Egon Zehnder

Last updated
Egon Zehnder International Ltd.
Company type Partnership
Industry Professional services
Founded1964;60 years ago (1964) [1]
Headquarters Zurich, Switzerland [1]
Number of locations
65 offices in 36 countries [2]
Key people
Edilson Camara (CEO), [3]
Michael Ensser (Chair) [4]
ProductsManagement consulting
Leadership solutions
Executive search
Revenue CHF  883 million (2023) [5]
Number of employees
560 Consultants, 660 experts, 2300+ employees [2]
Website egonzehnder.com

Egon Zehnder International Ltd. is a global management consulting and executive search firm. Egon Zehnder is the world's largest privately held executive search firm and the third largest executive search and talent strategy firm globally [6] with an annual revenue of CHF 883 million. [7] The firm offers services in Executive Search, Board Consulting and Leadership Strategy Services.

Contents

History

The firm was founded in 1964 by Egon P.S. Zehnder (1930–2021 [8] ) (a 1956 Harvard Business School graduate) and would later grow to having 68 offices in 40 countries. [2]

In 1992, The Wall Street Journal reported that Dr. Zehnder, who at the time was 62, had transitioned out of running the firm and that A. Daniel Meiland, who had been the firm's regional director for North America, would be named chairman of the executive committee and chief executive officer of the company. [9]

In 2000, The Wall Street Journal reported that Egon Zehnder International (as the company was called at the time) was the largest executive search firm in Europe. [1]

From 2008 to 2014, Damien O’Brien was the chief executive officer. [4] O'Brien then served as chairman from 2010 to 2018. [4] Jill Ader was his successor, and was elected as Chairperson June 2018. [10] Michael Ensser took over as Chair on Nov. 1, 2022. [11] Edilson Camara serves as CEO until October 31, 2024, after which Francesco Buquicchio will assume the role. [12] [3]

Corporate structure

In 2022, Egon Zehnder had 560 consultants across 65 offices and 36 countries. [13]

Events & Initiatives

Leaders & Daughters

Egon Zehnder introduced Leaders & Daughters [14] in March 2015 in London to provide a forum for addressing both the gender divide and the opportunity gap faced by the next generation of women leaders. The event brings together leaders and their daughters and mentees to discuss the obstacles women leaders face and how to tackle such obstacles. [14]

The event, which marks its 6th year in 2020, is held across 32 cities worldwide and over 5,000 attendees annually. [15]

Letters to My Daughter

As part of the Leaders & Daughters [14] initiative, Egon Zehnder invites leaders to write letters to their daughters to collectively inspire, cultivate and pave a better future for the next generation of female leaders. [16]

Exclusive Research

Egon Zehnder has conducted exclusive research on diversity, inclusion and leadership.

Leaders and Daughters Survey 2017

The Leaders & Daughters 2017 [17] survey explores findings from over 7,000 professional female respondents worldwide in Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, India, the United States and the United Kingdom on topics ranging from career motivations and ambition to professional advancement and key influencers. [18]

The CEO: A Personal Reflection

Egon Zehnder's The CEO: A Personal Reflection [19] surveyed 402 CEOs from various industries, countries and corporate structures. They shared perspectives on the realities of the role, their preparation, their succession planning process, and how they lead and cope in these volatile times. [20]

Global Board Diversity Analysis: 2012-2022

Egon Zehnder has tracked gender and international diversity on boards around the world for the past 18 years. [21]

2012 European Board Diversity Analysis

The 2012 European Board Diversity Analysis [22] looked at the boards of 353 of the largest companies across 17 European countries between May and June 2012. The analysis aims to contrast and compare the progress made by European companies in diversifying their boards. Data was gathered to measure how many women are engaged as board members in Europe, what is the nature of their engagement – executive roles vs. non-executive roles, leadership roles on the board or within committees – and whether women’s participation on boards has increased or decreased over time. The research also looked briefly at wider definitions of diversity such as non-national board memberships. [22]

2014 European Board Diversity Analysis with a Global Perspective

The 2014 European Board Diversity Analysis [23] – the sixth in a series of biennial studies initiated in 2004 – profiles the boards of 356 of the largest companies across 17 European countries. The 2014 study also includes a global perspective, exploring gender diversity across 568 large company boards in other regions of the world. [24]

2016 Global Board Diversity Analysis (GBDA)

The Egon Zehnder 2016 Global Board Diversity Analysis (GBDA) [25] evaluates board data from 1,491 public companies with market capitalization exceeding EUR 6bn across 44 countries. [26]

2018 Global Board Diversity Tracker: Who’s Really On Board?

Their 2018 report, Who's Really on Board?, [27] analyzes BoardEx data from 1,610 public companies with market caps above 7 billion euros in 44 countries as of May 2018. In countries with fewer large companies, they use the six largest companies as measured by market capitalization. [28]

2020 Global Board Diversity Tracker: Who’s Really On Board?

The 2020 report analyzes data from 1,685 public companies with market caps above 6 billion euros in 44 countries. [29]

2022 Global Board Diversity Tracker: Who's Really on Board?

Their 2022 report analyzed a total of 19,958 board seats – using data from 1,776 publicly-traded companies across 44 countries with a combined market capitalization of €8bn. [30]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kearney (consulting firm)</span> Global management consulting firm

Kearney is an American global management consulting firm with offices in more than 40 countries worldwide. Kearney's predecessor firm was founded in Chicago by James O. McKinsey in 1926; he hired Andrew Thomas "Tom" Kearney as his first partner in 1929. After James McKinsey died in 1937, the Chicago office split into its own company, led by Tom Kearney and called McKinsey, A.T. Kearney, and Company. In 1947, it was renamed A.T. Kearney and Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Conference Board</span> American non-profit research organization

The Conference Board, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit business membership and research organization. It counts over 1,000 public and private corporations and other organizations as members, encompassing 60 countries.

Dentons is the world's largest global law firm by number of lawyers and the 6th-largest law firm by revenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debra L. Lee</span> American lawyer

Debra L. Lee is an American businesswoman. She was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BET, the parent company for Black Entertainment Television from 2005 to May 28, 2018. Lee has sat on the board of directors for a number of companies/organizations, including the National Cable & Telecommunications Association the Ad Council, and the National Cable Television Association. She currently serves on the board of directors for Warner Bros. Discovery. Debra Lee has been named one of the "100 Most Powerful Women in Entertainment" by The Hollywood Reporter due to her many achievements in her 30-plus year career at BET.

Gregory David Wasson is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and president of Wasson Enterprise, a family-based investment office, the executive chairman of Innventure, co-founder of CoolerScreens, and the former president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Weber</span> American entrepreneur

Larry Weber is an American entrepreneur and the founder, chairman & CEO of Racepoint Global, a communications agency headquartered in Boston, MA. He has served as CEO of both mid-and large-scale companies, and has founded several other public relations and interactive marketing agencies including The Weber Group, ThunderHouse and W2. His clients have included AT&T, Boston Scientific, Coca-Cola, Deere, General Electric, General Motors, IBM, Kaiser Permanente, Lotus, Microsoft, Panasonic, SAP, and Verizon Wireless.

The phrase women in business refers to female businesspeople who hold positions, particularly leadership in the fields of commerce, business, and entrepreneurship. It advocates for their increased participation in business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ajay Banga</span> American business executive (born 1959)

Ajaypal Singh "Ajay" Banga is an Indian-born American business executive. He is currently the president of the World Bank Group. He was the executive chairman of Mastercard, after having previously served as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company from July 2010 until December 31, 2020. He retired from this position on December 31, 2021, and joined General Atlantic as its vice chairman.

The Global 100 Index is an annual ranking of the world's most sustainable corporations. The list is published by Toronto-based media and research company, Corporate Knights. From its inception in February 2005 to January 2022, the Global 100 index made a net investment return of 331%, compared to 279% from the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI). The adoption of large green recovery programs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is suspected to have widened this performance gap. 

3G Capital is a global investment firm and private partnership built on an owner-operator approach to investing over a long-term horizon. Founded in 2004, 3G Capital evolved from the Brazilian investment office of Jorge Paulo Lemann, Carlos Alberto Sicupira, and Marcel Herrmann Telles. 3G Capital is led by Alex Behring, Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner, and Daniel Schwartz, Co-Managing Partner.

Stanton Chase is a retained executive search and consulting firm established in 1990 and operated by independently owned partner firms with 76 offices in 45 countries.

Gender representation on corporate boards of directors refers to the proportion of men and women who occupy board member positions. To measure gender diversity on corporate boards, studies often use the percentage of women holding corporate board seats and the percentage of companies with at least one woman on their board. Globally, men occupy more board seats than women. As of 2018, women held 20.8% of the board seats on Russell 1000 companies. Most percentages for gender representation on corporate boards refer only to public company boards. Private companies are not required to disclose information on their board of directors, so the data is less available.

Gender diversity is equitable representation of people of different genders. It most commonly refers to an equitable ratio of men and women, but also includes people of non-binary genders. Gender diversity on corporate boards has been widely discussed, and many ongoing initiatives study and promote gender diversity in fields traditionally dominated by men, including computing, engineering, medicine, and science. It is argued that some proposed explanations are without merit and are in fact dangerous, while others do play a part in a complex interaction of factors. It is suggested that the very nature of science may contribute to the removal of women from the 'pipeline'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ITC Limited</span> Indian conglomerate

ITC Limited is an Indian conglomerate company, headquartered in Kolkata. It has a presence across six business segments, namely FMCG, hotels, agribusiness, information technology, paper products, and packaging. It generates a plurality of its revenue from tobacco products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rajeev Kakar</span> India banker

Rajeev Kakar, an experienced banker and a serial business founder and entrepreneur, currently serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director at Commercial International Bank, Egypt; Gulf International Bank, Bahrain and KSA; Eurobank Ergasias SA, Greece and Satin Creditcare Network, India. He also serves, since 2009, as a member of the Global Advisory Board of the prestigious University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, and also as a Member of the Industry Advisory Board of the SP Jain School of Global Management since 2011. As a Board Member at Eurobank, Rajeev also serves as the Chairman of the Board Remuneration Committee and Vice Chairman of the Board Risk Committee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diligent Corporation</span> American technology company

Diligent Corporation is a software as a service company that enables groups to share and collaborate information for board meetings. Headquartered in New York City, and incorporated in Delaware, the company has offices in Galway, Ireland; London, UK; Washington, D.C.; Munich, Germany; Budapest, Hungary; Hong Kong; Bangalore, India; Sydney and Vancouver.

Todd G. Sears, American businessman and advocate for LGBTQ+ equality, is the founder and CEO of Out Leadership since 2010. A former investment banker and private banker, he has served as head of diversity strategy at Merrill Lynch from 2007-2008 and head of diversity and inclusion at Credit Suisse from 2008-2010. Sears started the first team of financial advisors focused on serving the needs of the LGBTQ community in Wall Street history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ynon Kreiz</span> Israeli-American business executive

Ynon Kreiz is an Israeli-American businessman and current chairman and CEO of Mattel. He served as Chairman and CEO of Fox Kids Europe from 1997–2002, Chairman and CEO of television and digital production company Endemol from 2008 to 2011, and as chairman, CEO and president of web video network Maker Studios, Inc. from 2012 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rajesh Gopinathan</span> Indian business executive

Rajesh Gopinathan is the former CEO and Managing Director of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), an Indian IT services and consulting organization and one of the country's largest employers. He was elevated to the role of Chief Executive in February 2017 after serving as the Chief Financial Officer since 2013. At time of his appointment, Rajesh was one of the youngest CEOs in the Tata Group. Now join as board in NSE

References

  1. 1 2 3 Flynn, Julia (4 January 2000). "Egon Zehnder Plans U.S. Expansion As Executive Searches Go Global". No. Eastern edition. New York, N.Y., United States: Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company Inc. p. A19. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "About Us". www.egonzehnder.com. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  3. 1 2 Singh, Namrata (23 June 2014). "Staffing Companies Join Search for Women Leaders". The Times of India. India. TNN. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Gu, Wei (19 October 2014). "Executive Talent Search Focuses on Adaptive Leadership; Egon Zehnder Chairman Says Today's Workers Shun the Authoritative Approach". New York, N.Y., United States: Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company Inc. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  5. "Egon Zehnder Showcases Resilient Performance and Strategic Growth in 2023" (Press release). Egon Zehnder. 13 March 2024.
  6. "Hunt Scanlon - Big 5 Global Search Firms" (PDF). huntscanlon.com/. Hunt Scanlon Media. Retrieved 3 January 2017.
  7. "Switzerland – Egon Zehnder full year revenue rises 12%". www2.staffingindustry.com. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
  8. Headhunter-Pionier Egon Zehnder gestorben. In: Finews, 18. November 2021.
  9. "Egon Zehnder International Inc". No. Who's News. New York, N.Y., United States: Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company Inc. 15 June 1992. p. B8.
  10. "Jill Ader to Chair Egon Zehnder". www.egonzehnder.com.
  11. "Egon Zehnder Elects Michael Ensser as Next Chair". www.egonzehnder.com. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  12. "Francesco Buquicchio Named Next CEO of Egon Zehnder". Egon Zehnder.
  13. "About Us & Purpose". www.egonzehnder.com. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  14. 1 2 3 "Leaders and Daughters". www.egonzehnder.com. Retrieved Mar 11, 2023.
  15. "Leaders and Daughters". www.egonzehnder.com. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  16. "Home". Leaders & Daughters - To My Daughter. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  17. "Explore the Data". www.egonzehnder.com. Retrieved Mar 11, 2023.
  18. Vuleta, Christina. "The Ambition Gap: How Age And Economic Development Impact Women's Aspirations". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  19. "Highlights". www.egonzehnder.com. Retrieved Mar 11, 2023.
  20. "Commentary: Here's Why So Many CEOs Start the Job Unprepared". Fortune. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  21. "Egon Zehnder's 2022 Global Board Diversity Tracker Launches". www.egonzehnder.com Launches. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  22. 1 2 "European Board Diversity Analysis 2012". www.egonzehnder.com. Retrieved Mar 11, 2023.
  23. "2014 Egon Zehnder European Board Diversity Analysis With Global Perspective". www.egonzehnder.com. Retrieved Mar 11, 2023.
  24. Dishman, Lydia (2017-02-08). "This Is The State Of Gender Diversity On Boards Around The World". Fast Company. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  25. "Egon Zehnder Global Board Diversity Analysis 2016". www.egonzehnder.com. Retrieved Mar 11, 2023.
  26. "America Used to Lead the World in Diversity But Has Now Fallen Behind". Fortune. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  27. "Egon Zehnder's Global Board Diversity Tracker 2022-2023 Report". www.egonzehnder.com. Retrieved Mar 11, 2023.
  28. Gordon, Sarah (11 December 2018). "Men are still winning three-quarters of new boardroom jobs" . Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2022-12-11. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  29. "2020 Global Board Diversity Tracker - Who's Really on Board?". www.egonzehnder.com. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  30. "GBDT 2022-2023 - Diversity & Inclusion Findings". www.egonzehnder.com. Retrieved 2023-01-13.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Egon Zehnder at Wikimedia Commons