consultants

This past year marked our 23rd anniversary as one of the Midwest’s oldest and well-respected retained executive search organizations. Much of our success and “staying power” has come as a result of sticking to what we know best…manufacturing. This past few years have been challenging ones for Jonas, Walters & Associates and our manufacturing partners. However, if the volume of our search activity this past year is any indication of the current state of manufacturing, we have witnessed an amazing rebound in this vital business segment. Even industries that have been hard hit the past few years i.e. capital equipment, machine tool, engineered products, etc. have made a remarkable recovery. In the second half of 2005, we added three new partners to our roster, increasing our national reach to clients in 35 states.

This year has served to re-enforce an important fact in our industry: it is the small (one to five million in annual revenues), single office search firm that is conducting well over 50% of the search assignments each year in the U.S. This includes companies in the Fortune 500. We continue to be gratified that corporate America continues to show a preference for partnering with a “boutique” search firm.

Our work with private equity firms hit an all time high in 2005. This is no surprise given the fact that private equity groups currently own 10% of all companies with revenues between $5 and $150 million. As this key area continues to grow, the need for leadership in these private equity-owned companies will continue to grow. Consequently, Jonas, Walters & Associates conducted more CEO searches in 2005 than the last 3 years combined. As a recent article in Executive Recruiter News stated, “A recruiter who can deliver top-notch talent that fits the startup culture is worth their weight in gold.”

Presented in the following table are the specific business sectors, industries and positions which are related to the engagements completed by Jonas, Walters & Associates in 2005. As you will note, we continue to work in every major sector with all functional areas. The compensation level of candidates hired in 2005 averaged over $100,000, with a range of up to $400,000. Perhaps more importantly, all but a few of our searches were repeat engagements for clients who have made us a part of their team.

Bill Walters, President