Firm profile
Spencer Stuart
Spencer Stuart was named in 7 of the 9 executive search firms questions measured by The Shortlist Report, appearing in 1157 of the 1439 AI responses sampled across those questions (80.4%).
Spencer Stuart 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 Spencer Stuart is surfaced for in executive search firms
Based on the measured answers, Spencer Stuart 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, board, and senior C-suite searches for large enterprises and succession planning.
In this sample, Spencer Stuart 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 218 of 234 responses (93.2%), tier 1.
- Executive search by role — named in 212 of 235 responses (90.2%), tier 1.
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
Spencer Stuart 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 Spencer Stuart 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? | 1 | 218 of 234 | 93.2% | |
| Which firms specialise in the role we are hiring for? | 1 | 212 of 235 | 90.2% | |
| Who runs board and chief executive searches? | 1 | 204 of 235 | 86.8% | |
| Our executive search is not working. Who can take over? | 1 | 145 of 235 | 61.7% | |
| Which search firms deliver genuinely diverse candidate slates? | 1 | 139 of 235 | 59.1% | |
| Which executive search firms report measurable search outcomes? | 1 | 6 of 30 | 20.0% |
What Spencer Stuart gets named for
Across the 9 executive search firms questions measured, Spencer Stuart 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 218 of 234 responses (93.2%).
Spencer Stuart 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 Spencer Stuart’s tier placings mean
On “What are the best executive search firms?”, Spencer Stuart 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 Spencer Stuart and the most-named firm in that sample is inside the margin of error, so the two cannot be told apart. Spencer Stuart shares tier 1 with Egon Zehnder, Heidrick & Struggles, Korn Ferry and Russell Reynolds Associates, 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 Spencer Stuart from them.
On “Which search firms know our industry?”, Spencer Stuart sits in tier 1 of 6, named in 218 of 234 responses (93.2%). It holds tier 1 alone: no other firm on this question was named often enough to be grouped with it, so on this question the sample does put one firm clearly ahead. 11 further firms were named on this question but fell into lower tiers, meaning the sample did separate Spencer Stuart from them.
On “Which firms specialise in the role we are hiring for?”, Spencer Stuart sits in tier 1 of 6, named in 212 of 235 responses (90.2%). Tier 1 does not mean it was ranked first. It means that at 235 responses, the gap between Spencer Stuart and the most-named firm in that sample is inside the margin of error, so the two cannot be told apart. Spencer Stuart shares tier 1 with Korn Ferry, 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 Spencer Stuart from them.
On “Who runs board and chief executive searches?”, Spencer Stuart sits in tier 1 of 5, named in 204 of 235 responses (86.8%). It holds tier 1 alone: no other firm on this question was named often enough to be grouped with it, so on this question the sample does put one firm clearly ahead. 9 further firms were named on this question but fell into lower tiers, meaning the sample did separate Spencer Stuart from them.
On “Our executive search is not working. Who can take over?”, Spencer Stuart sits in tier 1 of 5, named in 145 of 235 responses (61.7%). It holds tier 1 alone: no other firm on this question was named often enough to be grouped with it, so on this question the sample does put one firm clearly ahead. 9 further firms were named on this question but fell into lower tiers, meaning the sample did separate Spencer Stuart from them.
On “Which search firms deliver genuinely diverse candidate slates?”, Spencer Stuart sits in tier 1 of 4, named in 139 of 235 responses (59.1%). Tier 1 does not mean it was ranked first. It means that at 235 responses, the gap between Spencer Stuart and the most-named firm in that sample is inside the margin of error, so the two cannot be told apart. Spencer Stuart shares tier 1 with Russell Reynolds Associates, 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 Spencer Stuart from them.
On “Which executive search firms report measurable search outcomes?”, Spencer Stuart 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 Spencer Stuart and the most-named firm in that sample is inside the margin of error, so the two cannot be told apart. Spencer Stuart shares tier 1 with Heidrick & Struggles, Korn Ferry, Egon Zehnder, Majhi Group, Russell Reynolds Associates, Acuity Executive Search Group, ALAC HR Solutions, Axe Recruiting and Crucial Hire, and the order they are listed in is arbitrary.
Firms named alongside Spencer Stuart
When ChatGPT names Spencer Stuart, 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), Russell Reynolds Associates (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 Spencer Stuart. It says nothing about which of them is the better fit.
Egon Zehnder · Heidrick & Struggles · Korn Ferry · Russell Reynolds Associates · DHR Global · JM Search · Boyden · Caldwell
Spencer Stuart compared
Where Spencer Stuart was measured against another firm on the same questions, over the same responses.
- Spencer Stuart vs Egon Zehnder
- Spencer Stuart vs Heidrick & Struggles
- Spencer Stuart vs Korn Ferry
- Spencer Stuart vs Russell Reynolds Associates
- Spencer Stuart vs DHR Global
- Spencer Stuart vs JM Search
What this page is, and is not
- It is a count of how often AI assistants named Spencer Stuart when asked buyer questions about executive search firms. Nothing here is a review, a rating, or an assessment of the firm’s work.
- Spencer Stuart 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.