Careers without Frontiers - Talent is on the move!

As thousands of global business leaders (and the 27 Heads of State) attend the annual World Economic Forum in Davos for annual discussions and private deal making. They will no doubt be reflecting on a possible recession in the US. Apart from rising oil prices, the falling dollar, rocketing food prices, persistent trade imbalances amid pervasive world poverty, terrorism and climate change. Aside from all this global turmoil there is a groundswell of global management on the move, that is seizing the opportunity whether in a Permanent, or Interim Management capacity, to work internationally.

At Impact Executives we have found that there has been a recent re-awakening to the benefits of utilising Interim Management, particularly in the Netherlands (where it started), Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. Further afield other hot spots for us have been parts of the Middle-East and Africa, and The Interim Managers in most cases are not natives of that particular country.

On the Permanent landscape a survey conducted by our parent company Harvey Nash in January revealed that over 40% of FTSE 100 CEO's hailed from outside the UK and there has been an increasing positive sentiment toward skilled migration at the senior executive level and within IT vertical sectors. Recruitment is becoming ever more globalised. Talent is international and more UK firms are casting the talent net wider to find the best people.

"If the best person for the role is foreign born or based outside the UK, looking beyond British shores can only serve to benefit companies." States Harvey Nash Group CEO, Albert Ellis, who himself is a foreign national.

The analysis revealed a large proportion of talent comes from North American, with 15% of CEO's from the U.S. A significant antipodean contribution was also witnessed, with 6% of CEO's hailing from South Africa and 4% from Australia. Closer to home, European chief executive figures for the FTSE100 stand at 11%, divided between France (3%), Ireland (3%), The Netherlands (3%), Spain (1%) and Sweden (1%).

Harvey Nash has over 30 offices across four continents and we are witnessing the same skilled migration trend first-hand with operations in several international markets. A perfect example of the value gained from a global talent pool are the Scandinavian countries that have embraced the move toward foreign recruitment in the last few years and enjoyed great economic growth as a result, global marketplaces are paving the way for a global workforce."

Despite becoming more cosmopolitan in global reach, the age and gender demographics of FTSE100 chief executives remain relatively unchanged and sway heavily toward a 45-55 year old male. 66% of chief executives fall into the 45-55 year old age bracket, with only 3% under the age of 40. A huge 98% of chief executives are male, with only two female FTSE100 CEOs.

So back in Davos as our esteemed Global business leaders and representatives of the new emergent world - notably the state-backed Asian and Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds - who have helped recapitalise the Western banks, wind down and schmooze with the likes of Bono and other key international celebrities, at the annual party thrown by Internet 'darling' Google - we mere mortals can take heart that at long last, after many decades of promise, there are at last 'Careers without Frontiers'.