Top headhunter Hammond quits Heidrick & Struggles

She plans to run a boutique practice with Trevor Foster-Black, her former colleague at recruitment firm TMP Worldwide. The new search firm is already trading under the name of HammondBlack.

Hammond is still under contractual obligation to Heidrick and is negotiating on whether she should be out of the market for a period of six months or less. If she stays out for six months, she would be back in business on October 4th.

Heidrick said the parting, though regrettable, was amicable. Hammond was hired from TMP two years ago along with Rupert Channing by Brian Sullivan, the veteran New York financial services headhunter, to revive an ailing practice.

Hammond and Channing had moved to TMP together when it acquired their firm The Consulting Group.

Channing, who heads Heidrick's European financial services practice, said: &quotElizabeth has been a colleague for eight years and a close friend and her departure is deeply regretted. But she always wanted her name above the door some day.&quot

Hammond's timing reflects her belief that the financial markets are about to pick up again, at least to the levels of 1997-98. &quotIf you move at a time when it is busy, then someone else tends to service your clients. When I moved to Heidrick I only had to take a couple of months out, and I found that very hard&quot she says.

Heidrick is losing her at a time when Brian Sullivan is also on sabbatical, said to be taking a break to re-charge batteries after building up the financial services business globally. With Hammond's departure, Michael Franzino in New York now heads the firm's global financial services practice.

Foster-Black, who headed the capital markets team for TMP, resigned from there a few months ago. With HammondBlack, he and Hammond plan to recreate a boutique search firm in financial services along the lines of the original Consulting Group.

Foster-Black has brought senior associate Benjamin Schoff with him from TMP, as well as associate Jane Davidson. They have a capital markets team in place and are already doing searches in structured finance, fixed-income and re-insurance.

Once Hammond is on board, they plan to cover equity and equity derivatives. Anna Shields, Hammond's number two in the equity business at Heidrick, has moved with her, and is only out of the market for two months.

&quotWe plan to build up a high-end strategic business, extending to equities, debt, asset management, investment banking and structured finance. As a small firm we intend to be driven, not by volume, but by a value-added consultancy relationship&quot says Hammond. HammondBlack says it is actively hiring headhunters.

Curiously enough, Peter Evans, one of the other original partners of the Consulting Group who is said to have made enough money with its sale never to have to work again, was recently spotted in the City. He was said to be helping out an old friend by doing consultancy work in outplacement for the HR consultancy group, Penna Meridian - but at the time he was still prevented by former employer TMP from actively headhunting.