According to study of Anderson Willinger, executive search, the number of senior management changes remains the same. In July, the same number of people took on new roles as last year.

In many cases placement was postponed from August to September, making August the first month in which the number of changes fell to one-third of previous months.

Which industries were most active?

During summer, most senior changes took place in Banking, mainly in IT roles.

The second most active industry in terms of senior management changes was Automotive, where expatriates were hired in 44% of cases.

We can hypothetically learn from the previous crisis of 2008, when a study conducted on the 2500 largest companies showed that the expected massive exchange of CEOs and top leaders took place mainly in crisis-affected industries, especially in the financial sector back then.

Which roles were most wanted in the summer?

The most active exchanges in senior management were financial roles.

75% of all financial directors and managers came to the company with the experience from a different industry, which is a unique trend.

Companies expect a more economic – business approach for analyzing not only costs but especially for the development of new activities, with more online and digital tools to ensure greater efficiency than before.

Increase in the number of expatriates

The general trend of hiring fewer expatriates persists, but the increase compared to the first half was by more than 10 percent.

The first reason is the exchange of expatriates in the summer and September, as their children are starting school. From a business perspective, a more important trend will be to move expatriates as “internal promotions” instead of local hiring.

Although currently the supply of managers slightly exceeds the demand, there is still a lack of skills and qualities that are expected in senior management roles. There is a lack of flexibility in thinking and too much clinging to the past.

As for flexibility, companies expect greater authenticity and adaptability. The ability to do the right thing at the right time – and this is not only a managerial but also a human skill that is in great demand on the market.