Korn Ferry
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Korn Ferry is a management consulting firm headquartered in
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. It was founded in 1969 and as of 2019, operates in 111 offices in 53 countries and employs 8,198 people worldwide. Korn Ferry operates through four business segments: Consulting, Digital, Executive Search, Recruitment Process Outsourcing and Professional Search.


History

Korn Ferry was founded in 1969 by Lester Korn and Richard Ferry. The two first met in 1962, when they worked for
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
accounting firm Peat, Marwick, Mitchell. In 1969 the firm went public with an initial public offering (IPO), but in 1974 reacquired all outstanding shares to become private again. In 1973 Korn Ferry formed
Tokyo, Japan Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
-based Korn Ferry International Japan. With the opening in 1975 of Korn Ferry International Singapore, the company had 41 offices in 20 countries. In 1977 they acquired the
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
firm Hazzard & Associados. In 1978 they opened offices in
Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
and
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
, and acquired the UK firm John Stork. In 1979 they acquired Australian-based Guy Pease Associates. In 1981 the company became the largest executive search firm in the world, with Lester Korn serving as chairman and CEO. In 1987 the firm opened an office in
Bangkok, Thailand Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
. They then had 37 offices in fifteen countries servicing around 1,250 client corporations and organizations. In 1989, the firm's revenues exceeded $100 million for the first time. In May 1991 Lester Korn retired as chairman and Richard Ferry, the president and CEO, assumed the additional role of chairman. Following this, the firm initiated several office closures. In 1992 Korn Ferry implemented a video-conferencing system for screening job candidates. In 1993, the firm acquired Carre Orban and Partners and merged its European operations into a firm branded in Europe as Korn/Ferry Carre/Orban International. In the next five years, the firm opened their first offices in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
(1994),
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
(1995),
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
(1996), and
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
(1998). In August 1998, Korn Ferry partnered with
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
to start Futurestep.com, aimed at the middle management level. By 2001 Futurestep had been rolled out to 22 countries; it incurred worldwide losses of $60 million through January 31, 2001. In 1999 Korn Ferry acquired the German firm Hofman Herbold and the Australian firm Amrop International. In 2000 it acquired the London-based PA Consulting Group for an estimated $35M. In 2000 it purchased Boston-based financial services search firm Westgate Group, and Canada-based Pratzer & Partners Inc. During an executive-search industry contraction, Korn Ferry's 2001 redundancies were "more dramatic than those of competitors who aren't publicly traded" such as Spencer Stuart and Russell Reynolds Associates. This was reported and attributed to having "expanded so heavily during the technology boom" coupled with Korn Ferry's new CEO Paul C. Reilly choosing to "send a message to shareholders." In 2001 Korn Ferry purchased Levy Kerson, Helstrom Turner & Associates, and Pearson, Caldwell, and Farnworth. In 2005 the firm moved its regional head office to Shanghai, China, and had a total of 73 offices in forty countries. In 2006 Korn Ferry acquired leadership development tools firm Lominger Limited of Golden Valley for $24M. In 2006 the company acquired Lominger International, and in 2007 Gary Burnison became the company's new CEO. That year the company acquired LeaderSource. In 2008 they acquired Lore International Institute, and in June 2009, they acquired the London-based Whitehead Mann. In 2010 they acquired Sensa Solutions, in 2013 Korn Ferry completed its acquisition of Minneapolis-based PDI Ninth House for $80M; in 2015 they acquired Pivot Leadership and Hay Group. In 2018 Korn Ferry took a one-time, non-cash intangible asset impairment charge of $106 million, or $79 million on an after-tax basis, to account for rebranding its entire business simply as "Korn Ferry," and sunsetting all the Company's sub-brands, including Futurestep, Hay Group, and Lominger. According to a list maintained by the
Yale School of Management The Yale School of Management (also known as Yale SOM) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. The school awards the Master of Business Admi ...
, in March 2022, the company continued to do business in Russia despite a widespread boycott after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In April 2022, the company suspended its operations in Russia.


Whitehead Mann

Whitehead Mann was a
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
-based executive search firm that was acquired by Korn/Ferry International in June 2009. Whitehead Engineering was founded by Clive Whitehead, who on marriage merged his firm with that of his wife's, the psychologist Anna Mann (Mann Recruitment), to form Whitehead Mann in the 1970s. The firm listed on the AIM part of FTSE in 1997. By 2003 the company had market capitalisation of £33 million mainly through acquisition, with offices in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Hong Kong and New York; together with training and advisory divisions. During the dot.com boom, the firm's fortunes climbed and fell. After strategy disagreements with new CEO Gerard Clery-Melin, in 2003 Mann announced her decision to leave the firm, subsequently setting up MWM Consulting in 2004. In 2006, the company was subject of a £26 million management buyout, financed by investor Palladian Investors, a division of Och-Ziff. Carol Leonard subsequently took a six-month sabbatical as head of search, and then left the firm in February 2009.


Litigation

In 2005 Korn Ferry accused one of its former star recruiters, David Nosal, of stealing confidential client data to establish his own competing firm. In 2008 Nosal was charged under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA). In 2016 the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, in ''United States v Nosal,'' that Nosal's was a criminal act under CFAA." In 2018 Nosal was ordered to prison.


Sponsorship

On June 19, 2019, the
PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
and Korn Ferry announced they had entered a 10-year agreement making Korn Ferry the Umbrella Sponsor of the newly named Korn Ferry Tour, the developmental tour for the PGA. In replacing Web.com, Korn Ferry's sponsorship extends through the 2028 season. The Korn Ferry Tour awards PGA Tour membership to the Tour's 50 leading players, including the top 25 from the Regular Season points list and the top 25 from the three-event Korn Ferry Tour Finals points list.


Notable persons

* Prith Banerjee (born 1960), Indian American academic and computer scientist * Gordon Orlikow (born 1960), Canadian decathlon,
heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek ἑπτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hep ...
, and hurdles competitor, Athletics Canada Chairman,
Canadian Olympic Committee The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC; ), also known as Team Canada, is a private nonprofit organization that represents Canada at the International Olympic Committee. It is also a member of the Pan American Sports Organization. History Cana ...
member, Korn/Ferry International partner * Ron Pelosi (born 1934), American businessman and public figure * Stephen Joel Trachtenberg (born 1937), 15th President of George Washington University * Stephen A. Unger (born 1946), American recruiter * Ronald H. Walker (born 1937), American executive


References


External links

* {{Authority control International management consulting firms Management consulting firms of the United States Executive search firms Companies based in Los Angeles Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Consulting firms established in 1969 1969 establishments in California