AESC sets the bar for ethical standards and professional conduct in the executive search and leadership consulting profession. AESC Members are committed to the highest professional practices, acting in the best interests of their clients, candidates, the community-at-large, and our profession.

Code of Professional Conduct

AESC members are guided by a Code of Professional Conduct and Professional Practice Standards. AESC may amend or add to these standards from time to time as the profession evolves and adapts to developments in business practice, technology, and the law.

Since 1959, AESC has set the standards for the profession and its members are guided by a shared commitment to the AESC Code of Professional Conduct. AESC member firms and their people are committed to the highest professional practices, acting in the best interests of their clients, candidates, the community-at-large, and the profession. AESC values are best summarized through AESC’s Code of Professional Conduct – the foundation on which AESC membership is built.

Our Pillars

Ethics & Integrity

AESC members put integrity above all else. They maintain the highest ethical standards within their firms, with clients and candidates, and in the community.

Excellence

Excellence guides the work we do. AESC members focus on their clients’ unique business needs, using rigorous, evidence-informed, results-focused methodologies while innovating new solutions when needed.

Objectivity

AESC members exercise independent, objective judgment. Trusted relationships are grounded in knowledge, expertise, honesty, and respect.

Opportunity & Inclusion

AESC Members recognize that inclusion and belonging drive sustainable success. They foster environments where all leaders are assessed fairly and opportunity is accessible to the benefit of clients, candidates, and themselves.

Confidentiality

AESC members protect confidential information entrusted to them by clients and candidates. This includes a commitment to data privacy and security.

Our Promise to Clients

Choosing the right executive search and leadership consulting firm is a critical business decision with long-term impact. What should you expect when working with an AESC Member?

Our Promise to Candidates

It’s critical that an executive search firm respects a candidate’s confidentiality. How can a candidate tell if the search firm that approaches them is ethical? Find out what to expect from an AESC Member.

Work with an AESC Member

AESC Members are recognized leaders in global executive search and leadership advisory, delivering a full suite of talent and organizational solutions for top performing organizations. Clients must be diligent in choosing a consultant. AESC Members choose to exceed both industry norms and client expectations, because the imprimatur of AESC demands that members are the most ethical, rigorous, and transparent firms in the profession.