Egon Zehnder Continues to Chart a Human-Centric Path as AI Transforms Work

ZURICH, July 22, 2026 — Egon Zehnder today released its annual Impact Report, highlighting the Firm's progress in advancing sustainability, responsible artificial intelligence use, governance, and climate action while reinforcing its purpose of Leadership for a Better World. The report details how the global leadership advisory and executive search firm is preparing its people, clients, and operations to thrive in an era defined by technological transformation, evolving stakeholder expectations, and increasing demands on leadership.  

"We are living through one of the most transformative times in our lives, as AI fundamentally alters the nature of work, climate challenges reshape expectations of business, and leaders are asked to navigate greater complexity than ever before," said Francesco Buquicchio, CEO of Egon Zehnder. "A simple belief guides how we respond: organizations thrive when business and society thrive together. This report reflects how we continue to embed that belief into our Firm, our culture, and the way we serve clients around the world." 

The report outlines a year of meaningful progress across the Firm's impact agenda, including the validation of Egon Zehnder's near-term climate targets by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), continued investment in colleague development amid rapid technological change, and expanded efforts to help clients navigate increasingly complex leadership challenges.  

Among the highlights: 

• SBTi validated Egon Zehnder's near-term emissions reduction targets, including a 71.42% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions and a 35% reduction in key Scope 3 categories by FY2034, using FY2023 as a baseline.  
• The Firm's FY2025 market-based carbon footprint was 5.7% below its FY2023 baseline, despite continued growth and expansion (new offices opened in Minneapolis and Dresden). 
• Egon Zehnder formalized a dedicated Risk Management function to embed risk awareness into decision-making, identify enterprise and emerging risks, define mitigation actions, and establish clear governance structures that support consistent risk management and informed leadership dialogue across regions, practices, and functions. 
• The Firm expanded sustainability and AI-focused learning programs for all colleagues globally and maintained strong levels of employee engagement. Nearly 500 colleagues participated in the Firm's annual Walk the Earth initiative, collectively logging approximately 93 million steps and supporting the restoration of 6,878 trees in Tanzania.  

The report also highlights how Egon Zehnder's greatest impact extends beyond its own operations through the leaders and organizations it advises. During 2025, the Firm deepened its work helping organizations adopt AI in human-centered ways, advanced leadership development for Chairs and boards, and expanded partnerships to bring guidance to leaders when they need it most, including the Firm’s collaboration with Harvard Business Review.  

Anna Térfy, Global Head of Sustainability at Egon Zehnder, said: "With our science-based targets validated and stronger systems in place to track progress, we are focused on turning ambition into action. We are making sustainability part of everyday decisions and helping our people create positive impact for clients, communities, and society."  

The full Impact Report is available here - https://www.egonzehnder.com/impact-for-a-better-world.

Egon Zehnder is the world’s premier leadership advisory and executive search firm, inspiring leaders to navigate complex questions with human answers. We help organizations get to the heart of their leadership challenges and offer honest feedback and insights to help leaders realize their true being and purpose. We are built on a foundation that supports partnership in the truest sense of the word and aligns our interests with the interests of our clients. Our 600 consultants across 71 offices and 37 countries are former industry and functional leaders who collaborate seamlessly to deliver the full power of the firm to every client, every time. We believe that together we can transform people, organizations and the world through leadership.  

For more information, visit egonzehnder.com and follow us on LinkedIn.  

Martin Klusmann, Berlin
Martin.Klusmann@egonzehnder.com 

Cheryl Martel, Washington, D.C.
Cheryl.Martel@egonzehnder.com