Kati Najipoor-Smith has been named Regional Co-Managing Partner, CEO & Board Practice for Europe and Africa by Heidrick & Struggles, a prominent international leadership consulting firm, executive search firm, and on-demand workforce solutions provider. She joins the Heidrick & Struggles team with decades of international executive search and consulting experience, assisting CEOs and boards in navigating challenging leadership situations. She is based in Frankfurt, Germany.
In 1999, Kati Najipoor-Smith started working at Egon Zehnder as an executive search associate. She spent a number of years leading the Global CEO Practice and then Global Automotive. She focusses on creating strong and efficient boards and senior leadership teams while advising chairmen and CEOs of publicly traded firms, family businesses, and private equity-backed organisations in many sectors and geographical areas. Kati Najipoor-Smith, who has a global network and a wealth of expertise in CEO transitions, including many high-profile placements, collaborates closely with boards to guarantee thorough, impartial, and private succession processes, including training future CEOs.
Kati Najipoor-Smith worked in management consulting for a number of years, including at the FEV Group, a prestigious provider of engineering services, and Roland Berger. Her mechanical engineering degrees include a PhD from RWTH Aachen University in Germany, an MSc from the University of California, and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Portland.
A popular speaker and panellist on leadership subjects, Kati Najipoor-Smith is frequently asked to share her international viewpoints on corporate leadership. In an effort to promote female leadership, she co-founded a private network of senior women leaders ten years ago.