Korn Ferry
Annual Report 2009

Plain-text annual report

KORN/FERRY INTERNATIONAL drives business. talent annual report 2009 Korn/Ferr Y at a glance #1 in market share (global and U.S. leader) $638.2 million in global fee revenue in fiscal 2009 78 offices worldwide 2,100 employees 25% of revenue derived from non-search offerings 40 years of client excellence All figures above include Futurestep an organization’s success is not defined by the products it makes or its global network of offices. nor is it determined by the latest technology or a catchy slogan. ultimately, it is talent that drives business. Yet demographic shifts, globalization and other socioeconomic trends will make it increasingly harder for companies to find and keep qualified workers. talented women and men are the world’s most precious natural resource. Dear StocKholDer It has been said that “there can be no spring without winter,” and there is no doubt that the past 12 months have tested the resolve of nearly every business around the globe. In the first quarter of 2009, the Association of Executive Search Consultants reported that our industry was down almost 40% from the prior year. Despite the drop in demand, Korn/Ferry is successfully maneuvering through this historic global recession. We moved immediately and decisively to align our business against the unprecedented industry fall-off, preserving our top-line capacity. We believe that great companies often make their boldest moves during difficult periods. In March, Kennedy Information, a leading industry analyst, reported that Korn/Ferry once again maintained its top spot for 2008. In fiscal 2009, we handled 9,200 executive search engagements, placing several dozen executives into prominent positions at leading organizations each working day. Beyond being the global leader in executive recruitment, our non-search solutions are increasingly being utilized by our clients. In fact, our Leadership and Talent Consulting group continued to be our best-performing business and finished the year with a revenue run-rate of $71 million. Lominger, in particular, exemplifies how Korn/Ferry’s strong brand gives us permission to pursue as-yet untapped opportunities to monetize intellectual property and create software as a solutions business model under the Korn/Ferry umbrella. We believe that great companies often make their boldest moves during difficult periods and we are moving forward with a steadfast focus on preserving the franchise, positioning the company for growth and accelerating through the economic turn. 2 Korn/Ferry is transforming — a transformation of not only our organization, but also of those who engage us to find and develop the very best people in their respective industries. Korn/Ferry continues to pursue a more diversified vision: to be the premier global provider of talent management solutions. We believe that the long-term demographic trends impacting the majority of mature Western economies, along with the complex talent-related issues facing emerging markets, will create sizeable opportunities for our Firm. By continuing to build and acquire solutions that differentiate our executive recruitment business, we are becoming even more consultative. This strategy will not only fuel above- average growth in our flagship business, but due to the long-term nature of our non-search engagements, provide us with greater operating flexibility in different economic cycles. Today’s Korn/Ferry is helping leading organizations not only find great talent, but also assist them in the ongoing develop- ment and retention of their workforces. Acceptance of our approach is being validated by our clients as Korn/Ferry’s non-search solutions now represent a full quarter of our overall revenue. Executive recruitment and our mid-level and outsourced recruitment offering, Futurestep, provide significant gateways to our leadership and talent consulting solutions. Additionally, we have gone to great lengths to embed our unique science and intellectual property into our recruitment processes. Through Lore International, we now have the capability to create customized executive education and talent development systems for our clients. These ongoing programs are woven into the company’s culture and focus on providing employees with career-long professional development. We are also helping clients manage other facets of the talent management process, from workforce planning to employ- ment branding, organizational design and talent systems. We are now recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on the alignment of people, process and technology to a client’s business strategy. After our fiscal year-end, we acquired Whitehead Mann. Not only does Korn/Ferry | Whitehead Mann fortify our leading position in both the United Kingdom and France, but it acts too as an entrée to our other solutions. With its preemi- nent brand and deep history of placing the highest ranking executives and board directors throughout Europe, Korn/Ferry | Whitehead Mann offers us a significant opportunity to expand our value proposition to clients and assist them with their talent needs beyond recruitment. From executive recruitment to Futurestep and our wide variety of leadership and talent consulting solutions, Korn/Ferry is transforming — a transformation of not only our organization, but also of those who engage us to find and develop the very best people in their respective industries. Although the climate remains challenging, these are exciting times for Korn/Ferry. I would like to thank our board of directors for their continued commitment and counsel. In particular, I am grateful to Ken Whipple, who has accepted the role of Non Executive Chairman, as well as Paul Reilly, our outgoing Chairman, for eight years of stewardship with the Firm. Finally, I would like to extend my thanks to everyone at Korn/Ferry. Despite the economic climate of the past 12 months, and ironically because of it, I have never been prouder of our organization. I am grateful to all of our colleagues and our leadership team for their tenacious spirit and unyielding focus. I am confident that the combination of our entrepreneurial attitude along with the seeds of change that we have planted over the last several quarters will yield great results for Korn/Ferry. Talent does drive business and our unique strategy, global reach and world- class colleagues hold the promise to expand the value we provide to our clients and, in turn, secure above-average industry growth and returns for our stockholders. Gary D. Burnison Chief Executive Officer 3 a lIFecYcle approach the distinctive value of a Korn/Ferry partnership is that our family of solutions guides organizations through all aspects of the talent lifecycle. creating a long-term human capital competitive advantage rests on the ability to address four fundamental leadership and talent management needs — attracting, developing, retaining and sustaining key talent. our solutions are aligned to deliver optimal value in each of these areas. CEO and Board Services We boast a highly specialized team that focuses exclusively on placing CEOs and board directors in organizations around the world. Our time-tested process draws on the finest skills, experience and insight of our consultants, who work discreetly with the board and succession planning committee to identify world-class leaders for our clients. executive recruitment All executive recruitment is not alike. Our unique approach to evaluating top talent involves seamlessly integrating scientific research with our vast practical experience. From helping clients to create a competency-based interviewing framework for their position, to assessing candidates and attracting top executive talent, we offer an unparalleled depth of experience, global reach and industry knowledge. Providing a more complete view of the candidate than is otherwise possible, our proprietary tools are statistically proven to generate better results in identifying the right person for the position. 4 leadership and talent consulting Korn/Ferry’s Leadership and Talent Consulting services address the needs of C-suite and HR executives seeking to align critical behaviors, skills and values to the organization mission and strategy. Strategic and Organizational Alignment Korn/Ferry offers solutions for aligning structure, organization and talent with business strategy, including Strategic Alignment, Organization Structure and Design, Culture Alignment and M&A and Post-merger Integration. Leadership and Executive Development We offer several powerful solutions for equipping leaders to optimize performance, including Executive Development and Coaching, Executive and Leadership Education, Executive Onboarding and Senior Team/Board Effectiveness. Talent and Performance Management Korn/Ferry helps clients establish and implement a scalable talent management foundation with services such as Succession Planning, Competency Modeling, High-potential Engagement and Executive Compensation. Futurestep Futurestep provides fully customizable, flexible solutions that can help turn talent acquisition into a strategic advantage. Talent Acquisition and Management Consulting Services Futurestep consulting services, combined with the industry-leading consulting expertise of The Newman Group, a Futurestep company, help organizations align people, processes and technology to achieve talent management success. Project-based Recruitment Our proven proprietary recruitment methodology delivers seamless, workflow- driven talent acquisition strategies that help organizations manage multiple hires, quickly and effectively. Mid-level Recruitment With offices around the world, a proprietary global candidate database and domain expertise across all major industries, Futurestep takes a strategic approach to acquiring mid-level talent. Strategic Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) Strategic RPO integrates talent acquisition strategy, global recruiting resources, competency-based methodologies and a flexible service delivery model to enable clients to identify, attract and retain top talent. 5 revenue SegmentatIon In fiscal 2009, we continued to lead and transform our industry despite historic global economic challenges. We achieved a record 25% of our revenue from non-search offerings and continue to diversify our family of solutions. 4 1 6 1 5 1 3 revenue by region global fee revenue in fiscal 2009 5 4 revenue by industry global fee revenue in fiscal 2009 2 2 3 4 3 2 engagementS by function global assignments in fiscal 2009 1. C-level/Senior Management/Board 2. Marketing 3. Manufacturing/ Research & Development/ Technology 4. Human Resources 5. Finance 63% 13% 10% 8% 6% Excludes Futurestep 1. North America 2. EMEA 3. Asia Pacific 4. Latin America* 53% 26% 14% 7% *Includes unconsolidated Mexican subsidiary 1. Industrial 2. Financial Services 3. Consumer 4. Life Sciences/ Healthcare Provider 5. Technology 6. Education/Nonprofit Excludes Futurestep 30% 19% 17% 16% 14% 4% 6 BoarD oF DIrectorS Gary D. Burnison Chief Executive Officer, Korn/Ferry International Ken Whipple (2+) Non Executive Chairman, Korn/Ferry International Chairman, CMS Energy Corporation James E. Barlett* (1+, 3) Vice Chairman, TeleTech Holdings, Inc. Patti S. Hart* (1, 3+) Chief Executive Officer and President, International Game Technology Edward D. Miller (2) Former President and Chief Executive Officer, AXA Financial, Inc. Debra J. Perry (1) Former Senior Managing Director, Global Ratings and Research, Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. Harry L. You Executive Vice President, Office of the Chairman, EMC Corporation Ihno Schneevoigt (2) Former Management Board Member and Human Resources Director, Allianz Versicherungs AG and Allianz Lebensversicherung AG Gerhard Schulmeyer (2, 3) Managing Director, Gerhard, LLC (1) Member, Audit Committee (2) Member, Compensation & Personnel Committee (3) Member, Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee * Financial Expert + Denotes Committee Chair corporate InFormatIon Stock Listing Korn/Ferry International common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol KFY. Registrar and Transfer Agent For address changes, account consolidation, registration changes, stock holdings and lost stock certificates, please contact: Annual Meeting The annual meeting of stockholders will be held at 10:00 a.m. PDT, September 10, 2009, at: Hyatt Regency Century Plaza 2025 Avenue of the Stars Los Angeles, California 90067 Mellon Investor Services Shareholder Services P.O. Box 3315 South Hackensack, New Jersey 07606 Domestic: +1 877 889 7584 International: +1 201 329 8660 www.melloninvestor.com Investor Contact Gregg Kvochak +1 310 556 8550 Media Contact Stephanie Mitchell +1 650 508 7465 Korn/Ferry filed its Sarbanes-Oxley Act Section 302 Certifications regarding the quality of the Company’s public disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission as exhibits to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2009. The Company also submitted to the NYSE without qualification the annual certification of its Chief Executive Officer in 2008 to the effect that he was not aware of any violation by the Company of the New York Stock Exchange’s corporate governance listing standards. m o c . d n a r b r e k a b w w w . ™ i s n o i t a c n u m m o C d n a r B | r e k a B our locatIonS WorlDWIDe 1900 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 2600 Los Angeles, California 90067 Tel: +1 310 552 1834 Fax: +1 310 553 6452 www.kornferry.com europe, mIDDle eaSt & aFrIca aSIa pacIFIc Auckland Bangalore Bangkok Beijing Brisbane Guangzhou Hong Kong Jakarta Kuala Lumpur Melbourne Mumbai New Delhi Seoul Shanghai Singapore Sydney Tokyo Wellington Amsterdam Athens Barcelona Brussels Bucharest Budapest Copenhagen Dubai Frankfurt Geneva Istanbul Kiev London Luxembourg Lyon Madrid Milan Moscow Oslo Paris Prague Riyadh Rome Stockholm Vienna Warsaw Zurich the amerIcaS Atlanta Bogota Boston Buenos Aires Calgary Caracas Chicago Dallas Detroit Durango Houston Irvine Lima Los Angeles Medellin Mexico City Miami Minneapolis Monterrey Montreal Naples New York Northern Virginia Philadelphia Princeton Quito Rio de Janeiro San Francisco Santiago Sao Paulo Scottsdale Seattle Silicon Valley Stamford Toronto Vancouver Washington DC 

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