State of the Industry

Every industry sector reported a quarter-on-quarter increase in searches started, with Consumer and Industrial leading the way with a 9.2 and 6.9 percentage point increase respectively. Non-Profit saw an increase of 42.7 percentage points, but is prone to much larger shifts due to a smaller volume of searches overall.

2015 was the fourth year in a row of steady growth for the executive search and leadership consulting profession, with global revenues reaching an estimated $12 billion, according to Executive Talent 2020,a new report from the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants.

2015 was the second consecutive record-breaking year for the executive search and leadership consulting profession, with global revenues reaching an estimated $12 billion. This is a 2.4% increase on the profession’s estimated 2014 revenues.

The executive search and leadership consulting profession continues to grow, according to third quarter trends, with an increase in average fee per assignment (3% year-on-year; 5.81% quarter-on-quarter) driving a 2.75% uptick for year-on-year net revenue. While the average number of searches started declined slightly quarter-on-quarter (1.25%), its year-on-year performance is up 4.87%.

Second quarter trends indicate that the executive search and leadership consulting profession continues its growth, with an uptick in revenue (2.1% quarter-on-quarter) and the number of new assignments (2.2% quarter-on-quarter).  

First quarter 2015 executive search and leadership consulting data indicates a quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year rise of new assignments in the technology sector of 18.9% and 13.8% respectively. Similarly, the non-profit sector recorded quarter-on-quarter growth of 28.8% and year-on-year growth of 13.9%.

2014 Annual executive search and leadership consulting industry trend data, just released by the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants, revealed a 10.7% annual rise in global revenues and estimated industry revenues of $11.7 billion worldwide in 2014.

The third quarter of this year saw year-on-year growth within the executive search profession as revenues rose 8.6% from the same period a year ago (Q3 2013 to Q3 2014) and the overall search volume increased by 8.7%, according to data just released by the worldwide Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC).

In its second quarter report on the worldwide executive search industry, data from the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC) indicates quarter on quarter revenue growth of almost 10% and a year on year growth of 11%. The number of search assignments have also increased – by 4% both year on year and quarter on quarter – representing a reversal in the recent trend of fewer assignments albeit of greater value.