HBS Managing the Future of Work Executive recruiting: Tom Monahan on algorithmic power brokers and adaptability
Feb 25, 2026
Tom Monahan, CEO of Heidrick & Struggles and longtime leader in executive search and workforce strategy, discusses how AI, LinkedIn, and richer data are changing leadership needs. He talks about the rise of AI-fluent leaders, measuring future impact over past CVs, and managing human, contingent, and digital workers in a volatile world.
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Twenty Five Years With Heidrick Framed Industry Change
- Monahan recounts his 25 years with Heidrick—23 as a client and two as a colleague—to illustrate industry change.
- He uses that history to show search shifted to asking deeper strategy and culture questions of clients.
Visibility Shift Turned Search Into Strategy Work
- LinkedIn and visible talent pools transformed executive search from hidden networks to explicit client-focused advisory work.
- Monahan explains search firms now spend more time understanding strategy, culture, and future state than just finding names.
Fourth Era AI Requires Business Model Leaders
- AI has moved from niche automation to a phase where firms want leaders who can translate AI into defensible business models.
- Tom Monahan calls this the fourth era where clients seek AI-fluent leaders who reimagine org structure, product, and competitive advantage.