HeadFirst Group accelerates ambitions with strategic appointment Renger Lammers
HR tech services provider HeadFirst Group has added Renger Lammers to the organisation's management team, in the role of managing director growth & strategy. CEO Marion van Happen: "Renger will focus on strengthening the commercial strength of our organisation. With this appointment, we bring focus to the continued development of our services in the Netherlands and our international growth strategy."
HeadFirst Group recently confirmed its acquisition of Impellam Group. Together, they are one of the world's leading Managed Service Providers specializing in STEM talent and a distinctive HR-tech platform for professionals. Through the group, more than 75 thousand professionals are active for clients all over the world, accounting for a turnover (managed spend, in 2023) of 8 billion euros.
In anticipation of the publication of its annual report next week, HeadFirst Group shares that both the joining of forces with Impellam Group and the appointment of Lammers fit perfectly within its internationalization strategy. Van Happen: "Our international growth ambitions are great. At the same time, we are continuously developing our services in the Netherlands and there is still market share to be gained. With the arrival of Renger, we can bring that shared focus to life. He fits perfectly with our vision of customer centricity and with his skills, Renger will play a key role in further expanding and positioning our organization."
After working for Aldi Einkauf Ohg in Germany, where Lammers learned the intricacies of operational excellence in a large organization, he returned to the Netherlands to lead Essent's commercial operations. In the years that followed, he ran a consultancy firm for commerce, operations and change. For the past three years, he has been Commercial Director of Manpower Group in the Netherlands and will join HeadFirst Group as of April 2024. "The impressive growth and ambitious strategy, combined with the use of technology to enable the human touch in the service provision, has made me enthusiastic about taking this step. Making clients happy is what I do it for, and we will undoubtedly do that with the great team that is already there and that I can start working with immediately," says Lammers.
HeadFirst Group and Impellam Group join forces to become a global leader in STEM, digital and IT talent, managed services and HR tech
HeadFirst Group and Impellam Group today announced that they have joined forces to become one of the world’s leading STEM talent and Managed Service Providers with a distinctive HR tech platform for professionals. The expanded group has €8 billion spend under management, 2,100 expert colleagues, and over 75,000 professionals serving customers across the globe.
This strategic step provides customers with a unique, truly global tech and talent solution to ensure they stay at the forefront of their industry. The deal has created an unparalleled force in digital, IT, data, life sciences, clinical and engineering talent and leaves the expanded group well-placed to drive market beating growth and to deliver increased value for colleagues, customers, professionals, suppliers, and shareholders.
Han Kolff, chairman of the Board, commented: "We are proud to have brought industry leaders HeadFirst and Impellam together. As well as vast geographic reach, our expanded group combines world-class expertise and market-leading tech, providing customers with mission critical talent, hereby creating a unique platform for growth in a growing market. I am confident HeadFirst and Impellam will power the next world of work together.”
Julia Robertson, CEO of Impellam and the enlarged group, said: “We have an exciting future ahead of us. In a world where talent and tech must come together to build better businesses, we will collaborate to leverage the combined strength and capability of our market-leading brands, our people, and our distinctive technology. Our complementary cultures and our focus on our customers’ needs will ensure we deliver market leading, digitally enabled and differentiated solutions to our customers across the world.”
Experienced team driving growth agenda
Leading the future success and growth of the combined business, the Board of the new group includes: Han Kolff, non-executive chairman, Julia Robertson, group CEO, Tim Briant, group CFO, Marion van Happen, CEO of HeadFirst Group, as well as non-executive directors and co-founders Koen Bekkering and Boyd Sleeman.
There will be no immediate changes to the day-to-day operations of Impellam Group and HeadFirst Group. Impellam and HeadFirst will continue to deliver industry-leading solutions to customers, suppliers and professionals.
Following the completion of the transaction, Lord Ashcroft, the former majority shareholder of Impellam Group will serve as non-executive director on the board.
HeadFirst Group once again Great Place To Work
For the second year in a row, HeadFirst Group has received Great Place To Work certification. This global authority examines organizations in terms of workplace culture, employee experience and leadership behavior. With a Trust Index of 77 percent, HeadFirst Group meets the criteria for great place to work. Joke de Graaf, Head of HR & Organization, emphasizes, "The certificate is not a goal in itself, but it does confirm that we are a wonderful employer. Even more valuable is the feedback received, which we can work with in the coming year."
Voice of the employee
The leading, international HR tech services provider has once again experienced unprecedented growth over the past year, with as many as 200 new employees and the recent confirmation of a takeover bid for Impellam Group. Despite this significant growth in size, HeadFirst Group continues to invest in its most important asset: its employees.
For De Graaf, achieving Great Place To Work certification is an important step in understanding how employees perceive the culture built at HeadFirst Group. "I am immensely proud that our efforts to create a safe and trusted work environment, where each person feels at home and valued, have paid off. This is partly due to the fair treatment everyone receives, regardless of factors such as gender, age or origin."
Responsibility and trust
The survey shows that employees consider themselves "full members of the organization. De Graaf explains: "Mutual trust is important to us and we like to give employees the freedom to do their jobs. Making mistakes is allowed and is of course part of the job. That is why 'Learn every day' is one of our core values. It is positive that the numbers show that employees care about each other, are innovative and try to do things in an innovative and better way. That's why we offer the HeadFirst Group Academy, various workshops and trainings, leadership programs and advancement opportunities. Getting a little better every day, both as an organization and as individuals, is what we strive for. With the perfect balance between advanced technology and human interaction always being the starting point."
In addition, employees experience management as approachable and easy to deal with. De Graaf adds, "We take various initiatives to create a pleasant working environment with facilities in our offices. Think of the possibility of hybrid working and flexible working hours, so that everyone can design their own working day. Bottom-up leadership is also part of this. With us, no rigid hierarchy, but rather flexibility in and ownership of one's job."
Festive outlook
This second certification comes as an additional source of motivation not only for past efforts, but also for future endeavors. "Successes, birthdays and anniversaries do not go unnoticed and we like to celebrate together. With regular outings and drinks, we make it a party to work at HeadFirst Group. I look forward to a year in which we can strengthen the foundations we have laid and be consistently recognized as a work environment that is equitable and focused on innovation for everyone involved," concludes De Graaf.
About Great Place to Work
Great Place to Work helps organizations create a culture of trust. They do this through the Trust Index™, the employee survey that measures trust, pride and joy. They believe that trust is the basis for better individual performance, team performance and business results. Growth and innovation then follow naturally. The philosophy is based on more than 30 years of experience in 60 different countries.
HeadFirst Group strengthens its internationalization strategy with MSP frontman Arco Elsman
Arco Elsman has been appointed managing director MSP services by HR tech service provider HeadFirst Group. This gives him ultimate responsibility for the success of Staffing Management Services and ProUnity, HeadFirst Group's two international Managed Service Providers. "The MSP market is ripe for innovation and international expansion, and with Arco we are excellently positioned to further strengthen our services in currently 15 countries and push our boundaries," said Marion van Happen, CEO HeadFirst Group.
MSP services are known worldwide as a progressive and efficient strategy whereby organizations outsource their hiring processes to external experts, the MSPs. Elsman brings over 20 years of knowledge and experience in the outsourced HR services industry, including MSP and Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO). His impressive career includes leadership roles at leading organizations such as Yacht, where he held the position of operations director, Twago, as managing director of the freelance marketplace and talent pool, and carried European responsibility at Randstad RiseSmart until the end of 2023.
With that fresh perspective, he is now clearly ready for his new challenge: "I was looking for an organization where customer focus, innovative entrepreneurship and exponential growth are key. This is what I have found at HeadFirst Group. I look forward to using my experience in the human capital market to take the next step of growth - together with the enthusiastic team."
Van Happen added: "Arco is a perfect fit for this position for his empathy and client focus, as well as his astute talent management and proven success in internationalization and scaling HR tech companies. The initial focus is on successfully serving our existing clients, adding large clients to our portfolio and organizing consulting services. From this base, we will continue our ambitious internationalization strategy."
Global player
HeadFirst Group recently confirmed its agreement with Impellam Group to acquire Impellam. They intend to join forces to become a leading global player in MSP and talent management. The combination, with more than €7 billion in revenue (managed spend, by 2022), will enable accelerated growth opportunities in Europe, the U.K., North America and APAC. The appointment of Elsman as managing director of MSP services is consistent with this strategy.
HeadFirst Group confirms takeover bid for Impellam Group, creating world leader in workforce solutions for STEM talent
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.
HeadFirst Group ("HeadFirst") and Impellam Group ("Impellam") announce that they have reached agreement on HeadFirst's acquisition of Impellam. They are joining forces to form a leading global player in MSP and talent management. The combination, with over €7 billion in revenue (managed spend, by 2022), will enable accelerated growth opportunities in Europe, UK, North America and APAC.
For HeadFirst, Impellam represents an attractive opportunity to invest in one of the world's market-leading Managed Services Providers and a leading group of companies specializing in recruitment for STEM (data, life sciences, tech & engineering) professionals. There is a clear strategic rationale for the combination of HeadFirst and Impellam that is expected to deliver the following benefits
- highly complementary geographic coverage, with limited to no overlap, creates a larger group with a strong presence in continental Europe, the United Kingdom, North America and APAC, which can benefit clients with a larger, global, geographic spread;
- complementary skills and expertise create significant opportunities for our clients and for cross-selling our services;
- HeadFirst Group's strong technology, data and digital platforms provide an opportunity to further improve operational and business performance within the larger group;
- a strong combined management team can continue to deliver on the long-term strategy of a larger group;
- more career opportunities for colleagues within the larger group.
Julia Robertson, CEO at Impellam Group, says: "We look forward to joining forces with HeadFirst to create a larger, more digital and diverse service offering with greater geographic reach. The combined strength of market-leading brands, cultures and people - balanced with technology from the expanded group - enables us to even better support our clients with their workforce management challenges across the UK, Europe, North America and APAC. At the same time, it provides more career opportunities for colleagues."
Han Kolff, Chairman of the board at HeadFirst Group, commented, "This merger will be groundbreaking, building on the complementary strengths of Impellam and HeadFirst. Together, we will become a global leader in mission-critical talent, enabling us to serve our clients, suppliers and professionals in an unparalleled way. We have an exciting journey ahead of us with plenty of opportunities for our teams, deepening HR technology and expanding geographic reach further and faster."
Future management of the group
HeadFirst Group aims to bring Impellam Group's key executive management, namely Julia Robertson (current Chief Executive Officer of Impellam Group) and Tim Briant (current Chief Financial Officer of Impellam Group) to the board as Group CEO and CFO, respectively. They will work together with board members Marion van Happen, who will also continue as CEO of HeadFirst Group, and Han Kolff, who will be non-executive Chairman, and non-executive board members Koen Bekkering and Boyd Sleeman, to drive the future success and growth of the new group.
For now, there are no changes in the day-to-day business of Impellam Group and HeadFirst Group. Impellam and HeadFirst will continue to provide their services to clients, suppliers and professionals unchanged. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2024.
An announcement with full details on the terms of the transaction can be read in full on the website headfirst.group/takeover
About HeadFirst Group
HeadFirst Group is a leading, international HR tech service provider and the largest platform for professionals in the Benelux, operating in fifteen European countries. The organization offers a diversity of HR solutions, such as Managed Service Providing, Recruitment Process Outsourcing, intermediary services (matchmaking, contracting) and HR consulting. More than 25 thousand professionals work for over five hundred clients in Europe, with which HeadFirst Group realizes an annual turnover of over two billion euros. The main brands of HeadFirst Group are the MSP (including intermediary services) labels HeadFirst, Between and Staffing Management Services, RPO and recruitment specialist Sterksen, IT talent sourcer StarApple and the Belgian HR technology company ProUnity.
About Impellam Group
Impellam Group is the holding company of a group of diverse, integrated labor market service providers in STEM talent (data, life sciences, tech & engineering), providing workforce solutions, talent management and recruitment and selection of professionals globally across various industry sectors and key end markets. Impellam Group's two main operating divisions provide the following services: 1) Global Managed Services ("GMS"): complete workforce solutions through multidisciplinary management of the overall talent process and 2) STEM: MSP, RPO, contracting, permanent employment and SOW workforce solutions focused on IT and digital specialists, data experts, scientists, clinicians and engineers. Impellam Group's divisions operate under several brand names, including Guidant Global and Comensura (GMS), as well as Carbon60, SRG, Lorien and Bartech (STEM).
On March 3, 2023, Impellam completed the sale of two previous operating divisions - Regional Specialist Staffing and Healthcare - allowing Impellam Group to now focus on its core GMS and STEM divisions, where the Impellam Board of Directors expects higher returns from attractive growth markets, significantly improved revenue visibility and improved conversions
Note to editors
Do you have any questions or comments in response to this press release? Please contact Bart van der Geest, spokesman at HeadFirst Group, at +31 (0)6 - 15 89 95 74 or bart.vandergeest@headfirst.nl. Or Kirsty Tranter, global head of communications at Impellam Group, at kirstytranter@impellam.com.
Supplemental Information
This announcement is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be - and does not constitute - an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for securities, or a solicitation of a vote or approval in any jurisdiction pursuant to the acquisition described above or otherwise. This announcement does not constitute a prospectus or a document equivalent to a prospectus.
Copies of this announcement and any formal documentation relating to the Acquisition are not, and may not, be directly or indirectly transmitted or otherwise forwarded, disseminated or sent in or into or from any jurisdiction where to do so would constitute a violation of the laws of such jurisdiction, and persons receiving such documents (including custodians, nominees and trustees) may not transmit or otherwise forward, disseminate or send such documents in or into or from such jurisdiction.
HeadFirst Group donates €70,000 to TechMeUp for equal employment opportunities
HeadFirst Group donates €70,000 to TechMeUp for equal employment opportunities
HeadFirst Group is committed to a better world beyond the job market. We are committed to improving the environment, nature and the lives of people around the world. A world in which equal opportunities and access to opportunities are a matter of course for everyone. As part of this, we have established - with pride - the 'HFG Foundation', led by colleague Thomas ten Veldhuijs.
Equal opportunities for all
This Foundation bundles our social initiatives, which include helping people in their careers and in life. We believe in equal opportunities for all and see it as our responsibility to contribute to a more just future. We do this by supporting initiatives that stem from our intrinsic motivation and active involvement.
Donation TechMeUp
Every year we set aside budget to donate to causes and initiatives that fit this purpose. Recently, we made a donation of a whopping €70,000 to the TechMeUp Foundation. This donation is intended to fund education in technology for students at a disadvantage in the labor market and to guide them to employment. The goal of this wonderful project is to support ten students through 2023. Once successfully placed in a job, they will repay the interest-free loan in installments, giving future students the opportunity to pursue a technology education as well.
This donation is a sign of our commitment to reducing the gap between social and cultural differences. Through education and opportunities for those distant from the labor market, we actively contribute to leveling these differences.
Want to know more about TechMeUp? Click here for more information.

Take the robot out of the human
Marijn van de Poel is managing director of Ciphix. This innovative company's mission is "Take the robot out of the human," he says. "With about sixty specialists, we automate as many routine tasks and cognitive decisions at our clients as possible. Using Hyperautomation technologies, such as Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Process Mining and Low-code, we develop 'digital assistants' so that clients' existing employees can focus entirely on more important and interesting things."
"The latter is crucial. Everyone today is struggling with staff shortages, and that's precisely when it's a waste to have well-qualified employees spend time on repetitive work. People want to get to work on new challenges and customer requests, which stimulates and inspires them. When people spend less time on routine jobs, you keep the work fun and interesting and they continue to choose you. That's what Ciphix is betting on."
Balance between tech and touch
How that works, Marijn explains using the first digital assistants Ciphix introduced at HeadFirst Group: "HeadFirst Group handles tens of thousands of hiring transactions every year. A complex process with an application, publication, matching and finally a contract. With the help of the digital assistant, named Benthe, in 2022 we have, among other things, fully automated the reading of assignments. The process is flawless and much faster, while recruiters now have more time left over for the matching itself. It actually creates a better balance between tech and touch, as they call it at HeadFirst Group."
Streamer
"The process is error-free and much faster, while recruiters now have more time left over for the matching itself."
Bring human into the robot
"And we are already looking further together. Artificial intelligence, for example, makes it possible to analyze and interpret the data in applications and resumes faster and smarter, thus providing recruiters with better content support as well. It's just one of the possibilities and the great thing is that HeadFirst Group is completely in the lead. Our technical solutions help with what you want to achieve, but the organization itself has to have the mindset to want to work differently."
"By the way, why do we use real names? It's very deliberate because that way we make our solutions more recognizable and also bring a bit of the 'Human in the Robot.' New software with a techy name doesn't say much to most people. No one really likes SAP or Office, but everyone loves Benthe!"
Giant occupies an increasingly prominent place in our toolbox
HeadFirst Group collaborates with Intelligence Group in writing quarterly reports on developments in the permanent and flexible labor market; the Talent Monitor. In addition, the organizations exchange data on fixed and flex. HeadFirst also works with Giant, including the new Fixed and Flex feature.
The Permanent and Flex dashboard provides insight into flexible workers and compares them to permanent employees. This allows the user to formulate a Total Talent Acquistion strategy in minutes. The new dashboard compares recruitment feasibility; monthly salary/hourly rate; key pull factors and flex/zzp market share.
Why is HeadFirst using Giant and the new Fixed and Flex feature?
Bart van der Geest, Head of Marketing and Communications at HeadFirst Group, explains, "We have been working with Giant for about six months now. We are originally a service provider in the professionals segment in the flexible labor market, but within the group we have now also had solutions for permanent employment for years. We offer Total Talent Acquisition (TTA). At the same time, we are moving from a specialist in recruitment and compliance to a strategic partner where we really want to be a data-driven consultant for our clients. In both developments Giant fits perfectly.'
HeadFirst Group uses Giant for its own internal HR strategy, but also to better serve clients. 'We are moving from a specialist in recruitment and compliance to a strategic partner where we really are a data-driven consultant for our clients. We combine our large amount of proprietary data with external data from Intelligence Group, which allows us to offer unique insights that others cannot. We bring this to existing clients, but our bid management department also uses this data to concretely substantiate tenders and offers in tender processes.'
Van der Geest also relates the use of Giant to the purpose of HeadFirst Group: 'join the next world of work'. He sees three developments on the way to that new world of work: supply and demand will come together more online, work will take place more regardless of contract form (fixed or flex) and the labor market will become more inclusive, without prejudice. Intelligence Group's data helps, according to the marketer, because it provides more insights into the first development (online supply and demand) and enables fixed-flex movements in the market.
"We are moving from a specialist in recruitment and compliance to a strategic partner where we really are a data-driven consultant to our clients."
Bart van der Geest, head of marketing and communications at HeadFirst Group
Was it useful?
When recruiting new talent for HeadFirst Group itself, Giant helps determine which job boards and target-specific sites the target group uses, and which pull factors play a role, so HR colleagues can hone in on the job postings. "I found it very interesting to see what expectations the target group has of the whole job posting process, how many interviews they want, what feedback, so that we can formulate our recruitment process even better.
Van der Geest estimates that within HeadFirst about 10-15 people use the dashboard and that that number will grow. 'Giant is taking an increasingly prominent place within our toolbox.'
Source: Intelligence Group
Marjolein Slappendel new CFO HeadFirst Group
HeadFirst Group, the market-leading, international HR tech services provider, has appointed Marjolein Slappendel as its new CFO. Marjolein takes over from Jan-Pieter van Vreeswijk, who will focus on HeadFirst Group's internationalization and M&A strategy from his new role as finance & integration director. Marjolein takes over the direction of the group's financial activities.
Perfect match
With Marjolein Slappendel, HeadFirst Group brings in a very experienced and all-round CFO, with an impressive track record at Merrill Lynch, ING, Action and most recently as CFO of Temper. Marion van Happen, CEO at HeadFirst Group: "I am very pleased with Marjolein's arrival. With her experience in continuous improvement and her eye for opportunities to innovate and grow, she fits well in our energetic and high performing organization."
Marjolein: "HeadFirst Group is an ambitious and fast growing organization with very smart driven people. I am proud to be part of it. It is a wonderful challenge to be responsible for the further professionalization of the business units finance, operations, quality and legal in order to further strengthen the basis for our growth ambitions."
Sustainable growth
HeadFirst Group has grown significantly in recent years to become a market-leading HR-tech service provider in the Netherlands and abroad. With an increase of 600 million euros compared to 2021, of which more than 400 million was organic growth, the organization achieved a turnover of 2.2 billion euros for 2022.
In late 2022, IceLake Capital joined as a new investor in HeadFirst Group to further enable international growth. Marion said, "We aim to continue to grow in 2023 through the combination of successful services to our clients - both clients, suppliers and independent professionals - and targeted acquisitions that add value to our group. The organizational changes implemented are in line with this."
About HeadFirst Group
HeadFirst Group is a leading, international HR tech service provider and the largest platform for professionals in the Netherlands. The organization offers a diversity of HR solutions, such as Managed Service Providing, Recruitment Process Outsourcing, intermediary services (matchmaking, contracting) and HR consulting. More than 25 thousand professionals work for over five hundred clients in Europe, with which HeadFirst Group realizes an annual turnover of over two billion euros. The main brands of HeadFirst Group are the MSP (including intermediary services) labels HeadFirst, Between and Staffing Management Services, RPO and recruitment specialist Sterksen, IT talent sourcer StarApple and the Belgian HR technology company ProUnity.
HeadFirst Group strongest grower in Flex Market Turnover Ranking 2023
HeadFirst Group has again taken the second spot in the prestigious Flexmarkt Turnover Ranking Top-100 in 2023. In fact, with revenue growth in the Netherlands for the year 2022 of €298.8 million, the HR-tech service provider is, in absolute numbers, the biggest grower in the list. "The fact that we achieved this largely organically by successfully serving existing and new clients makes me very proud," said CEO Marion van Happen.
For the year 2021, HeadFirst Group still recorded a Dutch turnover of 1,627.2 million euros. In 2022, that rose to 1,926 million, a growth of over 18%.
Van Happen: "We are accelerating our digital transformation. By deploying tech smartly, we create that colleagues have personal contact at the times when it really adds value for our customers (clients, suppliers and professionals alike). In this way we are working towards the ultimate customer journeys with high customer satisfaction. This has already visibly borne fruit in 2022. In 2023 and the years after, we will continue full steam ahead with this strategy."
All annual figures
Earlier this year, HeadFirst Group presented its annual results, including foreign divisions, presenting record revenues of 2.2 billion. HeadFirst Group's annual report can be read and downloaded on the Investor relations page.
About Flexmarkt Turnover Ranking Top-100
The Flexmarkt Turnover Ranking Top-100 is a leading ranking of flex companies, from small to large, offering a variety of services in staffing and hiring. In addition to staffing agencies, it includes numerous payroll companies, as well as secondment companies, zzp intermediaries and MSP service providers. The list is published annually by Flexmarkt in cooperation with Corporate Finance International (CFI). In terms of turnover, it covers more than half of the total Dutch flex industry and thus provides a clear, representative picture of developments in the market.