The on-again-off-again drama of Sam Altman’s role as OpenAI’s CEO in November 2023 spurred a flurry of commentary about the importance of succession planning. While most companies aren’t led by such high-profile figures—whose departures spur hundreds of employees to threaten resignation—every organization needs a sound succession plan and pipeline.
In 2024, the job market has transformed into an employer-centric environment, driven by economic shifts, skill evolution, and employee experience trends.
To understand the rise of the sustainability leader — whatever the title, be it chief sustainability officer, chief environmental officer, or another title linking it with environment, social and governance (ESG) issues — and the success factors for the job, Spencer Stuart’s Industrial Practice interviewed a dozen leaders across the world, both to discuss with them how they are making an impact today and how they envision their positions in the future.
As consumer demands change and globalization builds, HR leaders must play a broader role in hiring strategy.
The Second Industrial Revolution set forth a chain of events that led to the birth of the executive search profession. Since then, the executive search profession has paralleled major trends in business, organizations and socio-economic development. Today, the profession generates over $21 billion and places the top leaders worldwide. So, how did the Second Industrial Revolution lead to the origination of the profession? And how has it grown into the incredible profession it is today? Journey with us as we examine the history of executive search and how it’s evolved in concert with the state of the world. The Second Industrial Revolution: A Catalyst for a New Profession During the Second Industrial Revolution (1870-1914), businesses – especially those in the United States and Europe – changed dramatically. Innovations contributed to a period of accelerating industrialization: the expansion of rail and telegraph lines improved access to markets and lowered costs for the movement of parts and finished goods; new, efficient methods of production made the process of turning raw material into a finished product faster and more efficient. These dramatic shifts created a need for leaders who could adapt to the changing business landscape and the demands of scale. Management consulting [...]
Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. today announced the appointment of Sunny Ackerman as Global Managing Partner, On-Demand Talent, effective February 12. In this role, Ackerman will lead on-demand talent solutions across all Heidrick & Struggles globally, which is inclusive of Business Talent Group (BTG) and Atreus. In 2021, through the acquisition of BTG, Heidrick & Struggles became the first global leadership advisory firm to offer the full spectrum of high-end talent solutions - from on-demand, independent professionals to interim executives to permanent placements. Heidrick and Struggles expanded their On-Demand Talent segment more significantly in Europe through the acquisition of Germany-based Atreus in 2023. A visionary leader with a strong pulse on the future of work and experience scaling innovative workforce solutions, Ackerman comes to Heidrick & Struggles after serving as President, Americas of SThree, a global talent partner specializing in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). She ran SThree's second-largest territory, generating $300M-plus in annual revenue. Ackerman has also dedicated a significant part of her career to furthering the interests of women in the workplace and creating career pipelines for underrepresented groups. Additionally, she sits on the Board of Directors at TechServe Alliance, and the Leadership Council at the Women Business Collaborative. "High-end independent talent solutions are increasingly being [...]
Academic Search placed Dr. Ben Moritz as Executive Director for the Wyoming Community College Commission Academic Search placed Rita Farlow as Vice President for Marketing and Communications for Roanoke College Boyden placed Leena Al-Hajjar as new VP, People & Culture for Tantalus Systems. A recruitment co-led by Managing Partner, Craig Hemer. Buffkin / Baker placed Gary Petrangelo as Chief Financial Officer for Wilen. Search led by Raj Das and Jeannine Centanni. Cornerstone International Group has placed Tracy Krumme as Senior Vice President, Head of Investor Relations for Bitfarms. Fisher Leadership placed Michael Crevola as Chief Financial Officer for Victoria Police Glue Executive Search placed Valeria Auger as Chief Communications Officer for Social Learning Harbour West Consulting placed Lorraine Lowe as Executive Director for the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre Society Harris Search Associates placed Dr. Melissa Terlecki as Dean of the College of Professional and Applied Psychology for Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Hobson Leavy placed Chris Houston as Chief Executive Officer for Fiber Fresh Hobson Leavy placed Fred Ohlsson as Group Chief Executive Office for Avanti Finance Kaplan Partners placed Charlie S. Cullum as Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer for Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc. KBRS placed Blanche Israël as [...]
Russell Reynolds Associates (RRA) announced today the appointment of Gemma Burgess as a managing director to join Deb Barbanel as co-lead of the global real estate practice. Gemma will be jointly based in RRA’s New York and Chicago offices. Having most recently served as CEO and vice chairman at Ferguson Partners, a boutique executive search and consulting firm, Burgess brings 20 years of search and consulting experience to her clients in private equity, investment management, real estate investment trust (REIT), structured finance, hedge funds and investment banking. Prior to her 16-year tenure at Ferguson Partners, she handled non-executive appointments at Hanson Green and worked in executive search at Ramsey Hall. “We welcome Gemma and the experience she brings to the Russell Reynolds team,” said Constantine Alexandrakis, CEO, Russell Reynolds Associates. “With her wealth of knowledge across international markets and both institutional and non-institutional capital in the global real estate industry, we look forward to what we can accomplish under her leadership alongside Deb Barbanel’s in this complex and expanding industry.” Burgess is passionate about promoting ethnic, gender, and socio-economic diversity, having participated in some of the world’s most prominent corporate diversity initiatives and conferences, including developing diversity partnerships with key real estate groups such as the Real Estate Executive Council [...]
Acertitude is excited to announce that Oliver Staple has been promoted to Partner in the Professional Services practice. Based in London, Oliver serves the world’s premier strategy houses, turnaround and restructuring firms, deal and M&A advisory teams and technology advisory businesses amongst a broad array of leading professional services organisations. Recruiting distinctive high performers at a firm leadership and partner levels, his expertise covers a select array of topics: financial services, law, healthcare & life sciences, consumer & retail, value creation, ERP, and increasingly, digital & AI. “In the realm of professional services, attaining partner status holds a particularly significant meaning, symbolizing a substantial investment of time, effort, and commitment in cultivating relationships, building knowledge, developing capability as well as the ongoing mentorship of junior professionals,” said Guy Barnes, managing partner and global Professional Services practice leader at Acertitude. “Oliver inherently values people and has a sincere passion for helping others connect with each other. These qualities are key to achieving excellence in this role.” Oliver was the inaugural member of the firm’s London office, first joining as principal in 2020. He’s played a critical role in the firm’s rapid expansion in the EMEA region ever since. Oliver came to [...]
Amrop welcomes new Partners in Switzerland, Sweden, Romania and Australia. Alexander Lenzlinger - Partner, Switzerland Alexander has many years of international leadership experience at Group Management and Board of Directors level in a broad range of industries and service areas. In his roles as Group CFO, Strategy Director, and M&A-Advisor, he has proven his pronounced strategic and entrepreneurial mindset. With his passion for people, he has led senior leadership teams in various cultural settings and has successfully developed top talents and key people. Prior to joining Amrop, he was partner at another global Executive Search firm. He has an MBA (Corporate Finance) from the University of Zurich. Magnus Sandqvist - Senior Partner, Sweden (Malmo) Magnus has extensive experience from C-level searches as well as Board search and leadership development services. A special interest is management due diligence in connection with M&A transactions. He joins Amrop after 26 years of experience from another global executive search organization, and has an earlier background in the finance industry as well as experience as a CFO for an industrial group. Gabriel Voinea - Partner, Romania Gabriel is an experienced senior professional with deep experience in the financial services sector with various large local and multinational companies. He [...]
Global Headquarters
315 Madison Avenue, Third Floor
New York, New York 10017
United States
+1 (212) 398-9556
APAC Office
Level 1, 60 Martin Place
Sydney, New South Wales 2000
Australia
+61 499 972 181
EMEA Office
Avenue Louise 54
1050 Brussels
Belgium
+32 2 884 78 32
San Francisco Office
580 California Street, 12th Floor
San Francisco, California 94104
United States
+1 (415) 568-2100
Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Terms and Conditions | Sitemap | Copyright © 2026
