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Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Goodwill and Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]  
Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets
Goodwill


The Company's goodwill by segment (for the segments that had recorded goodwill) is as follows:
December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
Executive Search
Americas$91,740 $91,383 
Europe1,494 1,449 
Total Executive Search93,234 92,832 
On-Demand Talent109,018 45,529 
Total goodwill$202,252 $138,361 

Changes in the carrying amount of goodwill by segment for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 were as follows:
Executive Search
AmericasEuropeAsia PacificOn-Demand TalentHeidrick ConsultingTotal
Goodwill$91,643 $24,475 $8,495 $— $— $124,613 
Accumulated impairment losses— (24,475)(8,495)— — (32,970)
Balance at December 31, 202091,643 — — — — 91,643 
BTG acquisition— — — 45,529 — 45,529 
Finland acquisition— 1,532 — — — 1,532 
Foreign currency translation(180)— — — — (180)
Balance at December 31, 202191,463 1,532 — 45,529 — 138,524 
Foreign currency translation(80)(83)— — — (163)
Balance at December 31, 202291,383 1,449 — 45,529 — 138,361 
Atreus acquisition— — — 62,371 — 62,371 
businessfourzero acquisition— — — — 7,073 7,073 
Impairment— — — — (7,246)(7,246)
Foreign currency translation357 45 — 1,118 173 1,693 
Goodwill91,740 25,969 8,495 109,018 7,246 242,468 
Accumulated impairment losses— (24,475)(8,495)— (7,246)(40,216)
Balance at December 31, 2023$91,740 $1,494 $— $109,018 $— $202,252 
In February 2023, the Company acquired Atreus and recorded $62.4 million of goodwill related to the acquisition in the On-Demand Talent operating segment. In April 2023, the Company acquired businessfourzero and recorded $7.1 million of goodwill related to the acquisition in the Heidrick Consulting operating segment. In April 2021, the Company acquired Business Talent Group ("BTG") and recorded $45.5 million of goodwill related to the acquisition in the On-Demand Talent operating segment. In October 2021, the Company acquired H&S Finland, and recorded $1.5 million of goodwill related to the acquisition in the Europe operating segment.

During the three months ended December 31, 2023, the Company conducted its annual goodwill impairment evaluation as of October 31, 2023, in accordance with ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other. The goodwill impairment test is completed by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. An impairment charge is recognized for the amount by which the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value; however, the loss recognized is not to exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit.

The impairment test is considered for each of the Company’s reporting units that has goodwill as defined in the accounting standard for goodwill and intangible assets. The Company operates five reporting units: Americas, Europe (which includes Africa), Asia Pacific (which includes the Middle East), On-Demand Talent, and Heidrick Consulting. As of October 31, 2023, only the Americas, Europe, and On-Demand Talent reporting units had recorded goodwill.

During the impairment evaluation process, the Company used a discounted cash flow methodology to estimate the fair value of each of its reporting units with goodwill. The discounted cash flow approach is dependent on a number of factors, including estimates of future market growth and trends, forecasted revenue and costs, capital investments, appropriate discount rates, certain assumptions to allocate shared costs, assets and liabilities, historical and projected performance of the reporting unit and the macroeconomic conditions affecting each of the Company’s reporting units. The assumptions used in the determination of fair value were (1) a forecast of growth in the near and long term; (2) the discount rate; (3) working capital investments; and (4) other factors.

Based on the results of the impairment analysis, the fair values of the Americas, Europe, and On-Demand Talent reporting units exceeded their carrying values by 258%, 3% and 6%, respectively. The results of the impairment test are sensitive to the assumptions used in the determination of fair value of the reporting units and the fair value of a reporting unit may deteriorate and could result in the need to record an impairment charge in future periods. The Company continually monitors for potential triggering events including changes in the business climate in which it operates, the Company's market capitalization compared to is book value, and the Company's recent operating performance. Any changes in these factors could result in an impairment charge.

During the three months ended June 30, 2023, the Company acquired businessfourzero and recorded approximately $7.1 million of goodwill in the Heidrick Consulting reporting unit. Due to the inclusion of goodwill in a reporting unit with a pre-existing fair value shortfall, the Company evaluated the recent and anticipated future financial performance of the Heidrick Consulting reporting unit and determined that it was more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit was less than its carrying value. As a result, the Company identified a triggering event and performed an interim goodwill impairment evaluation during the three months ended June 30, 2023.

Based on the results of the impairment evaluation, the Company determined that the goodwill within the Heidrick Consulting reporting unit was impaired, which resulted in an impairment charge of $7.2 million to write off all of the associated goodwill. The impairment charge is recorded within Impairment charges in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income for the year ended December 31, 2023, and the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the year ended December 31, 2023. The impairment was non-cash in nature and did not affect the Company's current liquidity, cash flows, borrowing capability or operations, nor did it impact the debt covenants under the Company's credit agreement.
Other Intangible Assets, net

The Company’s other intangible assets, net by segment, are as follows:
 
December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
Executive Search
Americas$22 $51 
Europe95 216 
Asia Pacific— 15 
Total Executive Search117 282 
On-Demand Talent17,689 6,051 
Heidrick Consulting3,036 — 
Total other intangible assets, net$20,842 $6,333 

In February 2023, the Company acquired Atreus and recorded customer relationships short-term, customer relationships long-term, software and trade name intangible assets in the On-Demand Talent operating segment of $6.0 million, $5.3 million, $5.4 million, and $2.5 million, respectively. The combined estimated weighted-average amortization period for the acquired intangible assets is 6.7 years with estimated amortization periods of 5.0, 14.0, 3.0 and 3.0 years for the customer relationships short-term, customer relationships long-term, software and trade name, respectively. In April 2023, the Company acquired businessfourzero and recorded customer relationships and trade name intangible assets in the Heidrick Consulting operating segment of $3.5 million and $0.5 million, respectively. The combined estimated weighted-average amortization period for the acquired intangible assets is 8.3 years with estimated amortization periods of 9.0 and 3.0 years for the customer relationships and trade name intangible assets, respectively.


The carrying amount of amortizable intangible assets and the related accumulated amortization were as follows:
  December 31, 2023December 31, 2022
 Weighted
Average
Life (in
years)		Gross Carrying AmountAccumulated AmortizationNet
Carrying
Amount		Gross Carrying AmountAccumulated AmortizationNet Carrying Amount
Client relationships9.9$26,195 $(11,443)$14,752 $10,720 $(6,164)$4,556 
Trade name3.05,067 (3,069)$1,998 2,406 (1,925)481 
Software3.08,629 (4,537)4,092 3,110 (1,814)1,296 
Total intangible assets7.9$39,891 $(19,049)$20,842 $16,236 $(9,903)$6,333 

Intangible asset amortization expense for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021, was $9.4 million, $3.2 million and $2.9 million, respectively.

The Company's estimated future amortization expense related to intangible assets as of December 31, 2023, for the years ended December 31, is as follows:
2024$7,780 
20255,971 
20262,525 
20271,534 
2028897 
Thereafter2,135 
Total$20,842