Insights
Q1 2014 State of the Industry Report
AESC Report Reveals Financial Services Executives Back in Demand
First quarter trends show a rise in the number of new executive searches started within Financial Services
First quarter 2014 executive search and leadership consulting industry trend data just published by the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC) revealed an increase in the number of new searches started within the Financial Services sector on both a yearly and quarterly basis, as well as market share growth.
The executive search rise in Financial Services was accompanied by positive search industry revenue growth of +15.6% yearly, from Q1 ‘13 to Q1 ‘14 and +4.1% quarterly, from Q4 ‘13 to Q1 ‘14. In contrast, the number of new search mandates fell year-on-year from the first quarter of 2013 to the first quarter this year, declining -7.7%, yet the quarterly trend in Q1 ’14 showed search activity growth of +7.3%.
AESC President, Peter Felix, commented: “It is encouraging to see the momentum of the past several quarters continued into the first quarter of 2014. The US economy continues to dominate in terms of its pull back from the financial crisis, but we now see clear evidence that Europe is also picking up the pace and showing optimism as far as senior executive hiring is concerned. The main story, however, is that Financial Services is back as a growing sector for executive demand, now that major restructurings have occurred and there is a clearer picture of where financial institutions will focus their efforts. Executive talent is always at a premium nowhere more so than in financial services”.
The AESC State of the Executive Search Industry Report is quarterly research carried out by the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC) since 2004 on trends in the global retained executive search and leadership consulting industry. Data for the report is collected from a consistent sample of AESC member search firms representing the activity of 1,430 executive search consultants in 46 countries worldwide. AESC access to retained executive search data positions this report as a leading indicator of the future worldwide management employment market and a barometer of hiring trends for top-level and seldom advertised positions in key market sector.