Hiring, Insight, News
What’s Holding Back Executive Hiring in 2025?
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Leadership hiring isn’t moving the way it used to.
There’s hesitation. Decisions take longer and fewer people are making bold moves, and even fewer businesses are willing to bet on someone new. The cost of getting it wrong has made everything more cautious and more measured.
At RecFest 2025, Neil and Rory asked industry leaders: What are the biggest challenges with executive hiring in 2025?
Each industry exoert we spoke to shared their views:
Steph McGinty, Head of Talent Acquisition at Kingfisher Plc
Tom White, Global TA Director at Tetra Tech
John Nathan, Acting Head of TA at YouGov
Jivan Johal, Talent Partner at Pragmatic Semiconductor
Paul Abercrombie, Director of Talent Aquisition at Klaviyo
They said it in different ways, but the consensus what that they’re seeing slow decisions, tighter budgets, rigid processes, and limited access to diverse talent.
Everyone’s trying to hire better. But the way things work right now keeps making that harder than it needs to be.
No one wants to make the first move
Executive hiring this year feels like it’s hit the brakes. And not because the roles aren’t there, but because the appetite for change just isn’t what it was. Steph McGinty put it plainly, people are hunkering down. “We’re seeing less movement in senior roles,” she said. “there’s less opportunity for newness, new ideas, fresh ideas in that space.”
That slowdown has created a ripple effect. When companies do go to market, they stall at the decision-making point. They’re afraid to get it wrong.
Paul Abercrombie sees the same thing from a slightly different angle. After two decades in talent acquisition, he’s watched exec hiring lag behind the rest of the market. “It still feels quite formal,” he said. “Quite measured. Like there’s this unspoken rule that says, “Don’t go off-script.”
Trying to save money ends up costing more
Hiring leaders have also started trying to do more with less. That might work for high-volume or junior roles, but it doesn’t translate to the exec space. Tom White didn’t hold back on this. “The biggest challenge?” he said. “People trying to do it for less.”
With AI dominating every conference talk and boardroom slide, internal teams are being pushed to self-source leadership talent. “They’re saying, ‘We can do the sourcing, we can do the outreach,’” Tom said. “But that’s not exec search. It’s not just dropping names into a database.”
Paul’s seen it play out across the hiring landscape. “Exec hiring is probably a little bit of a lag,” he said. “It still feels quite formal, quite measured, quite official.” While the rest of TA has shifted toward relationship-led approaches, exec hiring is still clinging to older rules. “It’s still a bit prescriptive in terms of what companies are looking for.”
“We aren’t fast at making those decisions because we’re scared to make the wrong call because it’s costly.” – Steph McGinty, Head of Talent Acquisition at Kingfisher Plc
AI can help, but it can’t lead
Everyone agreed that AI is going to reshape how hiring happens. But for senior roles, the human side still matters. A lot. “AI is going to impact hiring at every level,” John Nathan said. “But with exec search, there’s just a greater need for that human interaction.” The challenge now is figuring out where to draw the line. “We’re still negotiating those waters,”
Some companies are leaning too heavily on tech to replace traditional executive search. “Everyone’s throwing around AI,” Tom said. “Internal teams say, ‘We can do the sourcing, we can do this.’” But to him, that’s not the same thing. “As we know, there is a difference between that and exec search.”
The diversity problem at the top
When the conversation turned to DE&I, the tone shifted. Everyone wants to build diverse leadership teams. But getting there is harder than it should be. “Diverse talent at the C-suite level is rare,” said Jivan Johal. “And companies that have it? They’re holding on tight.”
This isn’t about box ticking. “Every company wants the right person in the right role,” Jivan said. “Regardless of gender or bias.” But when the pool is small and the demand is sky high, progress is slow. Paul echoed the point. “We need to start breaking down those barriers that still exist in exec hiring,”
The exec process needs an overhaul
One of the most consistent threads across the panel was how executive hiring still feels stuck in the past. Whether it’s rigid processes, overreliance on formal introductions, or just the expectation that the candidate will ‘fit the mould,’ it all adds up to the same thing. Missed opportunities.
Paul flagged how other parts of hiring have moved on. “Recruiting today is about connections, networking, and who you know. Exec hiring hasn’t caught up yet.” That sentiment landed across the group.
Playing it safe is starting to backfire
Steph made it clear, “We’re less likely to take risks.”
Hiring execs used to be about finding the bold, the one willing to take a risk and take others with them. That energy seems to be on pause right now.
Steph explained how hesitation has crept into senior hiring decisions. “We aren’t fast at making those decisions because we’re scared to make the wrong call,” she said. “Because it’s costly.”
“Do you know what I think the biggest challenge, honestly, is people trying to do it for less.” – Tom White, Global TA Director at Tetra Tech
What’s holding us back?
The blockers are tight budgets, over-engineered processes, risk aversion, and an overreliance on automation where human judgement is still essential. As well as the pressure to hire more diverse leadership with a limited pool of candidates, you’ve got a system that’s trying to modernise while still holding on to outdated rules.
Exec hiring in 2025 is slow and cautious. If businesses want to bring in leadership that pushes things forward, they’ll need to rethink how those leaders are found, engaged, and brought in.
What are the biggest challenges with executive hiring in 2025?
There was an overall feel that everyday decisions and behaviours are quietly slowing things down or getting in the way altogether.
From what each of the industry experts shared, here’s what’s holding executive hiring back this year:
- Decision-making is too slow: Senior hiring has become risk-averse, fewer leaders are willing to leave, and fewer businesses are willing to act quickly.
- Budgets are under pressure: Cost-cutting is pushing internal teams to do more themselves and without proper exec search experience the risks increase and quality drops.
- AI is overhyped at this level: Automation can’t replace the human element required for senior decisions, especially when looking for chemistry, values, and leadership style.
- Access to diverse talent remains limited: Senior-level candidates from underrepresented groups are in high demand but rarely available, and businesses that have them aren’t letting them go.
- Exec hiring still feels outdated: The process hasn’t caught up with the pace and style of modern recruitment, it’s still overly formal and prescriptive.
Until those challenges are addressed, executive hiring in 2025 will keep feeling like it’s stuck in a holding pattern, the intentions are there, but momentum is hard to come by.
If any of this sounds familiar, it’s the kind of work we handle every day. STOIX supports businesses looking to hire senior finance talent without the usual slowdowns or setbacks.
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