Caldwell Posts 17.2 Decrease in Revenue
April 12, 2024 – Toronto-based Caldwell posted Q2 revenues of $17.8 million (Canadian), a 17.2 percent decrease from a year ago. “We saw modest sequential improvement in our results, as the softness in executive search bookings that we experienced in the first quarter dampened our second quarter revenue,” said John Wallace, chief executive officer. “There has been a measurable uplift in new executive search bookings and activity so far this calendar year and we therefore anticipate significantly higher revenue in the third quarter.”
Caldwell notes that restructuring income of $7,979 in the first half of the current year includes separation expense of $1,089 for management staff reductions at IQTalent, more than offset by a net gain on lease termination of $9,068 as IQTalent negotiated a termination of its Nashville leased facility resulting in a recovery of lease impairment charges expensed in the fourth quarter of the prior year. In addition, restructuring expenses of $2,530 in the first quarter of the prior year include $2,264 of separation expense for staff reductions at IQTalent and $266 in onerous lease costs at Caldwell for the sublease of our San Francisco office as a result of the firm’s transition to a remote work environment. (Financial highlights in $000s except per share amounts.)
“The increased confidence we’ve seen coming into the new calendar year from Caldwell’s executive level clients has led to a strong upturn in new bookings, as they look to fill out their executive teams,” Mr. Wallace said. “There are still suppressed hiring levels at the mid-level, which is impacting IQTalent on a more prolonged basis than Caldwell. Positively, beginning next quarter, IQTalent will realize the benefit of significant cost reduction initiatives. The Nashville office lease termination and the right sizing of software license agreements to reduced headcount levels will further align our cost structure with current revenue levels.”
“Our executive search team has leveraged their wealth of experience and knowledge to navigate what has been a challenging market,” said Mr. Wallace. We do expect higher search volumes as hiring demand continues to improve. Our clients appreciate our ability to support their talent acquisition requirements across every level, ensuring a seamless experience. By continuing to expand and strengthen our coverage across industry sectors and functional roles, and leverage opportunities for both business segments to collaborate, we anticipate continued growth for the remainder of the year.”
Recent Additions
Caldwell recently added Brooke Price as a partner in the firm’s human resource officers practice. “Brooke has an incredible 15-year track record of success, placing influential people, talent, compensation, benefits, and culture leaders who have strategically transformed companies of all sizes, both public and private,” said Chris Beck, president. “She will be a key player as we build out our human resources practice, and we are fortunate to have a specialist of her caliber joining the Caldwell team.”
Related: Caldwell Opens Offices in Annapolis and Tysons Corner
Ms. Price joins Caldwell from HR Search Experts, where she spent a decade recruiting people, talent and culture leaders for venture and PE-backed startups. Her particular expertise is placing people, talent, and culture leaders who strategically transform companies of all sizes, fulfilling growth potential while preserving company culture. She began her search career recruiting in the investment banking and hedge fund sectors, drawing on her operators experience working for Fortune 500 finance & investment banking companies like JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers, and Barclays as an investment professional.
Caldwell also added Rajiv Lulla as a partner in the firm’s data, digital & technology leaders practice. “We are delighted to welcome Rajiv to our global technology team,” said Jim Bethmann, managing partner of Caldwell’s technology practice. “His impressive and distinguished career – as an executive in the digital media industry, as a consultant overseeing digital transformation, big-data analytics, and cognitive computing, and finally recruiting transformational executives into private equity and venture-backed agile tech organizations – will be an invaluable addition to our practice.”
Mr. Lulla joins Caldwell from Egon Zehnder, where he led their global systems and engineering practices. In his prior role, he was lead account partner at IBM’s global business services, where he oversaw digital transformation, big-data analytics, and cognitive computing. Previously, Mr. Lulla founded and led Sanskrt Ventures; was CEO of NDTV, India’s leading cable-news network; and was a senior vice president at the Nexstar Media Group. He began his career in digital media at ViacomCBS (now Paramount).
Related: Caldwell Acquires The Counsel Network
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor; Lily Fauver, Senior Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
