Executive Search Industry Surges in 2010

March 2, 2011 – The AESC's 2010 Annual Report on the retained executive search industry shows senior executive recruiting at its third highest level ever due to a dramatic resurgence in demand following the precipitous decline of 2009. From a downturn in 2009 of -32.5 percent the industry grew by an average of 28.5 percent in 2010, only 13 percent below the all time industry peak of 2008. Other findings of the report include: Strong hiring activity in industrial, healthcare and financial services sectors. ; a continued rise in executive hiring in the Asia/Pacific region, increasing 31 percent in 2010; and annual growth in the number of new searches started (+24 percent). “A recovery of this magnitude is impressive given the extraordinary decline experienced by our profession in the aftermath of the October 2008 financial crisis,” said Peter Felix, president of the AESC. “Nevertheless, it is not so surprising given the strong underlying forces that were driving the worldwide shortage of executive talent in 2008, and their immediate resumption as soon as some form of economic recovery became clear.”