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Spencer Stuart

Board and CEO advisory and executive search firm with 70 years' experience

Overview

Spencer Stuart was founded in Chicago in 1956 by Spencer “Spence” Stuart, who opened a Zurich office in 1959. When he retired in 1974, he made his entire shareholding available to a group of employees, which the firm credits with the partnership culture that continues today.[6] The executive search division of Booz, Allen & Hamilton joined in 1979, expanding US operations.[6]

The firm’s reputation rests heavily on board work. It describes itself as the first search firm to establish a dedicated Boards Practice, in 1983, and it has published the US Spencer Stuart Board Index, a widely used annual survey of S&P 500 board composition, since 1987; it also says it introduced the industry’s first client satisfaction survey in 1994.[6] Today it operates more than 60 offices in over 30 countries and cites 70 years of leadership consulting experience.[7]

Spencer Stuart does not publish current revenue; its history page notes revenue of about US$362 million in the late 1990s.[6] As a private partnership, its scale cannot be compared directly with listed rivals, and its fees are negotiated per engagement.

Spencer Stuart features

  • Board director search
  • CEO and C-suite search
  • Client satisfaction survey (since 1994)
  • US Spencer Stuart Board Index
  • Leadership consulting
  • Industry and functional practices
  • Executive search
  • Board and CEO advisory

Spencer Stuart pricing

Retained search fees are agreed per assignment and are not published.

Spencer Stuart strengths and limitations

Strengths

  • Pioneer of board search
  • Influential Board Index research
  • Partnership ownership since 1974
  • Broad international network
  • Strong board and CEO practice
  • Broad advisory capabilities

Limitations

  • No current published revenue
  • Fewer countries than network-based firms
  • Focus on senior roles limits mid-level searches
  • Fees not published
  • No published financials
  • Senior roles only

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