Welcome to our bi-annual newsletter!
Firstly, we wanted to make two exciting announcements about Perceptor Executive which may be of interest to you.
We have launched a Technology Practice to support our clients to make strategic appointments in this space. As technology becomes increasingly important as the enabler of new business models we believe it is imperative for Perceptor to offer a service in this area. Our Director, Luke Singleton, brings over 20 years of executive recruitment experience in the tech sector and will offer deep expertise and an extensive network. We can help with executive searches for CIO/CTO roles, Head of Engineering or other key leadership appointments.
In addition, we have launched a new brand, DMC Recruitment to focus on recruitment at mid-levels. This business will recruit junior to mid-level roles across digital, marketing and sales, plus finance and accounting. Many Perceptor Executive placements ask for support to upskill their team; this new brand will enable us to have a high-quality offering to support our network.
There is no doubt we remain at the bottom of the cycle in terms of the recruitment market. At the start of 2025 we saw the market pick up in terms of volume of hiring activity. However, that recovery has proven to be very weak and short-lived. We think the reason is simply the lack of corporate confidence, led partly by the uncertainty from the Trump tariffs, partly because the consumer sector is recovering very slowly, and finally, because of the uncertainty brought on by the rise of AI.
We are optimists for 2026 because the economy remains strong and continues to improve, and we think corporates will not sit on their hands forever. AI will drive efficiencies and effectiveness gains, and yes, will cause a level of restructuring, but change like this often drives the leadership recruitment market.
It is difficult to get hard data on the executive search market but the mid-market always provides a good indicator of what is happening across corporate Australia in terms of hiring appetite. Both the Seek and ANZ/Indeed Jobs Report show declines in recruitment advertising levels since last year (Seek -14% and ANZ -7.4%). Both report on different market segments but the key insight is they report a corresponding rise in candidate competition for roles.
Salary growth has largely flattened for permanent roles, while contractor rates have increased slightly due to project-based demand.
Having started Perceptor Executive in 1999 (the heyday of the dot com boom) we have seen many cycles come and go. One thing we know for sure is “this too shall pass” and the market will, at some point, be candidate short again and clients will be bemoaning the lack of talent available. If you’re serious about strengthening your team’s capabilities, now is the time to begin an executive search. The number of competing companies seeking top talent is currently much lower, giving you a significant advantage.
If there’s one piece of advice we’d give to both clients and candidates, it’s this: do not use AI to write your Position Descriptions or CVs. Over the past year, we’ve seen these documents become increasingly homogenised and indistinguishable. For such crucial, highly tailored materials, it takes a real person to capture the essence of a role or tell a compelling career story.
Most job descriptions we see now have AI included somewhere in their remit. This is usually along the lines of leading the discovery and leveraging of AI to drive efficiency and effectiveness. Quite rightly, all leaders, regardless of their function need to be testing, investigating and finding out how AI can be used. We are also beginning to see a small number of AI specific roles coming up as organisations grapple with how they will create centres of excellence and then disseminate this knowledge through large, complex businesses.
For sure, those smaller businesses who can embrace AI early will be able to move faster than many of their larger competitors. The executives who will win will not be tech geniuses. They will most likely be the people who can embrace the disruption, test and learn and be clear on where AI sits in the value chain for their business or function. Those who are clear on this will get maximum return on investment.
Kari Arnison – Executive Director, Customer & Brand, Colonial First State
Rob Malkin – Vice President, Enterprise Sales ANZ, Nearmap
Miles Thomas – Head of Brand, Content and Social, AMP
Anthony Marquette – Head of Lifecycle, Martech & Data, AMP
Qantas’ Clarabella Burley has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer of Myers; Mecca’s chief marketer Kate Blythe is departing the beauty retailer for Greencross, parent company of Petbarn, and the Woolworths Group has appointed US based Albertsons’ Sean Barrett as its new Chief Marketing Officer.
If you’re considering a leadership appointment or want to discuss market trends, we’d love to help.
📞 Mark O’Connor +61 409 816084
📧 Email: mark@perceptor.com.au
🌐 Visit: www.perceptor.com.au
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