Eric Salmon & Partners Announces B Corp Certification
February 22, 2024 – Paris-headquartered executive search, leadership advisory, and board services firm Eric Salmon & Partners has announced its B Corp certification. “This achievement underscores the firm’s unwavering commitment to sustainability, responsible business practices, and ethical leadership,” the search firm said. “Far from adopting a traditional corporate tone, Eric Salmon & Partners is embracing a genuine and passionate message, aligning with the shared values of its partners, clients, and employees. The firm recognizes the growing enthusiasm for progressive and forward-thinking businesses that prioritize people, planet, and profit.”
“The B Corp certification, internationally recognized for its stringent standards in social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability, positions Eric Salmon & Partners among a select group of global businesses dedicated to making a positive impact on society and the planet,” the firm continued.
“We believe that leadership goes beyond achieving financial success; it encompasses social and environmental stewardship,” said Raoul Nacke, CEO of Eric Salmon & Partners. “Becoming a B Corp reflects our deep commitment to sustainable leadership and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) excellence. We are honored to be part of a global movement that is redefining business success and creating a better future.”
“As a trusted partner, Eric Salmon & Partners is committed to assisting businesses, both B Corps and non-B Corps, in achieving their ESG goals,” Mr. Nacke said. Leveraging its extensive expertise and global network, ESP supports clients in attracting, developing, and retaining top talent with the skills and mindset required to drive sustainable success.”
Related: Strategic Talent Acquisition Planning in 2024
Mr. Nacke highlights the transformative nature of this certification, stating: “This is just the start. We know how important this is for the future of our client executive teams that we advise. It is about building the senior leadership teams of tomorrow following a future-fit-leader logic. Being B Corp certified is a catalyst for us; we’ve started that journey internally. It means that we can now be part of that conversation with all our stakeholders.”
Global Search Consultants
Eric Salmon & Partners is a global executive search, leadership advisory, and board services firm. With offices worldwide, the firm serves a diverse range of clients across industries and sectors. Eric Salmon & Partners was established in 1990.
For PE Firms, a Call to Embrace ESG
Despite growing support for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, many private equity firms have dismissed the concept. In a report last summer, McKinsey & Company cited four main criticisms of ESG – that it distracts from companies’ ultimate mission of creating profits, that it’s not feasible, that it’s not adequately measurable, and that even when ESG can be measured there is no meaningful relationship with financial performance. “In the wake of the war in Ukraine and the ensuing human tragedy, as well as the cumulative geopolitical, economic, and societal effects, critics have argued that the importance of ESG has peaked,” said the consulting firm. “Attention, they contend, will shift increasingly to the more foundational elements of a Maslow-type hierarchy of public- and private-sector needs, and in the future, today’s preoccupation with ESG may be remembered as merely a fad and go the way of similar acronyms that have been used in the past. Others have argued that ESG represents an odd and unstable combination of elements and that attention should be only focused on environmental sustainability.”
Raise the subject with Smooch Repovich Rosenberg, however, and you will get a much different response: Private equity firms, she insists, would be wise to spend more time learning about and considering the place that ESG might have in their future, she says, rather than dismissing it out of hand.
Mr. Nacke has more than 20 years of executive search and leadership advisory experience, both in Germany and internationally. He works mainly with European and Asian clients on CEO succession and leadership transformation projects. Working across industries, Mr. Nacke provides guidance to boards and chief executive officers about how to build and develop leadership teams in order to mitigate the risk of leadership failure. He is an expert in industrial (including automotive OEM and Tier1) and consumer goods.
Related: ESG in Private Equity and What it Means for Talent
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor; Lily Fauver, Senior Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
