International executive search firm Kilpatrick Group SA has acquired Switzerland-based recruitment agency BFK HR Consulting.

BFK HR Consulting, founded in 1983, offers consulting services in human resources as well as personal search and selection; headhunting, executive search and coaching services. The company also specialises in human resources focusing on Information and Communications Technology applied to Fashion. In 2019 the company plans to launch BFK Digital, designed to make major investments in the world of ICT and “Fashion Tech” on a global scale.

The takeover of BFK was coordinated by Loomish, an investment management company based in Switzerland specialising in lifestyle tech with a special focus on fashion and design. No further financial details of the transaction were disclosed.

Jacob Hoekstra, CEO of Kilpatrick Group, will assume to role of general manager of BFK digital.

Hoekstra commented on the acquisition, ““We decided to invest in this company because we estimate they have the potentials we need to innovate and to set a fruitful dialogue with the fashion industry into motion. To this aim, Roberto Lipari, the current general manager of BFK, will ensure continuity by giving his support as board advisor.”

Jelena Tasic Pizzolato, head of strategic marketing, at Loomish, also commented, “Over the past few years, the impact digitalisation and ICT have had on the fashion industry has been viewed as strategically relevant, in addition to outlining future guidelines. In order to grow in the global market, leading fashion brands need digital talent, namely hybrid professionals knowledgeable about fashion as well as ICT and digital. In what is manifestly an increasingly competitive set, tapping into the services of strategic recruiting agencies, as BFK Digital could become, can make the difference.”

Kilpatrick Group was founded in 1997 in Milan and has 70 consultants in 16 offices, serving 42 countries around the world.