After many years of reacting to and/or catching up with the ‘new normal’, having spoken to hundreds of senior executives from consumer-facing organisations globally over the past six months, I believe that for many companies 2026 marks ‘the beginning of the next phase’ when it comes to executive talent.
Below, I lay out how I’ve seen the past four and a half years play out, and examine what’s different about this year.
2022 – 2023: Post-Pandemic Rebound
Against a backdrop of post-pandemic euphoria, geopolitical instability, supply chain challenges and cost inflation, the imperative for most companies is to rebuild the pre-pandemic organisation. A so-called ‘Great Resignation’ leads to a hiring frenzy, candidate scarcity and salary inflation. To ensure operational continuity, the majority of hires we see are clones of pre-pandemic hires.
Of the candidates we place in 2022, a third have been promoted at least once, half are still in role (mostly CEOs and MDs) and a minority have left their organisation (mostly C-minus-1 leaders whose jobs have been eliminated). Of the candidates we place in 2023, 90% have been promoted or still in role.
2024: Adjusting to the New Normal
With the post-pandemic boom in the rear-view mirror, sales slow, cost pressures and geopolitical instability continue, and AI goes mainstream. The imperative for most companies is to review organisational structures, challenge existing operating models, and deal with the impact of post-pandemic decision-making, including over-hiring.
Reorganisations, layoffs and reduced hiring lead to an increased supply of talent. The main types of hires we see are safe bets designed to provide stability in a tough environment. 95% of our placements remain in role.
2025: Reimagining the Future
With profitability under pressure, continued geopolitical instability and the widespread adoption of AI, organisations need to reinvent themselves to outperform. The imperative for most companies is to challenge assumptions, let go of familiar models, reinvent a more cost-efficient organisation, integrate AI into business as usual, and determine the leadership of the future.
Restructuring, layoffs and recruitment freezes lead to more firing than hiring; more talent becomes available. The main types of hires we see are upgrades who can thrive in more challenging, more complex environments. All of our placements are still in role.
2026: Delivering the Future
If 2025 was about reimagining the leadership of the future, 2026 is about delivering it. Amid macro uncertainty, rising inflation and AI becoming embedded in most organisations, the focus is on expansion, profit growth and value creation.
Whereas government relations were once handled by a department of the same name, in the US boards and CEOs now face the very real risk of being called out publicly (or worse) if they fail to fall into line. In the UK, meanwhile, many senior business figures berate politicians and government policy.
For most companies, the imperative is to embed and refine a new organisational model focused on performance and productivity, and proactively focus on succession planning for long-tenured leaders. In parallel, there’s a focus on cyber-attack prevention and managing the backlash against widespread AI adoption.
The need to deliver the new organisation is leading many companies to upgrade executive talent, create new, often broader roles with greater spans of control, and replace successful, long-serving executives who have decided to retire.
In other organisations, the aim is to drive performance by creating stability in the executive team, while injecting fresh thinking through installing new non-executive board directors.
Despite the uptick in hiring, there’s still outstanding talent available that is looking for a long-term home in a company with a great culture and growth prospects. A lot of the promotions and hires we see are up-and-coming, high-potential executives charged with leading and inspiring, facing into continued uncertainty, managing risk and delivering growth.
Conclusion
The story of the past four and a half years has been one of evolution. Organisations first rebuilt what had been lost, then adapted to a changing environment, before stepping back to rethink how they would compete in a fundamentally different world.
For many organisations, that period of reflection is now over.
The focus has shifted from designing the organisation of the future to making it a reality, and proving that it can deliver better growth, productivity, agility and value creation than the model it replaced.
As a result, executive talent is once again taking centre stage as teams are being reshaped, roles redefined, leaders upgraded and succession plans accelerated to drive performance.
2026 is the year to deliver the future.