A new report by Staffing Industry Analysts reveals the 12 largest retained search firms in the US generated $1.7 billion in retained search revenue in the US during 2017 and had 25% of market share.

Retained search is defined by the SIA Lexicon as a “service provided by an executive search firm to locate a candidate for a specific position at a client company. Fee is payable whether or not a hire is made.”

The three largest retained search firms in the US with 2017 retained search revenue, according to the report:

1. Korn Ferry, $337 million
2. Heidrick & Struggles International, $324 million
3. Spencer Stuart, $260 million

“There were four companies that qualified for this year’s largest retained search firms ranking that did not appear in last year’s report: Caldwell Partners, Diversified Search, Isaacson Miller, Witt Kieffer,” said Maxim Kupfer, research analyst and author of the report. “We note that retained search remains a fragmented industry with a multitude of players.”

The full report with the 12 largest firms is available to corporate members of Staffing Industry Analysts.