Announcements & Appointments
Heidrick & Struggles appoints HR executive John Berisford to board of directors

Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc., a  provider of global leadership advisory and on-demand talent solutions, announced the appointment of John Berisford to its board of directors as an independent director and member of the Human Resources and Compensation Committee of the board.

With the appointment of Berisford, the board will comprise eight directors, seven of whom are independent.

“We are excited to have John – a recognized business strategist, innovator with strong data and analytics acumen, and a people-first HR executive – join our Board of Directors,” said Krishnan Rajagopalan, president and CEO, Heidrick & Struggles. “We know his voice, foresight, and experience as a transformative business and HR leader will serve us well as we continue to diversify our business and innovate for the future.”

Berisford commented, “I’m honored to join the Board of Directors at Heidrick & Struggles, a truly global, influential leader in executive talent acquisition and leadership advisory services. Heidrick & Struggles is positively impacting leadership, teams, and organizations of all industries and sizes around the world, and I’m excited to support their next phase of growth and diversification.”

Most recently, Berisford served as president of S&P Global Ratings and was responsible for all aspects of the business, including commercial, analytical, control, and operations functions. Prior to that role, he served as executive vice-president of human resources for S&P Global and was instrumental in creating and executing the company’s growth plan, which resulted in the creation of S&P Global after the sale of McGraw-Hill Education.

Berisford was one of the driving forces in leading the evolution of S&P Global from a well-established media conglomerate into a leading information services provider with best-in-class data and analytics, the company said in a press release announcing his appointment.

Before joining S&P Global, Berisford spent 22 years at PepsiCo where he spearheaded a number of important global initiatives and transformations, including helping to lead the integration of the independent Pepsi Bottling Group into PepsiCo’s overall corporate structure and serving as the Chief Human Resources Officer at the Pepsi Bottling Group after its initial public offering.