Research from the McKinsey Global Institute highlights the rise of what it calls “arenas of competition”. These are sectors that are growing faster, changing more rapidly and attracting more capital than traditional industries, which include AI, cloud computing, electrification, biotech, software and digital platforms.
Between 2005 and 2023, 12 such arenas have more than doubled their share of total global revenue, growing at around 14% per year, roughly three times the pace of non-arena industries. Looking ahead, 18 potential future arenas could generate between €27 trillion and €45 trillion in revenue by 2040, and between €1.9 trillion and €5.6 trillion in profit. These figures are converted from US dollars at approximately 0.93 EUR to USD. These numbers are not vague projections; they represent a significant portion of expected global economic growth over the next 15 years.
For boards and chief executives, the message is clear. Strategy alone is not enough. In these fast-moving markets, the leadership team can be the difference between success and failure. A single appointment can either accelerate growth, strengthen execution and enhance investor confidence, or it can slow progress and erode competitive advantage. In arenas where annual growth can be several times higher than the broader economy, the stakes are real and immediate.
In more stable sectors, it often makes sense to hire leaders from competitors, assuming that experience will transfer. That approach is far less effective in fast-growing arenas, where conditions are unlike anything in the past. A finance director who has spent a career optimising cost structures in a mature business may not be prepared for rapid expansion and high capital intensity. A chief executive experienced in steady annual growth may struggle when scaling an organisation at double-digit rates. What matters most is the ability to make decisions under uncertainty, adapt operating models quickly and lead teams through rapid transformation. Leaders who have navigated these conditions before, even in different industries, often bring the most relevant experience.
This requires a rethink of how executive search is conducted. Traditional approaches, which focus on job titles and direct competitors, can overlook candidates who are better suited to the real challenges of a market. Instead, the starting point should be an assessment of the business context, whether the market is stable or evolving, whether the organisation needs to maintain performance or scale rapidly, and what leadership qualities will succeed under those conditions. By framing searches this way, boards are better equipped to make appointments that align with strategic objectives rather than simply replicating past hires.
Cross-sector experience is particularly valuable. McKinsey’s data shows that in 2023 around 40% of the total market capitalisation in arenas came from companies that were small or non-existent in 2005. This demonstrates that value creation is rarely static and that incumbency does not guarantee success. Leaders who have scaled platform businesses, managed international expansion, navigated regulatory complexity, or integrated technology into traditional models often demonstrate skills that translate well across different arenas. For boards and investors, the key question is not just whether a candidate has industry experience, but whether they have succeeded in environments of rapid growth and change.
Appointments in high-growth arenas are not just recruitment decisions; they are strategic choices with a direct impact on performance and investor confidence. Boards must consider whether candidates can operate effectively where competitive pressures shift quickly, capital is intensive and revenue growth may be several times higher than broader market averages. In this context, executive search becomes a tool for strategic insight, helping organisations identify gaps, evaluate capability and uncover talent that can truly deliver.
At Friisberg, our role is to connect organisations with the leaders most likely to succeed in these fast-moving markets. We work to understand the competitive context, the pace of change and the ambitions of the business. We advise on the type of leadership that aligns with those realities and identify candidates whose track records demonstrate success in similar conditions. Importantly, we look beyond the obvious talent pools to ensure leaders are chosen for the challenges ahead, not just for their past roles.
Leadership choice in arenas of competition is not a minor decision. It has a lasting impact on outcomes, organisational direction and long-term success. As markets continue to evolve rapidly, the leaders organisations appoint today will determine whether they thrive tomorrow.
Executive search is one of the first areas where AI has started to deliver tangible value but his is not surprising. Large data sets, extensive market mapping, and significant time pressure make parts of the search process well suited to intelligent automation.
However, this is also where I observe some of the greatest misunderstandings.
There is a growing assumption that increasing speed and efficiency through AI will automatically improve the candidate experience. At senior levels, this is rarely true.
Executives do not remember a search process because it was fast. They remember it because it was thoughtful, discreet, and respectful.
When applied with care, AI can meaningfully support:
Used well, these capabilities can enhance rigour, consistency, and scalability without compromising quality.
AI is not suited to:
One of the most common mistakes organisations make is automating precisely these areas.
Generic outreach, automated rejection messages, or a lack of meaningful follow-up do not create efficiency. They erode confidence and damage reputation.
In executive search, candidate experience is inseparable from organisational reputation. Senior leaders do not disappear when a process concludes, they remain visible in the market: they talk and they remember.
Search today is therefore not only about identifying the right leader, it is a reflection of the organisation’s judgement, values, and professionalism.
The strongest practices I see are those where:
The real question is not where AI can be used, but where human judgement must remain central. Because at its core, executive search is not data processing - it is judgement, trust, and relationships. If you experienced your own executive search process as a candidate, how would it reflect on the organisation behind it?
A toborzás kétségkívül az egyik első terület, ahol az AI valódi segítséget tud nyújtani már régóta és egyre inkább.
Sok adat, sok ismétlés, nagy volumen, folyamatos időnyomás – logikus, hogy itt jelenik meg először az automatizáció.
Tapasztalataim alapján, mégis, itt látom a legtöbb félreértést.
Sokan abból indulnak ki, hogy ha egy kiválasztási folyamat gyorsabb és hatékonyabb lesz, akkor automatikusan jobb élményt is nyújt a jelölteknek. A valóság azonban ennél árnyaltabb.
A jelöltek ritkán azért emlékeznek pozitívan egy kiválasztásra, mert az gyors volt.
Sokkal inkább azért, mert emberséges, tiszta és tiszteletteljes volt.
Az AI valódi értéket tud teremteni, ha jól használjuk. Segíthet:
Ezek mind fontosak. És mind hozzájárulhatnak ahhoz, hogy a toborzás professzionálisabb, következetesebb és skálázhatóbb legyen.
Az AI nem alkalmas arra, hogy:
Mégis, sok szervezet itt követi el a legnagyobb hibát: automatizálja azt is, amit nem kellene.
Gondolok itt az automatikus elutasító üzenetekre, a sablonos, személytelen válaszokra.
Teljes csend azok felé, akik időt és energiát fektettek a jelentkezésbe.
Ezek nem hatékonyságot hoznak, hanem rombolják az employer brandet. A cégedét.
A jelöltélmény ma már reputációs kérdés, és az újabb generációk megjelenésével a munkaerőpiacon, még inkább az lesz.
A jelöltek nem „eltűnnek”, ha nemet mondunk nekik. Megmaradnak a piacon. Beszélnek róla. Megosztják az élményeiket. Emlékeznek. Így egy kiválasztási folyamat ma már nemcsak döntés egy pozícióról vagy jelöltről, hanem névjegy a szervezetről. A vállalatod névjegye.
A legjobb gyakorlatokat ott látom, ahol:
Mert ne feledjük el: a toborzás végső soron nem adatfeldolgozás, hanem kapcsolódás.
Az AI segíthet abban, hogy gyorsabbak és pontosabbak legyünk, de az élményt továbbra is az dönti el, hogyan bánunk az emberekkel a döntések mögött.
I often reflect on how much the world has changed since I started working as a head-hunter more than 25 years ago. One thing, however, has never changed: when someone is looking for a new role, it is not just a process it is a very personal, emotionally charged period. I meet candidates who are excited, others who are tired, disappointed, or even rethinking their entire career, and they all ask the same question: What should I do now, in this new world shaped by AI?
I penned some thoughts below for those who are seeking direction amid this uncertainty and who want to position themselves consciously and intelligently in the future labour market.
For job-seekers, one of the most important realisations may be that industry boundaries are blurring much faster than role categories are crystallising. In my view, instead of focusing solely on traditional career paths, it is worth seeking roles that connect different domains & positions that combine human judgement with AI capabilities, or that serve as a bridge between technical systems and business needs.
If you are looking for a new role, considering a career change, or want to grow in your current or a new workplace, I suggest:
Don’t simply list what you have done so far; emphasise how you learn, how you solve problems, and how you work with new systems. Employers increasingly value people who can navigate uncertainty and integrate new tools into existing workflows. In fact, how you handled the last major change at your workplace may matter far more than your proficiency with any one piece of software.
Every organisation introducing AI faces the same challenge: how to make sophisticated technology work within a messy, human system. Look for positions and responsibilities related to management, training, or process optimisation within AI-adopting companies, and even in those where AI is not yet an integral part of operations. These roles often do not require deep technical knowledge, but they do require people who understand how organisations function when theory meets practice.
While tech hubs get most of the spotlight, every sector needs people who can bridge the gap between AI capabilities and local implementation. For example, healthcare needs professionals who understand both patient care and data analytics, and manufacturing plants need operators who can work alongside automated systems. Often, the combination of your existing industry knowledge and basic AI literacy creates far more opportunities than starting from scratch in an entirely new field.
At Friisberg, beyond ensuring client satisfaction, we place huge importance on the candidate experience throughout the search process. Every one of our consultants pays close attention to the Candidate Journey.
One aspect that has always mattered deeply to me at Friisberg is the experience we create for candidates. Behind every search is a person making an important life decision, and our team never loses sight of that. I’m grateful for consultants who treat every Candidate Journey with thoughtfulness and care.
In recent years, technological changes have been reshaping the world of work in ways that profoundly transform employment. Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) does not “just” automate: it generates new ways of working, new professions, and new competencies. While many fear that AI will “take people’s jobs,” and we often discuss which roles are at risk, it’s equally important to examine the other side: which jobs will thrive in the future.
If we look at broader fields, the following areas may contain roles that will be the winners in the coming years:
AI excels in structured, repetitive tasks: collecting data, automating repetitive decisions, generating text or code. For example, IT development, customer service, and simple administrative work are already visibly changing.
In contrast, roles that require creativity, human intuition, emotional intelligence, or strategic thinking - such as product development, strategic consulting, creative agency work, and leadership roles - will be in a strong position in the AI era. Here AI doesn’t replace; it augments, freeing humans from routine tasks.
Introducing and operating AI requires more than end-users: it needs people who design, run, interpret, and adapt AI systems. Such professions include data and machine-learning engineers (Data Scientists, ML Engineers), AI product developers, and AI ethics and governance leaders.
Companies aiming to become “AI-mature” will compete for these specialists, meaning demand for these roles will grow.
While automating highly structured and mechanizable jobs is easy, roles requiring strong interpersonal skills, empathy, and complex human-to-human interaction remain relatively safe. Examples include healthcare assistants, mental-health professionals, counsellors, and creative employees.
AI can support efficiency here, but cannot replace the human element.
Many jobs won’t disappear but will transform. AI will take over routine, rule-based tasks, while humans take on higher-level responsibilities.
For example, the data analyst role used to focus on modelling and reporting; today, interpreting data, supporting decisions, and drawing strategic conclusions are the priority.
In other words, the professions that win are those where humans and AI work together and where humans retain final control, creativity, and value creation.
As AI technologies spread rapidly, roles with a high share of automatable tasks will become disadvantaged - typically administrative work, data collection and entry, simple customer service, invoicing, and repetitive internal activities.
But success requires more than simply “avoiding automation”: we must prepare for the AI era - learning how to collaborate with AI and create comparative advantages that AI cannot generate alone.
• Develop skills AI cannot replicate: creativity, emotional intelligence, critical thinking, complex decision-making.
• Learn to use AI tools, enabling true human–machine collaboration not merely fearing automation.
• At the organizational level: build operations where AI implementation is not just a technology initiative but a business and operating-model transformation.
• Reskilling and adaptation: those who do work today that AI may take over tomorrow should consider how to transition into higher-level roles.
AI likely won’t eliminate all jobs, but it will significantly transform many. Those roles will thrive where humans perform deeply human tasks: creative, complex, relationship- and intuition-driven work.
The “AI-winning” professions combine human value that algorithms cannot independently generate with the technological fluency required in the future of work.
If we recognize this direction as professionals or business leaders, we can not only adapt but gain a competitive advantage.
Here is the list of 65 specific occupations with the highest expected growth that could be winners of the AI era in the next 5–10 years, according to the US Career Institute.
After reading through - especially seeing my position ranked 64th - I felt reassured that I still have a future. 😊
The rise of artificial intelligence is not a future speculation, but a present-day reality. The way companies operate - from customer service to decision-making and value creation - is transforming rapidly. AI is not just another new technology: it represents a strategic shift in thinking that will create new winners and losers in the marketplace.
Today, the question is no longer whether a company uses artificial intelligence, but how maturely and with what business logic it does so.
Many companies begin AI projects believing that the quick implementation of a few “boxed” solutions will make their processes more efficient. However, this usually leads only to local optimization. The true value of AI lies in its ability to reorganize the way work is done, how decisions are made, how resources are allocated, and even how the company itself is structured.
An AI-capable organization recognizes that AI:
Our experience shows that companies successful in the AI era consciously build maturity across the following five dimensions:
The first step is not implementation, but assessment:
To support this, the AI Readiness & AI Maturity assessment provides a 360° view of what the organization is ready for - and what it is not.
The advantage: avoiding costly, frustrating AI projects that start in the wrong direction.
The gain: fast, focused AI implementation that creates tangible business value.
AI is not optional. It is the new minimum for competitiveness.
Artificial intelligence represents a paradigm shift that reshapes industries, work, and value creation. Success depends not on technology itself, but on whether the organization is ready to adopt, operate, and use AI strategically.
At Friisberg, we not only prepare your business for the adoption of AI, but also support you in implementing concrete solutions through our strategic collaboration partners (AI Architects).
In today's digital age, artificial intelligence (AI) has undeniably revolutionized various industries. With advanced algorithms, machine learning, and natural language processing capabilities, AI-powered recruitment tools promise efficiency, speed, and accuracy in talent acquisition.
Despite the technological advancements, we know that the human element remains indispensable in the Executive Search process - here's why:
We know that the human touch remains irreplaceable to attracting and retaining top talent.
Biases in Executive Search can negatively impact the process and result in bad hiring decisions.
They can cause overlooking qualified potentials who don't fit the stereotype of the ideal candidate for the role.
It's important to be aware of unconscious biases and ensure that the assessment process is fair and objective.
It's crucial to be mindful of these biases and take steps to reduce their impact on the Executive Search process.
In many cases, AI can reduce humans’ subjective interpretation of data.
It is clear that AI can quickly screen every applicant’s resume for specific requirements like a degree or a specific amount of experience. If a hiring manager has a certain bias for or against a certain university or region, that bias can be eliminated with AI. At the same time, extensive evidence suggests that AI models can embed human and societal biases and deploy them at scale as underlying data rather than the algorithm itself are most often the main source of any issues.
“In theory, AI can help remove biases and subjectivity from the executive search process. By relying on data and algorithms to make hiring decisions, AI can help reduce the influence of human biases in the selection process. However, it's important to keep in mind that the algorithms used by AI systems are only as unbiased as the data they are trained on, and any biases present in the training data can be reflected in the results produced by the AI system.
To ensure that AI systems are used in an unbiased and effective manner, it's important to regularly monitor and evaluate the results they produce, and to address any biases that are identified. Additionally, human oversight and involvement in the executive search process is still important to ensure that candidates are evaluated holistically, and to provide a personal touch to the recruitment process.”
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