When it comes to hiring executive level talent, the stakes are high. That’s why almost every single publicly listed business brings in the skills of executive search experts. These hires are often high-impact (and therefore high risk), and quite often high profile in nature.
Here’s our top 20 statistics for 2024 when it comes to hiring executives, the executive search market and the most recent industry trends:
- According to a PwC survey, 70% of CEOs believe that the executive talent market is becoming more competitive.
- In the United States, the average cost of a failed executive hire is estimated to be around $2.7 million!
- The global executive search market is expected to reach $16.9 billion globally by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 5.4%.
- In a survey of C-suite executives, 91% said their organisation’s leaders must become more agile to succeed in the current business environment.
- Research by Harvard Business Review found that 40% of newly hired executives fail within the first 18 months in their new roles.
- The demand for executives with digital transformation experience has increased by 20% in the past five years.
- A 2023 survey revealed 70% of executives believe their organisation will need to undergo a significant transformation in the next two years.
- The average base salary for a CEO in the United States in 2020 was $1.34 million. In 2022, the average CEO of a FTSE 100 company in the UK received £4.1m in pay.
- According to a survey by Deloitte, 47% of companies have difficulty recruiting executive talent to fill critical roles.
- Fortune 500 companies have a higher rate of promoting internal candidates to CEO roles (77%) compared to outside hires (23%), showing the power of succession planning.
- Women currently hold 7.4% of CEO positions in Fortune 500 companies.
- 90% of executives say understanding their organisation’s culture is critical to their success.
- A study by Glassdoor found that companies with higher CEO approval ratings also tend to have higher financial performance.
- According to research in 2023, companies with diverse executive teams are 33% more likely to have above-average profitability.
- The average executive search process for a publicly listed company takes around 4-6 months to complete. In the private sector these processes are often completed within 1-2 months.
- 65% of executives believe artificial intelligence will play a significant role in the future of executive search.
- The top three industries for executive search revenue are professional services, financial services, and technology.
- A study by Mercer found that 42% of executives are open to new opportunities, even if not actively seeking them.
- In 2020, the top three skills in demand for executive roles were leadership, strategic thinking, and financial acumen.
- Nearly 50% of global organisation’s report difficulty in finding senior executive talent with the right combination of skills and experience, according to a survey by EY.
