As we sat down to review 2024, one thing became crystal clear —we have worked with some incredible leaders.
No matter the challenge our clients have faced: from navigating AI transformation, leading through RTO shifts, or stepping into bigger roles — you all have shown remarkable resilience and vision. And here comes 2025!
From Directors at Apple to VPs at Microsoft, our clients continue to raise the bar for what’s possible in global leadership. As we wrap up 2024, we wanted to share some exciting insights from our work with remarkable leaders like you.
🎯 Our 2024 Impact in Numbers:
- 50% of our clients sharpened their executive impact with strategic coaching
- 50% prepared for senior-level transitions to new roles using our roadmap
- Partnered with leaders from Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Spotify, and more
- Supported clients across 3 continents ~ we love our global portfolio of leaders
📈 Where Our Leaders Come From:
- Directors & Senior Directors (37%)
- Senior Managers & Department Heads (35%)
- C-Suite Executives (13%)
- Spanning industries from Big Tech (38%) to B2B SaaS (16%) and DTC (14%)
📊 Our Client Expertise Areas – our 2024 impact ranked by number of clients served, across key business functions:
- Creative & UX Leadership
- Product Management
- Engineering
- Finance
- Program Management
- Marketing
Notable strong representation: Operations, Strategy, and Business Development
💫 2024 Trends That We Liked:
- AI strategy & execution: While 67% of professionals haven’t used AI at work (Gallup), our senior leaders are driving up to 30-40% productivity gains by integrating AI into their team workflows, from automated data analysis to enhanced presentation development.
- Return-to-Office impact: The 3-day hybrid model emerged as the clear winner among our clients in 2024, with over 80% of those who negotiated flexible arrangements reporting higher team satisfaction and retention compared to strict 5-day mandates.
- Cross-generational leadership: Our Director+ clients are seeing 25% higher engagement when they pair Gen Z’s digital-first approaches with seasoned experts’ domain knowledge, especially in product development and marketing initiatives.
- Networking with intent: Leaders who spent 2-3 hours weekly on relationship building, not just LinkedIn connections – were 3x more likely to hear about senior roles before they were posted, leading to faster, more selective career moves.
🌟 Measuring Success Stories – As we always say, a senior level job search can take months before the outcomes are revealed. Each year we share insights from the prior year’s job-seeking clients:
🎯 Close Cohen 2023 Client Insights
Services retained:
- 42% of 2023 clients sought executive coaching to gain a competitive edge
- 58% of 2023 clients prepared for a senior level job search with our roadmap
In 2023, we coached 48 job seekers, here are their outcomes:
- 26 secured exciting roles at new companies
- 9 ultimately earned internal promotions
The one-year new job rate for 2023 job seekers is down 4.8% compared to our three-year average—an expected trend given market conditions. However, early indicators from our 2024 job seekers show results more in line with historical Close Cohen outcomes. The length of the journey to finding a new role can vary; we’re committed to each client’s success and look forward to applying our tested strategies and tools to launch your candidacy.
Looking Ahead — We’re entering 2025 stronger than ever, with:
- A fresh website
- An expanded coaching team
- New strategic coaching offering – for entrepreneurs & innovators
Thank you for being part of our community. Stay tuned – next week, we’ll share an inspiring client story that shows exactly how our roadmap delivers results and delivers the winning edge for real life executive client.
Warmly,
Laura Close & Alisa Cohen
