David Myers

David Myers brings over 30 years' experience in the technology and Executive Search industries. Prior to joining EWK International, David gained 12 years' experience with Korn/Ferry and another international executive search firm. In addition, he ran a niche search firm, which specialized in the optical networking industry.

Before entering the industry, David worked in engineering management and sales management roles carrying out technology development with British Aerospace and Digital Equipment Company. He has a broad range of expertise across the technology and industrial sectors and has worked with regional family businesses in the Middle East as well as with multinationals in the industrial, technology and healthcare sectors. In addition to conducting Executive Search assignments, David specializes in the assessment of management teams.

David holds a BSc in electrical and electronic engineering from Swansea University.

CONTACT: Jennifer Nelson
         +1 (404) 682.7373
         jnelson@heidrick.com