N2Growth establishes South African presence through strategic acquisition

Global leadership consultancy N2Growth has consolidated its international presence by covering a major geographical gap in its operations; a presence in Africa. The firm has acquired a controlling interest in South African executive search and leadership consultancy Landelahni Group for an undisclosed amount.

Given the year that South Africa has had, executives in the country are in dire need of counsel. Uncertainty amongst the senior ranks of the business world was apparent at the end of last year, when a sea of surveys conducted by consulting firms produced varying, and often contradictory results.

Early last year, the 20th annual CEO survey conducted by Big Four professional services firm PwC revealed that chief executives in South Africa were fairly confident about their growth prospects in the middle term. However, Grant Thornton soon followed this up with a survey that showed South African executives to be the second most pessimistic in the world, behind only those in Japan.

This year’s CEO survey from PwC further demonstrated relatively low confidence among the top ranks, in light of scandals in the business world and political upheaval in the country. In essence, while the country has promising economic indicators, the instability of the economic and political conditions has left CxOs in the country uncertain about the future.

Enter N2Growth; a global consulting firm that specialises in leadership development, working closely with CxO and board-level executives to strategically determine the most sound direction for their firms. So far, N2Growth has been operating out of 40 locations across the globe, spanning North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Australia.

Now, the firm has established its presence in Africa, with the acquisition of an interest in South African consultancy Landelahni Group, which is based in Johannesburg and has locales in Nairobi and Lagos, thereby covering some of the most important markets across the continent. The firm has a well-established reputation in the South African consulting market, having been active since 1996 with tremendous success.

Services offered by Landelahni group span the executive search, human resource advisory and executive coaching domains among others. The segments supported by Landelahni include mining (currently in dire need of support), infrastructure, technology, and financial services.

Under the new arrangement, Landelahni will operate under the title of N2Growth Africa, and will maintain its ownership structure that presently classifies as level 1 under the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment stipulations. As a result, N2Growth becomes one of the first global professional services entities to hold level 1 status.

The new entity will operate under the leadership of Sandra Burmeister, who is the CEO and co-founder of the Landelahni Group. Commenting on the new arrangement, she said, “The synergies between both businesses were so clear from the outset that it was a natural evolution for Landelahni to merge with N2Growth. Many firms come to Africa with a buyers mindset, and what we truly appreciated about N2Growth is their nuanced understanding of how to blend geo-politics and business acumen to bring their formidable global presence to Africa in a way that truly benefits local ownership and local markets.”

Meanwhile, Chairman of N2Growth, Mike Myatt said, “Landelahni has developed a reputation among clients for its results-driven executive search, leadership development and diversified consulting services. With the acquisition of an interest in Landelahni, N2Growth gains a talented team of professionals who all have deep operating experience across multiple industries.”