Futurestep, a Korn Ferry (NYSE:KFY) company specialising in high-impact recruitment solutions, has today announced the appointment of two new senior hires to join its EMEA industry practice, supporting an increased demand for talent in the industrial market. Chris Thompson transfers from Futurestep’s Singapore office to its Zurich headquarters as Managing Consultant and Sonja Schmidt-Gillmeister joins Futurestep’s Dusseldorf office as Senior Consultant.
In his new role Thompson is responsible for Futurestep’s Search practice within the broader EMEA Industrial division, with a special focus on hiring for the manufacturing, chemical, process industry and industrial services spaces. Thompson brings more than 10 years of international experience developing and building trusted client relationships across Switzerland, Southeast Asia and Scandinavian markets.
Meanwhile, a specialist in sourcing talent for corporate finance, human resources and sales roles, Schmidt-Gillmeister is focused on finding best-fit candidates for the chemistry, packaging and logistics, automotive and manufacturing sectors. Having spent a decade in the Executive Search business, recruiting for industrial sector roles, she brings a wealth of experience to her position.
Both will report directly to EMEA Industry Practice Leader, An Poelman, based in Futuretep’s Brussels office.
Poelman commented: “As well as bringing in first-class talent, like Sonja, from outside the organisation to strength our offering to clients, at Futurestep we also champion internal mobility and are delighted to be able to utilise Chris’ expertise cross-market. As experts in their field they will be instrumental to the team and we are thrilled to have them on board.”
Ettore Landini, Search EMEA Managing Director and leader of Futurestep’s industrial practice added: “The industrial industry is continuing to go from strength to strength and businesses are requiring vital skilled talent to support their expansion and gain a competitive advantage. Expanding our Search team with valuable resources like Sonja and Chris will enable Futurestep to effectively guide its clients to attract, retain and deploy the talent they need to buoy their strategies.”