Future

Artificial intelligence and the search for executives.

Artificial intelligence is changing how executive search firms research and analyse information. At our firm, whether someone fits a company is still judged by people. A look at where the line runs – and why that is the right place for it.

Where AI makes our work better

Every search begins with a question that diligence alone struggles to answer: where do the people who could fill this position actually work? Which companies face comparable tasks, and which functions correspond to the role in question, even if they go by a different name?

This is where artificial intelligence is a good tool. It helps us map industries and markets systematically, organise publicly available information and identify connections that are easily lost in manual research. The result is a broader, more thorough picture of the market.

AI also supports us in reviewing documents. It flags anomalies and inconsistencies in CVs and employment references. Those flags are then assessed by our consultants.

What stays with people

An executive who is succeeding in a position of responsibility does not move because a system has found them. They listen when they are approached by a person who understands their situation, offers a credible prospect and treats them in confidence.

That is why we follow a clear principle: artificial intelligence supports our research. Conversations with candidates are always conducted by a person, discreetly and personally.

The same applies to judgement. Whether someone fits a corporate culture, can take an organisation forward and is willing to carry the responsibility becomes clear in conversation, in a structured candidate audit with 114 criteria and in a scientifically grounded psychometric assessment. Our consultants decide whom our clients meet.

AI widens the view. The judgement remains with the consultant.

Responsibility and rules

The European AI Act places particularly high demands on systems that select or evaluate applicants. For us, this confirms how we work in any case: a person is assessed by a person, and every recommendation can be justified.

Equally fundamental is the protection of the data that candidates and clients entrust to us. In executive search, confidentiality is not an add-on but the basis of every working relationship.

What this means for clients

For companies filling a leadership position, this means a broader basis for the search, a better-founded preselection and the same discretion as before. The technology works in the background. In the foreground are the conversations, the experience and the judgement of the people responsible for your search.