It is summer holiday time and the C-Suite Executive recruitment market tends to reflect that, which is a normal situation at this time of the year in all major markets.

But of course this isn’t a normal year, international travel remains a complicated array of different guidelines, the Covid pandemic has had and continues to have a significant effect on corporates in almost every business sector and this is a period of transformation and change. Consequently the market for Senior Executives is a dynamic one, where candidates with proven skills in change management or the development of new growth strategies are clearly in demand in a number of sectors.

There is a high demand for candidates on the investment side of the Renewable / Energy sectors.

Consultancy, FinTech and Wealth / Private Banking sectors are active especially in the UK and Europe. The potential change to UK legislation regarding limits on city bonuses may well have further impact on the market.

Despite the Consumer, Hospitality and Leisure markets being “up and down” lately, it still feels really positive, with more opportunities than at any point in the past year and a clear indication that it will increase in the coming months.

Broadly speaking, the software space (whether SaaS or SAP) continues to grow at a pace on both sides of the Atlantic; candidates who have grown software businesses are of particular interest.

The Hospitals / Healthcare space is again seeing notable investment, especially in the Middle East.

NED roles remain highly active especially in the UK where companies want to add governance, grey hair and sector know-how to reinforce their future growth.

Geographically, several parts of Europe, including Switzerland as well as the UK, are active in preparation for an expected increase in demand at the end of August / early September. Commenting on the situation across Europe one of our Search Consultant network simply said, “to be fair, business is booming!”

There are an abundance of Power and Infrastructure roles in several parts of Africa.

The experience and current impressions of the market are those of Search Consultants gleaned from direct contact with a cross-section of the 15,000 strong InterExec network and represents their views taken in the last few days.

One of the most experienced Search Consultants summarises the situation perfectly, “in terms of my general observation I believe the market is moving in the right direction still. Despite it being the apparent “ summer slow down” where things “don’t” happen, clients are still engaging with live roles. What’s also interesting is that interviews with the end employer are also taking place during this period”.

In searching for your next key challenge please do not hesitate to get in touch with the InterExec team.