Executive Talent Outlook: Business Intelligence for Executives

AESC members work as executive talent advisors to the world’s most successful businesses and have a unique vantage point on key executive talent trends. In our recent Global Executive Outlook Report, we gleaned insights from 310 AESC member consultants worldwide, including 111 leaders of executive search and leadership advisory firms. Their feedback on C-suite functions, sectors and geographic markets offers timely business intelligence to decision makers as well as valuable guidance to executive candidates considering new opportunities in the year ahead.  

There is a need for top executive talent, with business leaders identifying executive search as the favored form of talent acquisition for top executives, including searches for C-suite executives, board-level searches, confidential searches, and searches for hard-to-fill positions. The executive search and leadership consulting profession continues to grow with nearly $13 billion earned in revenue in 2016. Increasingly, there is a demand for services beyond executive search, including succession planning, internal talent assessment and board advisory. 

 

As many businesses and organizations face uncertainty, decision makers value being advised by experts who can be trusted based on their deep industry and functional expertise, and their ability to engage with and entice the best candidates locally and globally, as well as provide competitive business advantages through the optimization of current and future talent strategy.

 

AESC members believe that Technology and Healthcare/Life Sciences will be the two sectors that will experience the most growth in 2017. For business leaders in these industries, this data represents a possible indicator as to how these sectors will perform through the year. For executive candidates working in these sectors or seeking to transition across sectors, the forecast can help with career management strategy in 2017.

 

 

The forecast for the Technology sector also informs the functions that AESC members expect to be most in-demand during 2017. For the first time, Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) now rank among AESC members as the top function with the most growing demand. As technology and digitalization continue to disrupt all sectors, organizational leaders turn to trusted advisors to find and develop the right talent and strategies to turn disruption into opportunity.

 

CEOs, CHROs and Board Directors are invited to download a 2017 Summary Report. Additionally, you can access AESC’s Global Directory to search AESC executive talent advisors. AESC’s BlueSteps service helps busy executives manage their careers, track their goals and stay visible to the right recruiters. 

 

AESC Members can login to download the full report. Learn additional insights on acquisitions, regional growth and trends, and more.