Korn Ferry Breaks the $1 Billion Revenue Mark

March 11, 2015 – It has been a banner year for the executive search industry – as well as for its leader, Korn Ferry. Statistics to be released by HSZ Media next month will show that the nation’s largest global solutions provider reported total revenues for 2014 of $1,008,000,000. It is the first time a search firm has broken the billion dollar threshold. “In so many ways it is a watershed moment for this industry, and a noteworthy achievement for Korn Ferry,” said Scott A. Scanlon, chairman and CEO of HSZ Media and editor-in-chief of the report. In HSZ Media’s industry rankings, Korn Ferry’s global figures represent a 7.7 percent revenue increase. The company showed the same percent increase in its U.S./Americas regional breakout, where it reported $616 million in U.S./Americas revenues, distancing it from nearest rival, Spencer Stuart, by nearly $200 million. “Any way you look at it, it’s impressive,” said Mr. Scanlon, who noted that Korn Ferry at one time considered bankruptcy as a potential pathway as the need for leadership solutions dried up during the 2008-2009 Great Recession. Instead, under the leadership of chief executive Gary Burnison, Korn Ferry was retooled and set on a completely new strategic path – one that would expand the company’s sources of revenue by creating, and then integrating, a myriad of talent management offerings. Today, roughly 40 percent of the company’s revenue comes from its leadership/talent consulting and Futurestep businesses. “This is a tricky time to be running a search firm,” said Mr. Scanlon. “If you’re a large, global player there’s enormous pressure to offer an integrated package of talent and leadership solutions, with science at your core. Identifying leaders is considered somewhat passe – what’s in vogue now is assessing talent, fitting people into cultures, and predicting leadership success. It is the greatest realignment ever to hit this sector and Korn Ferry seems to be getting it right.”