US recruitment firm CTPartners Executive Search (NYSE: CTP), announced today it had successfully completed its acquisition of independent Australian executive search firm Johnson. This marks the third acquisition of an Australian executive search firm by an international company in the past four months, as firms move quickly to meet the global aspirations of clients.  A trend that is expected to continue.  The executive search sector is undergoing a fundamental structural shift driven by client demand for greater transparency, performance, and accountability. 

Brian Sullivan, CEO of CTPartners, commented: “Since 2004, CTPartners has been on a steady growth trajectory, now with 27 offices across 17 countries.  The acquisition of Johnson is an important strategic step as it provides a strong entry into the Australian market, while accelerating the growth of our operations in the broader APAC region.  In addition, with the full support and resources of CTPartners, Jason Johnson and his team have the potential to transform the executive search industry in Australia and become the preeminent firm in the country.”

Jason Johnson, Founder and Managing Partner of Johnson, and the global vice chairman of the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC), said: “As CTPartners Johnson we are ideally positioned to support our clients’ global growth ambitions, as CTPartners is one of the leading executive search firms in the industry and the true quality leader.  With access to a cohesive team of over 130 partners and principals in virtually all major financial centres around the world and the firm’s commitment to transparency and accountability, it’s a great fit.”

Commenting on the significance of today’s announcement, Mr Johnson said, “According to recent research from the AESC, we’re seeing the greatest growth across the industry in top-level, high-stakes, complex global searches that demand the highest levels of confidentiality.” 

“Also, as the world economy is slowly reawakening, and given the very real talent shortage that exists in many countries, the AESC anticipates the global executive search industry will generate revenues in excess of USD 11 billion in calendar 2014, returning to former historic highs last seen in 2008,” Mr Johnson concluded.