Should executive search partners consider empathy as a vital skill when searching for a leader in China?

Over the last few years, Mexico swiftly garnered international investment, earning it the title of one of the fastest-growing countries in capturing global foreign direct investments.   This scenario creates new talent opportunities.  Most Executive Search firms in Mexico have modified their approach from simply filling highest roles in an organization to competing for the extremely limited pool of qualified executive talent for all roles in all sectors.  The demand isn’t even  It is very much concentrated.  Where Demand is Actually Growing  Mexico’s hiring executive pressure is unequal across all sectors. Some sectors are faster and are pulling talent from other sectors. Manufacturing is the clearest example.  With nearshoring, Mexico is becoming a strategically important center for the supply chain for North America. This is due to the fact that international companies are relocating and/or expanding their operations in Mexico. This is supported by McKinsey & Company.  The growth of a business is dependent on its leadership. Companies are in need of quickly scalable plant directors, operations managers, and supply chain executives. Such profiles are deficit.  Executive Search Energy and Infrastructure: Complexity at Scale  There is the highest demand for executive talent within the energy and infrastructure sectors.  Major projects and regulatory complexities, as well as lengthy investments, require leaders who are comfortable with uncertainty in all the essential domains, not just the technical. This includes stakeholder

The Spanish talent market is perceived to be mature and easy to operate in. This makes some sense from afar. There is a solid network of business centers, a developing international business presence, and a considerable pool of experienced talent.  Problems arise when businesses attempt to recruit senior executives.  In Spain, executive search is shifting from talent arbitrage to understanding the true gaps and the reasons behind their expansion.  Where the Talent Gaps Are Actually Emerging  Spain may appear to have many senior professionals, but the issues here are more complex.  The problem is not the experience, but the type of experience that is most required by the different companies.  As per McKinsey & Company, the nature of change of senior leadership roles in Europe is at a much quicker pace than the nature of change in the senior leadership roles in the talent pool. Executives are required who are able to be strategic, also have the ability to execute, and be the change agent.  That blend is still too little. This is especially the case in Spain in the industries that are shifting the fastest—energy transition, infrastructure, and technology. There are many executives who have strong functional experience, but far fewer who have held positions to manage large, complex transformations, or to operate internationally in complex situations.  This results in the mismatch between the hopes of the companies and the actual situation in the labor market.  The Shift from Stability to Transformation Leadership  For many years, leadership in Spain emphasized operational stability and incremental change.  This is not enough anymore.  At present, companies expect executives to manage change and uncertainty, and lead in multiple dimensions simultaneously, including at the same time digital transformation, new business models, and the increased need for operational efficiency. 

According to McKinsey’s Global Private Markets Review the United States remains the largest private equity market globally. It accounts for nearly half of global PE deal value.    Unlike traditional recruiting, Executive Search in the U.S. private equity-backed environments is much more complex.  In PE platforms, leadership is directly tied to value creation, EBITDA expansion,

Canada remains one of the world’s most significant energy and natural resource markets. It is the fourth-largest oil producer globally and a leading exporter of natural gas, while also playing a critical role in the supply of minerals essential for the global energy transition, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).   This