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Q2 2022 Update on Executive Appointments & Executive Openings

Lead5 tracks executive openings and executive appointments for leading US based companies. Analysis for Lead5 Q2 of 2022 executive appointments were down another 20% from Q1 2022 and down over 40% YoY.  Q2 executive opportunities were also down YoY in a similar decline. This downward trajectory started in February of 2022 with the news of the war in Ukraine and the onset of the inflation numbers. As executive hiring trends down the debate continues whether we are heading for a recession. We will continue to monitor the Lead5 data set to determine if Q3 stabilizes from this downward trajectory. 

Now is a great time to research and prepare a pro-active strategy for your next executive career move. Join Lead5 today to stay connected to ever-changing market intel from the Lead5 community. Familiarize yourself with the Indicators of Management Changes, Negotiating Executive Compensation, How to Best Approach Executive Recruiters, How to Best Approach In-House Corporate Recruiters, and Sample Email Templates to Send Direct to Hiring Managers.

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Q1 2022 and Second Half 2021 Updates for Executive Appointments and Executive Openings

Lead5 tracks executive openings and executive appointments for leading US based companies. Analysis for Lead5 for the second half of 2021 data shows executive appointments slightly up 3% year over year. For Q1 of 2022 executive appointments were down 20% along with executive opportunities also down YoY. Interestingly, the January 2022 executive appointments were up slightly YoY with February starting to trend down and March 2022 executive appointments down 40%. This corresponds with the timing of headline and market data from the war in Ukraine and inflation numbers. We will continue to monitor the Lead5 data set and the effect on executive hiring into Q2 and the summer months. 

Now is a great time to research and prepare a pro-active strategy for your next executive career move. Join Lead5 today to stay connected to ever-changing market intel from the Lead5 community. Familiarize yourself with the Indicators of Management Changes, Negotiating Executive Compensation, How to Best Approach Executive Recruiters, How to Best Approach In-House Corporate Recruiters, and Sample Email Templates to Send Direct to Hiring Managers.

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Introducing the Next Generation of Lead5

We created Lead5 to empower executives with traditionally hidden opportunities and career advancing intel. Today we’re excited to announce the next generation of Lead5, with a new and improved user experience and more complete functionality than ever before to help executives manage the lifecycle of their executive journey. 

The next generation Lead5 platform provides:

  • Access to verified and potential leads for thousands of executive jobs.
  • Tracking of PE firms and PE deals that often indicate leadership changes.
  • Search project functionality to build target company lists, access the Lead5 recruiter database, follow executive moves, and build/save customized queries.
  • Easier to navigate saved items feature that replaces the legacy Lead5 playbook.
  • Full work email contact information for thousands of companies and corporate executives. 
  • More seamless integration of the Lead5 Community for members to share opportunity leads, add comments, invite peers, and contribute to trending market discussions. 

You can access all these features and more by logging into Lead5 for the new and improved user experience. If you have any questions or feedback we’d love to hear from you, email us at info@lead5.com or take advantage of Lead5’s complementary career consultations where we can demo the next generation of Lead5! 

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Negotiating Executive Compensation

In my 20 plus years of executive search experience, I have worked on hundreds of C-level assignments and navigated countless compensation negotiations through the “offer stage”. Here are 5 tips for executive candidates to keep in mind when closing the deal:

  1. Think like an owner. Value long-term awards and creating value over time as the key drivers for your compensation. Forgoing cash for more equity sends a strong message of leadership and “buy-in” to the board and/or C-suite. This indicates you are committed to the future success of the company and have confidence in the value creation you can drive. If the opportunity is available and you are in a position to do so, ask to purchase stock on your own beyond the equity grant or put your own money in the PE or VC round of financing. 

  1. If you negotiate, go one turn and then accept the counter offer. There is nothing wrong with accepting the initial offer if you believe it is strong and it meets your expectations. Yes, you may be able to negotiate marginal percentage points higher in base, bonus, equity, or sign-on, but do not underestimate the momentum of a positive, team oriented start. In my experience, one round of tweaks or negotiations is common, but if you push beyond that, it is generally poor form. 

  1. Communicate your compensation expectations to the company and/or recruiter prior to receiving the formal offer.  Many candidates think they are weakening their bargaining power by sharing expectations. They think keeping things “close to the vest” until the actual negotiations will provide the best outcome, but this can work against them. If the company is not clear on the expected compensation range, they may low-ball the candidate at offer stage (often a red flag for a dysfunctional company culture). Ultimately, the deal needs to be compelling for both the candidate and the company. Lack of communication of expectations prior to the formal offer stage can undermine the deal and be perceived as unprofessional. 

  1. Share your current and past compensation with the recruiter and company if they ask. Note, it is now illegal in a number of states to ask a candidate’s compensation. In the states where it is legal, withholding this information is regarded as a lack of understanding of how executive deals are structured. As executive recruiters, we are not asking your previous compensation history to lessen your negotiating power. We are asking these questions to ensure the best fit for both you and the company in an effort not waste either party’s time. For example, if your base salary is $400,000, you will ultimately not take a job offering a $275,000 base. There are exceptions, but in my 500+ executive searches over two decades, candidates are rarely willing to take pay-cuts in cash compensation. A candidate squeezing into a role with less than ideal compensation, usually means the role is not the right fit and the candidate leaves the company within 24 months. The exceptions tend to be candidates who forgo cash for more equity, aligning with point number 1. 

  1. Focus your identity as an executive on the value you create, not being the highest paid in your industry. Value creators are discovered and rewarded over time – keep this in mind in negotiations. You want to exceed the expectations of the CEO and board and create value and wealth for everyone in the organization. The experience of doing this is far more valuable, fulfilling, repeatable, and lasting than a certain base salary or sign-on bonus. 

Interested in more career advice? Sign-up for Lead5 and take advantage of the free career consultation plus gain more insight, intel and career tips from the Lead5 Community.

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Introducing Lead5 Search Accelerator

Lead5 Search Accelerator is an alternative recruiting service to the high price and long lead times of retained executive search and an ideal recruitment solution for direct report roles to the C-level such as Controller, Head of FP&A, VP Finance, General Counsel, Head of HR, Head of IT, plus divisional GM and operational roles.

With Search Accelerator, for less than the price of a contingency recruiter, you receive the Lead5 brand power, technology, and full research to market your position to all available talent – both passive and active – providing you with the best possible decision support to build out a high performing team.

For more information contact info@lead5.com

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Executive Outlook – June 2021

Market Returning to Normal Seasonal Hiring Patterns in Executive Openings and Executive Appointments

Lead5 tracks executive openings and executive appointments for leading US based companies. Analysis for Lead5 April and May 2021 data shows executive openings down 11% compared to Q1 2021. This is the normal seasonal exec hiring pattern as January through March and September through November historically show higher levels of executive hiring. The market has bounced back to this normal pattern, for example YOY comparison with the effects of Covid the market last year was down 24% for the same time period. Executive appointments for April and May held steady down just 3% compared to Q1 2021 vs the YOY comparison which was down 20% last year.

How does this translate for executives actively or passively seeking new opportunities? The market is solid and has bounced back into a historical pattern of executive search flows. The summer months will yield less activity leading to more active openings and appointments in the fall months of late Q3 and early Q4.

Now is the time to research and prepare a pro-active strategy for your next executive career move. Join Lead5 today to stay connected to ever-changing market intel from the Lead5 community. Familiarize yourself with the Indicators of Management Changes, How to Best Approach Executive Recruiters, How to Best Approach In-House Corporate Recruiters, and Sample Email Templates to Send Direct to Hiring Managers.

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Executive Outlook – April 2021

Increasing activity for Q1 2021 for Executive Openings and Executive Appointments

Lead5 tracks executive openings and executive appointments for leading US based companies. Analysis for Lead5 Q1 data for 2021 shows a 17% increase quarter-over-quarter in executive openings and a 28% increase quarter-over-quarter in executive appointments. Year-over-year Lead5 shows executive openings still down 27% from Q1 2020 data, but we are seeing a steady climb back up from the low point of Q3 2020 off of Covid shutdowns where executive openings were down over 40%.

What does this all mean for executives actively or passively seeking new opportunities? The market has upward momentum and looks to continue climbing in terms of openings and appointments. Now is the time to stay connected and pro-active on what is happening in the market for executive opportunities. Familiarize yourself with the Indicators of Management Changes and join the Lead5 community to share insights and gain market intel from fellow members.

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Lead5 Community Analytics – Indicators of Management Changes

After 20 plus years in executive recruiting you start to see a pattern of reasons for leadership changes. Here are a few of the most common indicators:

New PE Deal – A public company is looking to shed a non-core division and sells the “carve-out” business to a private equity firm. These deals always seem to work out very well for the new financial sponsors and this deal announcement is an almost certain trigger to build a new leadership team.

Newly Appointed CEO – A new CEO is announced and within 12 to 18 months on average more than half of the leadership team will be replaced. This concept works one-level down as well. A new CFO will have a new financial officer team within 12 to 18 months, etc.

Late-Stage VC Investment – A start-up company receives a late-stage VC investment of $50 million. At this point, the company starts to fully build out the infrastructure and regulatory framework needed to achieve its growth and strategic goals. Think of roles like Chief Accounting Officer, Chief Risk Officer, General Counsel, and Chief People Officer as roles that are often upgraded or established post a large late-stage VC funding round.

Company Emerging from Chapter 11 – The team that takes a company through chapter 11, the turn-around group, is not the same leadership team that focuses on growth post emergence.

Company Caught Flat-Footed – Julie is a star Chief Marketing Officer for BlueVision Tech Corp. She is identified and recruited away to become the CEO of a well-funded VC backed start-up. BlueVision Tech is caught flat-footed and quickly commences a search for Julie’s replacement as the internal team is not yet ready for promotion.

New Stage of Growth – Building a company from idea stage/pre-revenue to $1 to $5 million in revenue is a unique skill, as is scaling a company from $5 million to $20 million + in revenue. Here are the most common revenue hurdles where a new type of leadership is needed for the scale involved:

  • Pre-revenue to $5 million
  • $5 million to $20 million
  • $20 million to $50 million
  • $50 million to $300 million
  • $300 million to $1 billion
  • $1 billion to $10 billion
  • $10 billion +

Did you know the Lead5 Platform identifies these types of scenarios combined with the crowd-sourcing power of the Lead5 community to uncover hidden opportunities and companies you should be pro-actively networking with?

Join today and discover the power of the Lead5 Community to help advance your executive career!

Want to learn more? Join the market discussion on Lead5 here:

https://lead5.com/community/forums/posts/241182

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Introducing the New Lead5 Corporate Executive Recruiter Database

One major trend of the executive search industry over the last two decades is the increased flow of consultants from the major firms (Korn/Ferry, Heidrick, Spencer Stuart, & Russell Reynolds) to in-house executive recruiting roles within companies, PE firms, and VC firms. The takeaway for the candidate is more senior level leadership positions are being actively sourced and placed directly by the company or financial sponsor. Add the Covid-19 lockdowns and an increased corporate view on cost cutting and you have a scenario entering 2021 where, more than ever, companies are directly recruiting executives and bypassing the retained search firms.

With this trend in mind, Lead5 has built and launched a corporate executive recruiter database that our members have access to and the Lead5 community continues to enhance. Log in to Lead5, click on Community, then People, scroll down and select the Corporate Recruiters tab and use the Lead5 filters to identify the gatekeepers to leadership hiring for thousands of companies including contact details.

Remember, you have a green light to send your resume directly to these in-house executive recruiting professionals and the goal is ensuring your information is updated in the company or PE firms’ executive ATS (Applicant Tracking System). In addition, you want to make the networking connection with the in-house team to keep you informed of current and future leadership openings.

One Lead5 member built a targeted list of companies specific to his industry sector and experienced a 70% response rate to direct outreach to in-house recruiters. This method yields a much higher response than contacting retained recruiters or C-level execs – why? Because the in-house recruiters number one priority is to evaluate external talent and build a bench of current and future available talent for the organization. Remember, retained recruiters number one priority is the hiring company, not the candidate!

Want to learn more? Join the market discussion on Lead5 here:

https://lead5.com/community/forums/posts/241182

Review sample emails for direct outreach here:

https://blog.lead5.com/how-to-best-approach-executive-recruiters/

https://blog.lead5.com/how-to-send-a-strong-intro-email-to-a-ceo/

 

 

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Executive Outlook – January 2021

 

The results are in for 2020, and much like all aspects of last year, the executive hiring market has everyone ready to move on to 2021. The total number of executive opportunity leads shared and tracked by Lead5 in 2020 was down 34% year over year from 2019.

 

 

The good news is that the market stabilized in Q3 2020 with a slight uptick for Q4. As we shared in our October Executive Outlook analysis, after discussions with corporate executive recruiters and talent partners from PE firms, we anticipate the traditional Labor Day through Thanksgiving seasonal executive hiring cycle is being pushed back to Q1 2021 due to the global pandemic and the US election cycle.

What this means for you is that executive hiring for Q1 and Q2 in 2021 will bring increased activity and you should be taking steps now to craft a pro-active career strategy. Lead5 will continue to monitor, analyze, and report on these executive hiring trends.

Lead5 is the fastest growing executive community that allows our members to share and exchange hidden exec openings, intel, and career advice. The Lead5 executive platform provides expert methodology and tools, allowing our members to transform data into career advancing results. Learn more at www.lead5.com.