Hunt Scanlon Reports Executive Recruiting Sector Grew 11%

GREENWICH, Conn., March 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Executive recruiters entered 2026 from a position of strength, reports Hunt Scanlon this morning, as the media, intelligence, and M&A advisory firm released its annual rankings of executive search firms.

"Growth is once again the predominant narrative for the recruiting sector," said CEO Scott A. Scanlon. "But the real story is the 'Big Shift' – the rapid acceleration away from transactional models toward talent intelligence, AI integration, and earlier influence in leadership decisions," he said.

"The winners in the next three years will be those who move upstream – leveraging relationships, sector expertise, and data-driven insight enabled by AI – to shape leadership strategy, not just execute it," he added.

Double Digit Growth

"The executive search sector posted a great year," said Walker P. Manning, VP of Media & Data at Hunt Scanlon. "Growth rates topped out at 11% and the stage has been set for a strong, multi-year run ahead."

Fee revenue at the 50 largest search firms in the U.S./Americas reached $6.69 billion last year, according to Hunt Scanlon, up over $650 million from the previous year – with 75% reporting positive growth and 24 firms expanding by double digits.

Hunt Scanlon forecasts double digit growth in 2026, with talent demand expected to surge along the AI stack as companies and PE firms race to hire leaders. "Talent supply is tighter than ever," said Mr. Manning. "That portends another big year for recruiters."

"In this environment, M&A continues to be a crucial lever to unlock additional levels of outperformance," said Drew Seaman, managing director of Hunt Scanlon Ventures, the firm's M&A advisory unit. "Founders and management teams are coming to us to buy, sell, or find growth equity partners to scale their businesses, and we have never been busier."

According to Richard Stein, CEO of HSiQ – Hunt Scanlon's talent intelligence advisory unit – driving all this activity is a shift from execution to anticipation. "The firms pulling ahead are filling roles faster and getting in front of demand earlier, using talent intelligence to define the brief before the client fully understands it."

Hunt Scanlon Report Highlights:

• The Hunt Scanlon 'Top 50' U.S. Recruiting Firms produced $6.69 billion in fees, an 11% rise.
  
  
• The Hunt Scanlon 'Big 5' Global Recruiting Firms reported $7.43 billion in fees, a record-breaking year.
  
  
• A wave of consolidations and a surge in M&A activity will continue to fuel market share growth and extend into 2030.
  
  
• Growth in AI-enabled tech platforms will accelerate hiring demand and expand the boundaries of the industry itself, creating new adjacencies in talent intelligence, leadership advisory, and workforce strategy.

To view Hunt Scanlon's latest rankings, visit: huntscanlon.com/top-50

About Hunt Scanlon

Hunt Scanlon is the premier market intelligence source for the human capital sector, providing news, analysis, global industry reports, and benchmarking on executive search, talent management, and human capital trends.

What Hunt Scanlon Does:

Media, Networking & Events: Hunt Scanlon Media hosts global leadership conferences for executive recruiters, PE operating partners, CFOs, hedge fund leaders, and chief talent officers. Our global news and market intelligence data comes in many forms, including daily newswires, talent leadership reports, newsletter briefings, rankings, and webinars. huntscanlon.com

M&A Advisory: Hunt Scanlon Ventures offers a full range of critical M&A solutions to guide founders and management teams to successful exits. Our advisory team has a singular focus on the human capital markets, assisting clients in M&A strategy development, sourcing, growth strategy, sales, mergers, and exit planning. huntscanlonventures.com

Talent Intelligence: HSiQ brings together proprietary data, strategic leadership insights, and market-wide benchmarking to deliver real-time talent intelligence to help organizations move upstream, anticipate talent risk, and shape leadership strategy before decisions are made.
hsiqtalentintelligence.com

CONTACT: Richard Stein | CEO | HSiQ Talent Intelligence | [email protected]

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SOURCE Hunt Scanlon Media