Heidrick & Struggles promotes Nicole Northwood to principal

Executive search and HR consultancy Heidrick & Struggles has promoted Nicole Northwood to principal in its Toronto office. She has more than a decade of experience in executive search and human resources.

The promotion is part of the firm’s annual promotion process, which elevated 23 people to partner and 22 people to principal across Heidrick & Struggle’s global operations. The promotions were effective January 1, 2020.

Northwood was the sole Canadian entry in this year’s promotion class. The consulting firm has Canadian offices in Toronto and Calgary.

"Our newly promoted consultants have proven their ability to deliver exceptional client service, drive strong business growth and strengthen the overall culture of our firm," said Krishnan Rajagopalan, president and CEO, Heidrick & Struggles. "They continually serve our clients as their trusted leadership advisors, building long-term relationships and advising them on a multitude of complex talent and human capital issues, while also providing strong leadership to our firm's future leaders."

Northwood is now a principal in the Toronto office and a member of the financial services practice. She focuses on leadership assessment, development, executive onboarding, and talent management engagements related to human resources, risk, compliance, anti-money laundering, finance, and procurement.

She has been with Heidrick for the last two-and-a-half years, serving as an engagement manager in the global financial services practice. Northwood previously spent four-and-a-half years at RBC, where she was a director of talent management and an HR business partner in group risk management.

Earlier in her career, she was an executive search consultant at The Bedford Consulting Group and a senior analyst at Spencer Stuart, another global executive search firm. Northwood holds a master’s degree in human resources management from the University of Toronto and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Queen’s University.

Headquartered in Chicago, Heidrick & Struggles delivers services in executive search, leadership assessment and development, organization and team effectiveness, and culture shaping. The firm has more than 1,600 employees across its global offices.