Futurestep

What Futurestep does

Futurestep, founded in 1997 at idealab! as CareerLink and headquartered in Los Angeles, is an executive search and talent acquisition firm that re-engineered the discovery, evaluation, and hiring processes for executive recruiting. It operates as a subsidiary brand within Korn Ferry, a global organizational consulting firm founded in 1969, and shares access to Korn Ferry's broader portfolio including Board & CEO Services, Organization Strategy, Assessment & Succession, Talent Acquisition, Leadership & Professional Development, Total Rewards, Talent Suite (an integrated talent management platform combining assessment, development, and performance tools), Business Transformation, and Training & Certification. The firm serves clients across ten industry verticals — Consumer Markets, Financial Services, Government & Public Services, Healthcare, Higher Education, Industrial, Life Sciences, Private Equity, Sports, and Technology — focusing on executive-level placements, succession planning, and leadership assessment engagements.

The business model is professional-services driven: revenue is generated through retained executive search engagements, consulting deliverables, and subscription/engagement-based access to the Talent Suite technology platform, with pricing handled as custom quotes rather than publicly disclosed rate cards. Distribution leverages Korn Ferry's global consultant network, the Korn Ferry Institute's thought-leadership output (Briefings Magazine, This Week in Leadership, Special Edition writings by CEO Gary Burnison), and active social channels on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Customer acquisition is anchored in enterprise relationships at the CHRO, CEO, and board level, with flagship visibility secured through the partnership as Official Talent & Organizational Consulting Partner for the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The firm competes in the high-touch executive search and organizational consulting market where differentiation is driven by consultant relationships, proprietary assessment IP, and parent-firm brand reach rather than productized technology. Futurestep has 101–250 employees based on the input firmographics, and the parent legal entity is Korn Ferry. No public financials, funding history, M&A activity, or management-team roster specific to Futurestep were disclosed in the input data.

Name

Futurestep

Legal name

Korn Ferry

Website

https://futurestep.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Futurestep is an executive search and talent acquisition subsidiary of Korn Ferry, headquartered in Los Angeles, that delivers retained executive recruiting, leadership assessment, and succession planning services to enterprise clients across ten industry verticals including Consumer, Financial Services, Healthcare, Industrial, and Technology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Search & Talent Consulting

NAICS

Executive Search Services (561312), Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Human Resources Consulting Services (541612)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

General Permanent Placement (Multi-Industry) (BPACAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Talent Management & Workforce Planning Consulting (BPAHAGAA), Recruiting Administration Outsourcing (Recruitment Support, Scheduling, Onboarding Ops) (BPACAKAG)

Keywords

• Executive search services
• Talent acquisition consulting
• Leadership development programs
• Organizational consulting services
• Recruitment process outsourcing

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations

Core offering

Futurestep delivers executive search, talent acquisition, and recruitment process outsourcing services, originally founded to re-engineer the discovery, evaluation, and hiring processes for executive-level roles. Operating within Korn Ferry's organizational consulting platform, it provides end-to-end talent solutions spanning search, assessment, succession, leadership development, total rewards, and business transformation engagements for enterprise clients.

Product overview

Korn Ferry operates as a global organizational consulting firm offering a platform of professional services rather than a unified software product. The portfolio includes Board & CEO Services, Organization Strategy, Assessment & Succession, Talent Acquisition, Leadership & Professional Development, Total Rewards, Talent Suite, Business Transformation, and Training & Certification. These solutions are delivered as consulting engagements and professional services, with Talent Suite representing the primary technology-enabled component for integrated talent management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Board & CEO Services Executive search and advisory services for board composition, CEO succession planning, and leadership assessment targeting boards and chief executives.
• Organization Strategy Consulting services to help organizations design their structure, operating models, and strategic workforce planning.
• Assessment & Succession Tools and services for evaluating leadership potential, executive assessment, and succession planning.
• Talent Acquisition Recruitment solutions including executive search, professional recruitment, and contract staffing services.
• Leadership & Professional Development Programs and training to develop leadership capabilities and professional growth at all organizational levels.
• Total Rewards Compensation and benefits consulting including pay equity, executive compensation, and rewards strategy.
• Talent Suite Integrated talent management platform combining assessment, development, and performance tools.
• Business Transformation Services to help organizations undergo strategic change, restructuring, and performance transformation.
• Training & Certification Leadership training programs and professional certification offerings for career advancement.

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• LA28 Olympic & Paralympic GamesflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerKorn Ferry serves as the Official Talent & Organizational Consulting Partner for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, providing talent and leadership consulting services to help power the Olympic Games.

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Hays plc: Global recruitment and workforce solutions firm spanning professional search and staffing; comparable in HR services breadth though more weighted toward mid-market professional recruitment than pure executive search.
• Korn Ferry: Futurestep's publicly traded parent and broader platform — provides the full portfolio (search, consulting, assessments, rewards, Talent Suite) within which Futurestep operates as a sub-brand.
• Aon plc (Executive Search / Talent practice): Global professional services firm with human capital and executive search capabilities bundled into broader advisory work — adjacent incumbent that competes for enterprise HR-services wallet share.
• Robert Half International: Large publicly traded staffing and talent solutions firm providing permanent placement, contract, and consulting services — overlaps with Futurestep's professional recruitment and contract staffing offerings.
• PageGroup: Global recruitment firm operating multiple brands across permanent, temporary, and executive search — a broader incumbent with overlapping service lines to Futurestep.

Emerging players

• DHR Global: Privately held global executive search firm focused on senior leadership and board placements — a more focused, emerging competitor with similar target customers to Futurestep.

Direct peers

• Spencer Stuart: One of the largest retained executive search firms globally, focused on board, CEO, and senior leadership placements — a direct competitor for the same executive search engagements Futurestep pursues.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm with a comparable board, CEO, and executive search practice, plus adjacent consulting offerings — directly overlapping Futurestep's core market.
• Egon Zehnder: Privately held global executive search and leadership advisory firm, comparable in offering mix (search plus leadership advisory) and client base to Futurestep.
• Russell Reynolds Associates: Global executive search and leadership advisory firm with deep practice areas across industries and functional roles, directly competing with Futurestep for board and C-suite mandates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/Korn_Ferry
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/kornferryintl
• Facebookfacebook.com/KornFerry
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/futurestep-
• Instagraminstagram.com/kornferry

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Futurestep