It should be a good year for unemployed CEOs. Demand for executive talent is hot around the world, particularly in the fast-growing economies of China and India.

According to a new survey, 84 per cent of executive search consultants expect their industry to grow in 2007; a year ago, only 77.1 per cent had such a positive outlook. Banking and financial services will be the hottest sector, with 66 per cent of search experts predicting a booming market for executive talent.

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Information technology, health care and pharmaceutical firms will also have strong demand for new executives according to the survey, which was conducted by the Association of Executive Search Consultants.

Several trends are driving the booming market, according to Peter Felix, president of AESC. In North America and Europe, the executive class is aging fast. The oldest baby boomers started turning 60 in 2006, and they're only getting older. As they start to retire, it will be harder to find experienced executives to take C-suite jobs.

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In the US, a generally strong economy is promoting growth in many industries, but particularly in the financial services sector. "Banking and financial services are really riding the wave of this very significant strengthening of the US economy," Felix says. "That puts a huge strain on the executive marketplace, so the war for talent is reaching new highs."

Companies in China and India face different challenges, Felix says. As entrepreneurial activity increases, government-owned entities go private, the demand for executive talent will grow faster than supply. There simply aren't enough experienced managers to take the executive jobs--yet.

"It's going to take another generation before they have enough management talent," Felix says. "It takes a whole generation to train effective, modern management."

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