HSP

What HSP does

HSP (Henkel Search Partners LLC) is a boutique executive search firm founded in 2011 and headquartered in New York City. The firm specializes in placing talent into investment management and financial services organizations — including private equity funds, hedge funds, venture capital firms, and investment banks (boutique and bulge bracket) — across all levels from pre-MBA junior to Partner. It serves approximately 350 clients that have grown organically from an initial five, with sector coverage spanning A&D, Consumer, Energy, Financial Services, Healthcare, Industrials, Infrastructure, Real Estate, and Technology, and function coverage spanning Investing, Investor Relations/Marketing, Capital Markets, Corporate Development, and Portfolio Operations.

HSP operates two integrated service lines. The core is Full-Service Search Execution — identifying, evaluating, and placing candidates on retained and contingency engagements. The second is Strategic Advisory Services — long-term advisory work covering competitive compensation analysis, diversity and inclusion consulting, and market insights/thought partnership — which the firm has built alongside core search to deepen client relationships and create recurring revenue streams beyond pure placement fees. Pricing follows standard industry convention (a percentage of placed candidate's first-year total compensation, typically 20-33%), though specific terms are not publicly disclosed; revenue is generated exclusively through professional services fees.

The firm's distribution model is high-touch and direct: dedicated relationship managers engage enterprise clients through field-sales motion across multiple US geographies (New York, California, Massachusetts, Texas, Illinois, and the Midwest). HSP has no underlying technology platform — it is a people-and-relationships business — and reports approximately 30 team members with 87% founding team retention and 200+ cumulative years of team experience. Approximately 42% of placements to date have been diverse candidates including females and underrepresented minorities. Revenue is undisclosed.

Name

HSP

Legal name

HSP Henkel Search Partners LLC

Website

https://henkelsp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HSP (Henkel Search Partners) is a New York-based boutique executive search firm placing candidates across all levels (pre-MBA through Partner) at private equity, venture capital, hedge fund, and investment banking clients in the US, via Full-Service Search Execution and Strategic Advisory Services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Search Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies and Executive Search Services (56131), Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Placement Agencies (561311)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPACAAAF

Financial Services Leadership Search (Banking/Insurance/PE/Asset Mgmt)

Business & Public Services/HR, Staffing & Recruitment Services/Executive Search & Headhunting

Keywords

• Executive search
• Talent recruitment
• Investment recruiting
• Financial services search
• Candidate placement

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Executive Search Services: HSP generates revenue through contingency-based executive search services, placing candidates at all levels across investment firms. They work on retained and contingency basis with clients to identify, evaluate, and place candidates in roles ranging from junior (pre-MBA) to senior (VP/Principal through Partner) levels.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

HSP is a boutique executive search firm that identifies, evaluates, and places candidates at all levels — from pre-MBA junior through Partner — across investment firms covering sectors such as Healthcare, Technology, Consumer, Industrials, A&D, Real Estate, and Infrastructure, and functions including Investing, IR/Marketing, Capital Markets, Corporate Development, and Portfolio Operations. The firm complements its search execution with Strategic Advisory Services that provide compensation benchmarking, diversity and inclusion advisory, and market insights.

Product overview

HSP (Henkel Search Partners) is a boutique executive search firm offering two integrated service offerings: Full-Service Search Execution and Strategic Advisory Services. The Full-Service Search Execution covers candidate identification, evaluation and placement across all levels (pre-MBA through Partner), multiple sectors (including Healthcare, Technology, Consumer, Industrials, Real Estate, and Infrastructure), and various functions (Investing, IR/Marketing, Capital Markets, Corporate Development, Portfolio Operations). Strategic Advisory Services complements the search execution by providing ongoing talent consulting including competitive compensation analysis, diversity and inclusion advisory, and market insights. Together, these services form a comprehensive recruiting partnership for buy-side and financial services firms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Full-Service Search Execution End-to-end executive search service in which HSP identifies, evaluates, and places candidates at all levels — from pre-MBA junior to senior Partner — for investment firms across a broad range of geographies, sectors, strategies, and functions.
• Strategic Advisory Services Long-term strategic partnership services providing expertise and market knowledge on talent recruitment and retention for investment firms, including competitive compensation analysis, diversity and inclusion advisory, and market insights/thought partnership with competitor benchmarking.

Quantifiable outcome

• 65x organic growth from 5 clients at inception to 350+ clients
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• SG Partners: Buyside-focused executive search firm specializing in investment management and alternatives; multiple HSP founding team members and recruiters previously worked there, indicating direct competition for the same client mandates and candidates.
• Glocap Search: Boutique executive search firm focused exclusively on investment management, hedge funds, and private equity; competes head-to-head with HSP for pre-MBA through Partner-level mandates across the same investor client base.
• Odyssey Search Partners: Specialized boutique search firm serving private equity, hedge funds, and investment management firms with full-service search across junior through senior levels; closely comparable offering, client type, and team-based delivery model to HSP.
• Options Group: Talent acquisition and management consulting firm focused on financial services and capital markets; overlaps directly with HSP on investment management, sales & trading, and banking mandates across the same candidate pool.
• Acertitude: Executive search firm with a strong private equity and financial services practice serving growth-oriented and middle-market firms; competes with HSP for senior operating partner, portfolio executive, and investor placements.

Broad incumbents

• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search leader with a dedicated Financial Services practice serving PE, hedge funds, and asset managers; overlaps with HSP on senior-level investment mandates but operates across all industries at much larger scale.
• Spencer Stuart: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm with a long-standing Financial Services practice; competes with HSP for Partner and senior investment professional mandates while serving a much broader industry set.
• Russell Reynolds Associates: Global executive search firm with a dedicated Financial Services sector practice covering asset management, private equity, and investment banking; competes with HSP on senior mandates while offering cross-geography reach HSP lacks.
• Egon Zehnder: Global leadership advisory and executive search firm with significant financial services coverage; competes with HSP on Partner-level investment mandates and offers deeper international footprint for cross-border searches.

Emerging players

• StevenDouglas: Mid-sized search and interim staffing firm with a financial services practice; partial overlap with HSP on investment and corporate development mandates, though broader in scope and less specialized in alternatives.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hsp---henkel-search-partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HSP