With more than 40 years as an executive recruiter, Gerry Roche has worked with hundreds of corporations and their boards. He has identified top executives throughout the world in almost every function and industry, placing more CEOs than any other recruiter.

Joining Heidrick & Struggles in 1964, Gerry became senior vice president and Eastern manager in 1973. Named executive vice president early in 1977, he was responsible for all domestic operations. The following year he became president and chief executive officer. In 1981, he moved into the chairman's role to permit greater time for the high-level search work for which he is internationally known. In 1994, he co-founded the firm's office of the chairman with John Thompson.

Earlier, Gerry was an account executive for the American Broadcasting Company; a sales manager, product manager and marketing director for the Kordite Corporation, the plastics subsidiary of the Mobil Oil Company (acquired by Exxon in 1999); and a management trainee at AT&T.

Widely recognized in the industry, Gerry was named "Recruiter of the Century," chosen by his peers in a poll conducted by Hunt-Scanlon. Gerry is featured in "Leaders Talk Leadership: Top Executives Speak Their Minds," the October 2002 book published by Oxford University Press. He served as a distinguished member of the Economist Intelligence Unit's Expert Panel for its 2002 Global Corporate Achievement Awards, and has also been a featured speaker on shows such as CNBC's "Business Center" and "NBC Nightly News."

Gerry is a member of the Knights of Malta, and sits on the board of directors of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America. He is a former director of Gulfstream Aerospace (acquired by General Dynamics in 1999) and a former chairman of the board of trustees of his alma mater, the University of Scranton. Gerry is also a past member of the executive council of The Inner-City Scholarship Fund, the executive board of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Business School and the advisory council of The Divinity School at Harvard University.

Leadership,