Movers & shakers: R.J. Heckman of Korn/Ferry International

A look at the people behind the numbers in area business:

Title: President of leadership and talent consulting division.

Age: 45.

As president of Korn/Ferry International's leadership and talent consulting division in Minneapolis, R.J. Heckman is working to create better leaders who, in turn, can help make a better world.

Heckman was named to his new role after Korn/Ferry, the world's largest executive search firm, acquired PDI Ninth House, the global leadership solutions company that Heckman had headed as president and CEO.

The vision is for the post-merger organization to be "the Tiffany of talent or the McKinsey of leadership," Heckman said.

"We're going to take it one leader, one company, at a time," Heckman said. "We're going to drive improvement and change everywhere we go and make as big a dent in the world of leadership and in overall performance as we can."

Heckman joined Personnel Decisions International (PDI) in 1999, moved to Minneapolis in 2007 and the next year became CEO of the company, a pioneer in research-based talent management. He led the 2009 acquisition of Ninth House, which specialized in online and blended learning programs for leaders.

Heckman previously held leadership positions at Honeywell and AT&T. He has a doctorate in industrial/organization psychology from the University of Tulsa.

Q: What was behind the acquisition at PDI Ninth House?

A: PDI had been growing for 45 years through reputation and word-of-mouth. We were very confident that our global strategy made a lot of sense. The two main shareholders were seeking an organization that would share the risk and bring a lot of capital [to drive growth] as well as cachet to the equation.

Q: What goals do you have in your new role?

Q: What trends do you see in leadership development?

A: One is we're going away from a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, we're using assessment methods to pinpoint development challenges and prescribe development opportunities. When we do bring people together, we know what their specific needs and capabilities are. … It's much more about the application of these new skills against major business challenges.