Jean-Pierre brings over 20 years of experience providing executive search solutions for digital and technology leadership and business transformation. Clients include entrepreneurial SMEs through to large multinational organisations going through people, process and systems change. With an honest and open approach, he is attentive to the needs of both his clients and candidates who value his consultative advice and his deep knowledge across multiple functional areas.
A challenging market in 2024
Looking back at 2024, it’s fair to say that it wasn’t all plain sailing. The market was tough. Inflationary pressures eased somewhat and interest rates came off their highs, but geopolitical events continued to generate uncertainty flagged in their predictions this time last year. This caution was reflected in hiring conditions with a listed peer, Korn Ferry, reporting a 3% dip in fee revenue citing the ‘challenging global economic environment.
Data roles were in demand as businesses grappled with the AI conundrum and realised the need to fix the plumbing first. He also saw the private equity (PE) market gradually build momentum – an encouraging trend for the broader market. The demand from the PE market was invariably in Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Chief Product Officer (CPO) roles in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) businesses – a prime target for PE firms due to their attractive growth and return on investment (ROI). The Chief AI Officer opportunity reared its head briefly but thankfully, that appeared to be a fad, which came and went quickly.
Key trends for 2025
- Early signs of improving momentum in UK tech leadership market
- Global tech investment to grow but price rises offsetting growth
- Divergence between strong US and faltering European economies
- Gap between GenAI promise and reality persists
- Focus on optimising existing assets and mitigating risk
- Private equity market expected to maintain momentum
Early signs of momentum return to UK tech leadership market
The team at Eton Bridge Partners saw improved activity levels as 2024 progressed with the second half healthier than the first. They commented that they saw the year’s best performance in the final quarter. That points to momentum building and it’s encouraging to see that January has seen a promising number of new pitches in the pipeline.
Looking at prospects for the UK economy, there was some better news recently with PwC’s global CEO survey revealing that the UK was ranked the second most important market for investment in the world. The UK is seen as relatively stable in uncertain times and its acknowledged strength in the tech sector also helps. The PwC survey flagged improved confidence in the economic outlook with 61% of UK CEOs anticipating economic growth in the next 12 months, up from only 39% last year.
Global IT spending to grow but price rises biting
Technology research firm Gartner is forecasting worldwide IT spending to grow 9.8% in 2025 to $5.61tn with over 80% of CIOs surveyed in the 2025 CIO and Technology Executive Survey expecting to increase their investments in strong foundational capabilities and technologies such as cybersecurity, AI/GenAI, business intelligence and data analytics, or integration technologies/Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). Data centres are forecast to see the largest increase in spending with a rise of 23% this year.
One caveat though – Gartner points out that much of the increase in CIO budgets will be gobbled up by price rises with CIOs deferring or even scaling back budgets in real terms. ‘All major categories are reflecting higher-than-expected prices, prompting CIOs to defer and scale back their true budget expectations,’ says Gartner. The upward squeeze in prices is being driven by rising demand for IT services and hardware – spurred by continued cloud migration and AI adoption – combined with supply-side constraints and higher energy prices.
US to outgrow Europe; trade wars a concern
The IMF is forecasting the US economy to grow by 2.7% this year versus only 1% growth in the eurozone as President Trump pursues a pro-growth agenda. His ‘Make America Great Again’ rhetoric has policymakers around the world anticipating a slew of protectionist trade policies that could result in damaging trade wars and the loss of the US as an export market. I predict potentially less appetite for international hires into the US market due to the prevailing anti-immigration climate.
US Big Tech has allied itself firmly with the new administration with tech moguls taking ringside seats at Trump’s recent inauguration. Just days later, Trump announced a $500 billion round of investment in AI infrastructure, backed by some of the biggest tech names in the US including OpenAI and Oracle.
GenAI hopes are high but focus is still on getting the basics right
Investment in AI-ready hardware is a key driver of forecast IT spending growth this year according to Gartner. But whilst the hardware is going in, it’s not actually being used for GenAI functionality yet; ‘GenAI will influence IT spending, but IT spending won’t be on GenAI itself,’ says Gartner. The research firm’s CIO Report found that almost half of tech leaders report that their organisations struggle to estimate and demonstrate AI’s value. Yet at the same time, CIOs face rising expectations from their CEO and board about the business impact of AI.
With the current situation more a case of getting GenAI-ready rather than GenAI operational, the team at Eton Bridge Partners expect to see a continued focus on the more mundane business of getting data, people, and cybersecurity in order. Improving legacy data quality is key to better reporting and stronger integration of new technologies.
Cyber risks in focus as key players signal looser regulation
The Trump Administration is pro-business, pro-Big Tech, and focused on removing unnecessary regulation. The UK’s Labour government also appears to be taking a more pro-growth approach to AI. Whilst Rishi Sunak positioned the UK as a world leader on AI safety, Keir Starmer has shifted the debate away from risk and towards opportunity, outlining plans for the UK to become an ‘AI superpower.’
Integrating AI into an organisation increases the avenues of attack at a time when cyber-attacks are growing in both frequency and sophistication. PwC’s 2024 Global Digital Trust Insights survey found that the proportion of businesses that have experienced a data breach of more than $1m had increased significantly year-on-year. The survey found that over 40% of business leaders said they do not understand the cyber risks posed by emerging technologies such as virtual environment tools, GenAI, Enterprise Blockchain, Quantum Computing, and Virtual/Augmented Reality.
Private equity market to remain active
Private equity activity saw a 21% increase in 2024 compared to 2023, though it remains below 2021 levels. BlackRock expects continued modest growth in 2025, driven by a more favourable rate environment and a revival in M&A and IPOs, enabling firms to deploy available capital.
Eton Bridge Partners 2024 CIO Pathways Report analysis found that almost 40% of CIO appointments in the UK were into PE-backed businesses; a sign of the increasing importance of having the right tech leader in portfolio companies as funds increasingly see tech as a value creation lever. ‘Private equity firms remain central to the tech investment landscape, leveraging record levels of dry powder,’ says Forbes in its 2025 Tech Investment Predictions. Forbes expects PE firms to continue to seek out tech investments that are scalable and growth-orientated such as SaaS, which would suggest PE tech leadership opportunities will remain weighted towards the CTO role.