Human8 Adds New Partners as Acquired Firm CEOs Exit

Ghent, Belgium-based insight consultancy Human8 has announced the appointment of eleven new partners - it now has 36 worldwide. Meanwhile the founders / co-founders of three companies it previously acquired - Join The Dots, Columinate and Direction First - are stepping down.

The firm was previously known as InSites Consulting and originally focused around the development and operation of online communities. It now boasts 900 people across 24 locations worldwide.

As the new partners are added, a number of partners who joined when their companies were acquired are leaving - including Henk Pretorius (former co-founder and CEO of Columinate, pictured below); Quentin Ashby (co-founder and CEO of Join the Dots, pictured middle) and Erica van Lieven (founder and CEO of Direction First, pictured top). These remain shareholders and 'non-executive partners', while all the new partners will step in as shareholders on a global group level and consequently become more closely involved in the firm's global strategic decisions.

The new partners are Amy Perifanos, Bob Yazbeck, Lisa McFarland and Thomas Troch (all in the US); Daniel Teixeira and Mark Alvarez (APAC); Delphine Vantomme, Ian Brown, Paul Child, Stijn Poffé and Timo Vandemaele (all EMEA).

CEO Kristof De Wulf says of the new promotees: 'Our people are truly the foundation of our company, so it's key we continue to grow and develop our leaders today and for the future. We take that even a step further with the partnership model we already embraced in the early days of founding our business. Partnership implies rewarding those that have had a significant impact on our people, clients and our business, allowing them to grow from business leaders to business owners'. Of those departing, De Wulf comments: 'As former legacy business founders/owners in our acquisition growth journey, Henk, Quen and Erica were fellow community pioneers in our industry. By joining forces over the past 5 years, we've been fortunate to not only experience their individual greatness and commitment, but also the greatness of the people they brought along this exciting ride. A grant thank you for setting the example and paving the way. You will be missed!'

Web site: www.wearehuman8.com .