The executive search industry is starting to pick up, despite a poor end to 2008, said Peter Felix, president of the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC).

“Admittedly, Q4 2008 is pretty awful reading,” said Felix, “particularly in the US, due to the tsunami of the financial sector which hit in October. The top management were caught in the headlights and panicked. Companies sat on their hands in shock and stopped all hiring activities.”

However, from the beginning of January, once the shock waves had subsided, he said, top management have started to take action.

“Big corporations have realised that they’ve got to start planning their way out of the downturn and be ready to cope with the new world order of global big business.”

David N Schwartz, head of executive search firm DN Schwartz & Co in New York, told the news network CNN “there were very few retained searches out there at all”.

In response, Mike Wellman, managing director of the Ray & Berndtson in New York, told Recruiter: “Although everyone in the US retained search profession is affected to some degree — financial services specialists the most, healthcare services specialists the least — new search business is being let and conducted in this stormy US economy.”

He maintains companies still need the best top talent: “This is a time when certain companies want to upgrade, to strengthen their team, or to bring aboard the skills and experiences they need to not only survive, but to gain competitive advantage during this difficult economy.”

And the situation in the UK seems to be even more positive. Victoria Provis, partner and head of corporate communications practice at Odgers Ray & Berndtson, told Recruiter there certainly hasn’t been any significant change so far.

“Odgers has had a strong start to the year, with significant mandates. In these times, strong, efficient and experienced leadership is even more important for organisations,” she said.