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Polly Stewart
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| Executive search on rise | |  SINGAPORE — Executive search activity, a barometer for the economy, is increasing around the world in the second half of the year, says Lim Chye Lian, the new Singapore-based Board Chair of IIC Partners, Executive Search Worldwide.
“Our partner firms are seeing higher levels of search activity in most parts of the world,” Ms. Lim said today, following the global meeting of IIC Partners in Beijing. IIC Partners is the world’s eighth ranked executive recruitment group, with 46 offices in 32 countries.
“Executive hiring is certainly not uniform in every region or in every business sector, but the trend is clear,” she said. “Business has quickened substantially from the pace in the first half of 2009 and we expect continued improvement into 2010.
“In Beijing, we also obtained a better appreciation of the business climate in China. We expect China’s policy-driven economy to continue to expand at a very strong pace, placing a robust demand on everything from energy and raw materials to luxury goods.”
This effect is already being seen in energy prices, in the Australian mining sector and generally in Asia/Pacific, she said. She noted that projected 2010 GDP growth is on an upward curve across most of the Asia/Pacific region, with the exception of Japan.
Europe’s indicators gathered strength over the summer before slipping this fall but, Ms. Lim said, improvements in executive hiring in many markets show companies are building their executive talent base to prepare for a stronger business outlook going into 2010.
Consumer confidence in the United States has been shaken by unemployment, personal debt levels and underperforming retirement plans, Ms. Lim said. But she said the recent consistent flow of investment back into equity markets can be expected to lend support to all indicators. Executive search markets as diverse as Washington, Houston and Detroit are reporting better activity in the second half and an improving outlook for 2010.
“At our Beijing meeting, there was a general consensus that our clients believe the worst of the recession is over and that our partners are cautiously optimistic for 2010,” she said.
Ms. Lim was elected to a three-year term as Board Chair of IIC Partners during its Beijing meeting, the second consecutive woman to hold the post and the first chair from Asia.
“Our partners felt that in this decade, Asia Pacific, in particular, China and India, would arguably be the fastest growing economies in the world and that it was therefore timely for IIC Partners to have a leader from Asia,” she said.
About IIC Partners
IIC Partners is a global executive search organization, ranked eighth in the world by revenues and this year celebrating its 23rd anniversary as a leading international executive search group. As an affiliation of individually successful search firms — covering more than 30 countries from 46 offices — IIC is capable of seamless worldwide reach and intense local focus. Each of nine specialized practice groups operates globally to provide assured access to all the executive, professional and technical communities essential to the success of today's competitive corporations.
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