Dr. Natalia Nikolova is an expert in professional services, having earned her PhD in Economics, Management and Social Sciences from the University of Cologne in 2006. She is currently the Senior Lecturer in Management at the University of Technology Sydney and regularly publishes research on the relationship between consultants and their clients. In the below Q&A, Dr. Nikolova discusses her research and her presentation at AESC’s Boutique and Independent Firm Forum in Sydney.

This special edition of Executive Talent looks at the past, present and future of the executive search and leadership consulting profession. In this section we compare data from AESC’s 2010 report Executive Search in Transition to today’s data, and use this to predict what the future holds for the profession.

The challenges surrounding leadership transitions are well-documented and can be damaging to both the hiring organization and to the incumbent. But according to new research from Oxford University’s Saïd Business School if a new CEO presents their strategy within their first 100 days it can have a positive impact on the stock price of the hiring organization.