Firm profile
Russell Reynolds Associates
Russell Reynolds Associates was named in 7 of the 9 executive search firms questions measured by The Shortlist Report, appearing in 1038 of the 1439 AI responses sampled across those questions (72.1%).
Russell Reynolds Associates is strongest on “What are the best executive search firms?”, where it was named in 233 of 235 responses (99.1%), placing it in tier 1 of that report.
What Russell Reynolds Associates is surfaced for in executive search firms
Based on the measured answers, Russell Reynolds Associates is most likely to be surfaced when buyers ask about “What are the best executive search firms?”, “Which search firms know our industry?” and “Which firms specialise in the role we are hiring for?”.
How the answers describe the firmConducts CEO, C-suite, and board searches for large public companies and financial services.
In this sample, Russell Reynolds Associates was named on 7 of the 8 executive search firms ranking questions measured. These are the buyer questions where it appeared most often:
- Executive search firms — named in 233 of 235 responses (99.1%), tier 1.
- Executive search by industry — named in 196 of 234 responses (83.8%), tier 2.
- Executive search by role — named in 192 of 235 responses (81.7%), tier 2.
This describes when the firm is surfaced, not whether it is the right firm to hire. The sample measures recommendation visibility, not client outcomes.
Every question in executive search firms
Russell Reynolds Associates was named on 7 of these 8 ranking questions. The rest are questions buyers ask that it did not come up for — with whoever did.
Who leads executive search firms overall: Spencer Stuart tops 3 of 8 · Egon Zehnder tops 1 of 8 · Heidrick & Struggles tops 1 of 8 · Korn Ferry tops 1 of 8 · Riviera Partners tops 1 of 8 · Russell Reynolds Associates tops 1 of 8. See all reports.
Where Russell Reynolds Associates was named
| Question | Tier | Responses | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What are the best executive search firms? | 1 | 233 of 235 | 99.1% | |
| Which search firms know our industry? | 2 | 196 of 234 | 83.8% | |
| Which firms specialise in the role we are hiring for? | 2 | 192 of 235 | 81.7% | |
| Who runs board and chief executive searches? | 2 | 163 of 235 | 69.4% | |
| Which search firms deliver genuinely diverse candidate slates? | 1 | 140 of 235 | 59.6% | |
| Our executive search is not working. Who can take over? | 2 | 108 of 235 | 46.0% | |
| Which executive search firms report measurable search outcomes? | 1 | 6 of 30 | 20.0% |
What Russell Reynolds Associates gets named for
Across the 9 executive search firms questions measured, Russell Reynolds Associates is named most often on “What are the best executive search firms?” — it appears in 233 of the 235 ChatGPT responses to that question, or 99.1% of them. Its next strongest question is “Which search firms know our industry?”, where it appears in 196 of 234 responses (83.8%).
Russell Reynolds Associates clears the reporting threshold on 7 of the 9 questions. The spread matters as much as the peak: a firm named across several different questions is one an assistant reaches for generally, where a firm named on one is attached to a single specialism.
What Russell Reynolds Associates’s tier placings mean
On “What are the best executive search firms?”, Russell Reynolds Associates sits in tier 1 of 6, named in 233 of 235 responses (99.1%). Tier 1 does not mean it was ranked first. It means that at 235 responses, the gap between Russell Reynolds Associates and the most-named firm in that sample is inside the margin of error, so the two cannot be told apart. Russell Reynolds Associates shares tier 1 with Egon Zehnder, Heidrick & Struggles, Korn Ferry and Spencer Stuart, and the order they are listed in is arbitrary. 10 further firms were named on this question but fell into lower tiers, meaning the sample did separate Russell Reynolds Associates from them.
On “Which search firms know our industry?”, Russell Reynolds Associates sits in tier 2 of 6, named in 196 of 234 responses (83.8%). That places it below the leading group on this question, where the top firm was named in 93.2% of responses against Russell Reynolds Associates’s 83.8%. It shares tier 2 with Korn Ferry, which the sample cannot separate from it. 9 further firms were named on this question but fell into lower tiers, meaning the sample did separate Russell Reynolds Associates from them.
On “Which firms specialise in the role we are hiring for?”, Russell Reynolds Associates sits in tier 2 of 6, named in 192 of 235 responses (81.7%). That places it below the leading group on this question, where the top firm was named in 90.2% of responses against Russell Reynolds Associates’s 81.7%. It shares tier 2 with Heidrick & Struggles, which the sample cannot separate from it. 8 further firms were named on this question but fell into lower tiers, meaning the sample did separate Russell Reynolds Associates from them.
On “Who runs board and chief executive searches?”, Russell Reynolds Associates sits in tier 2 of 5, named in 163 of 235 responses (69.4%). That places it below the leading group on this question, where the top firm was named in 86.8% of responses against Russell Reynolds Associates’s 69.4%. It shares tier 2 with Korn Ferry and Egon Zehnder, which the sample cannot separate from it. 6 further firms were named on this question but fell into lower tiers, meaning the sample did separate Russell Reynolds Associates from them.
On “Which search firms deliver genuinely diverse candidate slates?”, Russell Reynolds Associates sits in tier 1 of 4, named in 140 of 235 responses (59.6%). Tier 1 does not mean it was ranked first. It means that at 235 responses, the gap between Russell Reynolds Associates and the most-named firm in that sample is inside the margin of error, so the two cannot be told apart. Russell Reynolds Associates shares tier 1 with Spencer Stuart, and the order they are listed in is arbitrary. 8 further firms were named on this question but fell into lower tiers, meaning the sample did separate Russell Reynolds Associates from them.
On “Our executive search is not working. Who can take over?”, Russell Reynolds Associates sits in tier 2 of 5, named in 108 of 235 responses (46.0%). That places it below the leading group on this question, where the top firm was named in 61.7% of responses against Russell Reynolds Associates’s 46.0%. It shares tier 2 with Korn Ferry, which the sample cannot separate from it. 7 further firms were named on this question but fell into lower tiers, meaning the sample did separate Russell Reynolds Associates from them.
On “Which executive search firms report measurable search outcomes?”, Russell Reynolds Associates sits in tier 1 of 1, named in 6 of 30 responses (20.0%). Tier 1 does not mean it was ranked first. It means that at 30 responses, the gap between Russell Reynolds Associates and the most-named firm in that sample is inside the margin of error, so the two cannot be told apart. Russell Reynolds Associates shares tier 1 with Heidrick & Struggles, Korn Ferry, Egon Zehnder, Majhi Group, Spencer Stuart, Acuity Executive Search Group, ALAC HR Solutions, Axe Recruiting and Crucial Hire, and the order they are listed in is arbitrary.
Firms named alongside Russell Reynolds Associates
When ChatGPT names Russell Reynolds Associates, these firms most often turn up on the same questions: Egon Zehnder (7 shared questions), Heidrick & Struggles (7 shared questions), Korn Ferry (7 shared questions), Spencer Stuart (7 shared questions), DHR Global (4 shared questions), JM Search (4 shared questions), Boyden (3 shared questions) and Caldwell (3 shared questions).
That overlap is the closest thing this data holds to a shortlist: these are the firms a buyer asking the same questions is most likely to see beside Russell Reynolds Associates. It says nothing about which of them is the better fit.
Egon Zehnder · Heidrick & Struggles · Korn Ferry · Spencer Stuart · DHR Global · JM Search · Boyden · Caldwell
Russell Reynolds Associates compared
Where Russell Reynolds Associates was measured against another firm on the same questions, over the same responses.
- Russell Reynolds Associates vs Egon Zehnder
- Russell Reynolds Associates vs Heidrick & Struggles
- Russell Reynolds Associates vs Korn Ferry
- Russell Reynolds Associates vs Spencer Stuart
- Russell Reynolds Associates vs DHR Global
- Russell Reynolds Associates vs JM Search
What this page is, and is not
- It is a count of how often AI assistants named Russell Reynolds Associates when asked buyer questions about executive search firms. Nothing here is a review, a rating, or an assessment of the firm’s work.
- Russell Reynolds Associates did not submit this listing, was not contacted about it, and cannot pay to change it, move up, or be removed.
- A firm named in few responses may still be excellent. Share follows what has been published about a firm online, which is what an AI assistant reads.
- Wrong details, or a firm merged with another of a similar name? We fix those.