Author Description

This research report is about choosing and using a headhunter to recruit executives for Europe. It updates and expands on Executive search in Europe 1995 edition and is part of a series examining executive search in three other regions: the Americas, central and eastern Europe, and Asia and Australasia. (Executive search in the Americas, EIU, 1995; Executive search in central and eastern Europe, EIU, 1996; Executive search in Asia and Australia, EIU, 1997.) This report focuses on the high end of the European executive search market and on the firms that dominate this market. Those featured are mostly well- respected international firms working at the highest level to find senior executives, increasingly on a pan-European or global basis. Many are considered global leaders in executive search, having dramatically expanded their geographic coverage and range of services. Several offer various related human resources services, including management assessment, executive selection (recruitment through advertising) and interim management. A growing number recruit non-executive board directors. For the purpose of this report, Europe covers the members of the EU (Austria,Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK, with the exception of Luxembourg, which is often covered by Belgian offices), together with Norway, Switzerland and Turkey. South Africa is also included as the only significant African market. The report provides an analysis of leading consultants and firms. Although it excludes most local firms, which chiefly conduct executive search for middle managers, some well-respected ones are included alongside the best global firms. Audit firms, which mostly concentrate on executive selection, are also excluded. For each country the analysis provides an overview of the search market and leading search firms as well as biographies of selected consultants, including