Korn Ferry (KFY): Business Model Canvas [Dec-2025 Updated]

You're looking to cut through the noise and see exactly how Korn Ferry is structuring its business in late 2025, and honestly, the key isn't just their famous executive search work; it's the strategic blend across all their offerings. This firm generated $2,730.1 million in total fee revenue for FY2025 by successfully integrating high-touch C-suite placements with scalable, subscription-based digital tools and deep organizational consulting. I've broken down their entire operation across the nine essential building blocks below, showing you precisely how their global talent pool and proprietary data drive that complex revenue engine, so you can see the whole picture.

Korn Ferry (KFY) - Canvas Business Model: Key Partnerships

You're looking at how Korn Ferry builds value through its external relationships, which is crucial for scaling its talent intelligence.

Technology alliances with Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, and Salesforce are central to embedding Korn Ferry's intellectual property directly into client workflows.

• Integration with Workday enhances workforce planning and talent management using Korn Ferry's research, which includes over 10 billion data points.
• The newest integration with SAP SuccessFactors embeds Korn Ferry's proven success profiles directly into the HCM platform to unlock talent potential.
• Korn Ferry's integration with Salesforce focuses on building high-performing sales leaders and empowering sales teams.

The strategic alliance with Microsoft Dynamics 365 specifically targets sales effectiveness through the Korn Ferry Sell application, which incorporates the Miller Heiman sales methodology.

• Organizations embedding this methodology within their CRM have seen a 4X increase in win rates.
• Sellers using the methodology inside the CRM see about a 16% increase in win rate.
• These sellers also achieve, on average, a 10% higher quarter attainment rate.

The exclusive partnership with FORTUNE for corporate reputation rankings remains a key external validation resource. The 2025 World's Most Admired Companies (WMAC) list, in its 27th year, was based on surveys of more than 3,300 executives.

• The 2025 list included 229 U.S.-based companies, 59 in Europe, and 26 in the Asia/Pacific region.
• Top-scoring attributes for the All-Stars included financial stability, strong management, and global reach.

Long-term, high-value client relationships, categorized as Marquee and Diamond Accounts, are a significant driver of Korn Ferry's financial results.

For the full fiscal year 2025, Korn Ferry reported total fee revenue of $2,730.1 million.

• Fee revenue generated from Marquee and Diamond Accounts in fiscal 2025 was approximately 39% of the consolidated fee revenue.
• This segment grew 3% compared to fiscal year 2024.
• In fiscal 2025, more than 83% of assignments were for clients who had engaged Korn Ferry in the previous three fiscal years.

The PGA Tour sponsorship for the Korn Ferry Tour brand visibility is a long-term commitment, marking Korn Ferry's first sports sponsorship deal.

• The initial agreement is a 10-year deal, extending through the 2028 season.
• The 2025 Korn Ferry Tour schedule featured 26 tournaments across seven countries and 17 states.
• The schedule included 10 televised events on the Golf Channel.
• The Bahamas Tourism title sponsorship for the season-opening events was recently extended through 2027.

Korn Ferry (KFY) - Canvas Business Model: Key Activities

You're looking at the core actions Korn Ferry takes to generate revenue and deliver value, based on their Fiscal Year 2025 performance. Honestly, it's a mix of high-touch executive placement and scaling technology-enabled services. Here's the quick math on what they were actively doing.

Delivering Executive Search and C-suite placement services

This remains a critical, high-value activity. For the fourth quarter of Fiscal Year 2025, the Executive Search segment posted fee revenue of $227.0 million. That represented a strong year-over-year increase of 14% at actual currency for that quarter. This activity directly supports the placement of senior leadership roles across the client base.

Providing organizational and talent strategy consulting

Korn Ferry's consulting work is integrated with their search and RPO offerings, driving overall firm performance. For the full Fiscal Year 2025, the company generated total fee revenue of $2,730.1 million, a 1% decrease compared to FY'24. The full-year Adjusted EBITDA margin for the firm was 17.0%, amounting to $463.9 million in Adjusted EBITDA. The company has 9,253 employees, resulting in revenue per employee of approximately $298,687 for the year.

Developing and maintaining the proprietary Korn Ferry Talent Suite®

The development and maintenance of their technology platform is a key resource investment. In Fiscal Year 2025, Korn Ferry invested $62 million in technology platforms, tools, and product enhancements. This suite supports various activities, including insights derived from their research:

• 67% of talent professionals surveyed by Korn Ferry feel AI will have a major role in talent strategies in 2025.
• 40% of talent professionals worry about AI compromising the human side of recruiting.
• 76% of respondents in the 2025 Workforce survey reported their companies have adopted hybrid work structures.
• Only 17% of talent leaders plan to switch to a skills-based hiring model in 2025, despite 39% recognizing its value.

Managing Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) engagements

Managing large-scale RPO engagements is a core operational activity, recognized for its scale and quality. Korn Ferry was named a "Leader" in Europe and a "Leader" and "Star Performer" in North America by the Everest Group's RPO Services PEAK Matrix® Assessment 2025. This recognition followed an assessment that considered approximately 6,700 multi-process RPO deals. The firm also noted that fee revenue from Interim services increased in Q4 FY'25, partially offsetting a decrease in Permanent Placement fee revenue.

Integrating solutions across all five business segments for clients

The firm's strategy involves blending these services, which is reflected in their capital allocation. For the full year FY'25, Korn Ferry returned $84 million to shareholders through dividends and executed $89 million in share repurchases, alongside investing $44 million in an acquisition, showing a balanced approach to capital deployment supporting their integrated model. The overall net income attributable to Korn Ferry for FY'25 was $246.1 million, with a margin of 9.0%.

Here's a snapshot of the financial scale of some key activities for the full Fiscal Year 2025:

Korn Ferry (KFY) - Canvas Business Model: Key Resources

You're looking at the core assets that let Korn Ferry deliver on its promises. These aren't just ideas; they are massive, validated data sets and a global team that underpins every service they offer. Honestly, the sheer scale of their proprietary information is what sets the price point for their premium executive search work.

The human capital itself is a massive resource. As of April 30, 2025, Korn Ferry maintained a global workforce of 9,253 full-time professionals. This team supports the delivery of services across their three main segments: Consulting, Executive Search, and Talent Solutions.

The firm's Foundational Assets are central to its value proposition. These integrate proprietary data, behavioral science, and intellectual property developed over decades. This forms one of the world's most extensive and validated sources of talent insight, enabling faster, smarter decisions at scale.

Here's a breakdown of the scale of that proprietary IP and data as of the fiscal year end:

This data feeds directly into the Korn Ferry Talent Suite® technology platform. This is an integrated HCM software that uses AI technology to enhance talent decisions. In fiscal 2025, Korn Ferry continued to innovate on this platform, releasing several new products to embed their science and data into clients' real-time workflows. The platform helps clients connect siloed talent data and build a skills-powered workforce.

The platform's capabilities are supported by specific tools and science:

• Korn Ferry Pay: Streamlining access to compensation data.
• Profile Manager: Using new AI-powered Success Profiles for alignment.
• Korn Ferry Coach: Blending research-backed people leader development.
• Korn Ferry Learn: Delivering personalized, data-driven learning.

The financial scale of the business reflects the premium nature of these resources. For the fiscal year ended April 30, 2025, Korn Ferry reported total fee revenue of $2,730.1 million. Net Income Attributable to Korn Ferry was $246.1 million, resulting in a Diluted Earnings Per Share of $4.60.

Deep industry expertise across diverse sectors and geographies is another non-negotiable resource. This expertise is demonstrated by the client base served in fiscal 2025:

• Consulting supported over 4,300 clients globally.
• Digital engaged with more than 7,800 clients globally.

The strong global brand equity in the premium executive search market is sustained by this operational scale and data advantage. They are positioned as the destination for clients seeking a shared commitment to lasting impact. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Korn Ferry (KFY) - Canvas Business Model: Value Propositions

You're looking at how Korn Ferry structures the value it delivers across its services, which is clearly tied to its financial performance as of late 2025. The firm's proposition centers on being an integrated talent partner, not just a placement agency.

Integrated, end-to-end talent and organizational transformation solutions

Korn Ferry helps clients design and implement talent strategies, organizational structures, and rewards programs to drive growth. This is primarily delivered through the Consulting segment, which collaborates across the firm to support transformation from strategy through execution. In fiscal 2025, this segment generated fee revenue of $662.7 million. The value is reinforced by strong client retention, with more than 83% of assignments in fiscal 2025 being with clients served in the prior three years. Also, the firm emphasizes enterprise-wide teaming, with approximately 25% of consolidated fee revenue coming from cross-Solution referrals in fiscal 2025.

The Consulting staff's productivity is quantified by an average bill rate of $439 per hour in fiscal 2025, with an Adjusted EBITDA margin of 17.4% for the segment.

Premium, high-touch placement of C-suite and board-level executives

The Executive Search practice delivers high-touch placement for the most senior roles. This segment showed strong momentum, posting Q4 fiscal 2025 fee revenue of $227.0 million, which was an increase of 14% year-over-year at actual currency. This value proposition is supported by the firm's scale, being the largest globally and in the Americas as ranked by Hunt Scanlon Media. The focus on senior roles means a higher weighted-average fee billed per engagement drives revenue.

Data-driven insights and predictive analytics via the Digital segment

Korn Ferry's Digital segment provides data-driven insights and analytics, which is a key differentiator. In fiscal 2025, the Digital segment engaged with more than 7,800 clients globally. This segment is increasingly integrated, with 33% of its fiscal 2025 fee revenue coming from referrals from Korn Ferry's other solutions, showing the embedded value of its data tools across consulting and search.

Scalable, technology-enabled talent management through subscription products

This value proposition focuses on recurring revenue through scalable technology offerings, primarily the Korn Ferry Talent Suite. Subscription and license revenue for fiscal 2025 reached $137.7 million, marking an increase of 5.1% compared to fiscal 2024. This recurring stream helps balance the project-based work in other areas. The Digital segment's Adjusted EBITDA margin was 31% in fiscal 2025, demonstrating strong profitability on these technology-enabled services.

Access to a global network of interim and professional talent

The firm provides access to both interim and permanent professional talent, which was bolstered in FY2025 by the acquisition of Trilogy International. In Q4 fiscal 2025, Professional Search and Interim fee revenue was $130.710 million, up 1.2% year-over-year. The Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) business also contributes here; its new business in Q3 fiscal 2025 totaled $210 million, with 64% coming from new client wins.

Here's a quick look at the overall financial scale supporting these value propositions for the full fiscal year 2025:

The firm returned $89 million via share repurchases and $84 million via dividends in fiscal 2025, showing a commitment to capital allocation alongside service delivery.

Korn Ferry (KFY) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Relationships

You're looking at how Korn Ferry (KFY) keeps its top clients locked in and how it scales relationships for its high-volume digital offerings. The approach isn't one-size-fits-all; it's tiered based on the value and complexity of the client relationship, which is smart for managing a $\mathbf{\$2,730.1}$ million fee revenue business in fiscal year 2025.

Dedicated, high-touch relationship management for Executive Search

For the core Executive Search business, which brought in $\mathbf{\$846.2}$ million in fee revenue in fiscal 2025, the relationship is intensely personal and expert-driven. This is where you see the deep industry specialization at work, helping clients secure board-level and C-suite talent. In fiscal 2025, Korn Ferry started more than $\mathbf{6,300}$ new Executive Search engagements. That level of activity requires dedicated attention to maintain quality and alignment with client strategy.

Strategic, long-term engagement via Marquee and Diamond Account programs

The Marquee and Diamond Accounts Program is the pinnacle of Korn Ferry's relationship strategy, designed for the world's most complex organizations. As of fiscal year-end 2025, there were $\mathbf{350}$ of these accounts. These strategic partnerships are incredibly sticky; they represented approximately $\mathbf{39\%}$ of consolidated fee revenue in fiscal 2025. To be fair, this high-touch model works because of deep integration: more than $\mathbf{75\%}$ of these Marquee and Diamond clients benefit from at least $\mathbf{3}$ of Korn Ferry's Solution areas. Dedicated account leaders coordinate across the entire portfolio, ensuring consistent delivery.

Consulting model focused on collaborative, integrated solution delivery

The Consulting segment, which generated $\mathbf{\$662.7}$ million in fee revenue in fiscal 2025, operates on a collaborative, integrated delivery model. The $\mathbf{1,599}$ consulting and execution staff at year-end worked to deliver end-to-end transformation, not just isolated advice. The average bill rate for this group was $\mathbf{\$439}$ per hour in fiscal 2025. This model is designed to embed Korn Ferry's expertise, as $\mathbf{28\%}$ of Consulting's fiscal 2025 fee revenue came from referrals from the firm's other solutions.

Automated, lower-touch self-service for Digital subscription clients

For the Digital solution, the relationship scales differently. This part of the business, which includes subscriptions and licenses, is built for broader, more independent use of Korn Ferry's intellectual property. In fiscal 2025, Digital engaged with more than $\mathbf{7,800}$ clients globally. The revenue here is more recurring, with $\mathbf{\$137.7}$ million coming from subscription/license fees in the fiscal year. The self-service aspect is supported by massive proprietary data assets; for instance, Korn Ferry has conducted over $\mathbf{108}$ million assessments across all its services.

Here's a quick look at how client engagement metrics break down across the major service lines for the full fiscal year 2025:

Overall, the firm's ability to retain clients is strong; more than $\mathbf{83\%}$ of Korn Ferry's assignments in fiscal 2025 were with clients it already served. That's a powerful indicator of relationship depth.

Finance: draft the Q2 FY2026 client retention forecast by end of month.

Korn Ferry (KFY) - Canvas Business Model: Channels

You're looking at how Korn Ferry gets its services and products into the hands of clients-the actual delivery mechanism. It's a mix of high-touch human interaction and scalable digital sales, which is key to their current structure.

Direct consultant engagement through a global network of offices remains the bedrock for their high-value consulting and executive search work. This physical and virtual presence allows for deep, localized client relationships. As of April 30, 2025, Korn Ferry had 9,253 full-time professionals globally to service this network. Their reach spans more than 50 countries, ensuring they can synchronize strategy and talent delivery across diverse geographies. This human capital is the engine for their core advisory services.

Digital platform sales for the Korn Ferry Talent Suite® products represent a growing, scalable channel. Subscription and license revenue for the Digital segment hit $137.7 million for the full fiscal year 2025. This platform is designed to be an integrated approach to talent management, and in FY2025, the Digital solution area engaged with over 7,800 clients globally. This channel helps drive efficiency and utilization across the firm's offerings.

Cross-referrals between the firm's solution areas are a deliberate channel strategy, driven by internal teaming structures. This shows how one client touchpoint can lead to sales across multiple service lines. For the full fiscal year 2025, approximately 25% of Korn Ferry's consolidated fee revenue was generated from these cross-Solution referrals. The Digital segment, specifically, showed a strong internal pull, with 33% of its fiscal 2025 fee revenue referred from other Korn Ferry solutions. For example, the Consulting segment saw 28% of its FY2025 fee revenue come from internal referrals.

Dedicated Professional Search & Interim teams operate as a distinct channel for specific talent needs. In the third quarter of fiscal 2025, this segment alone recorded fee revenue of $130.9 million. This team focuses on placing permanent and interim leaders, acting as a direct pipeline for high-level talent acquisition.

Here's a quick look at how the major revenue-generating segments, which are accessed through these channels, performed in the most recently reported full fiscal year 2025 data:

The firm's ability to cross-sell is evident in the internal referral statistics, which you can see in the structure below:

• Digital revenue referred from other solutions in FY 2025: 33%.
• Consulting revenue referred from other solutions in FY 2025: 28%.
• Total consolidated fee revenue from cross-Solution referrals in FY 2025: 25%.
• Total Korn Ferry professionals as of April 30, 2025: 9,253.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Korn Ferry (KFY) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Segments

You're looking at who Korn Ferry is actually selling to as of late 2025. It's not just one type of buyer; it's a broad base, but they clearly focus on the top tier of the market for their most strategic work.

Global Fortune 500 and large multinational corporations are definitely a core focus, especially when you look at their most valuable relationships. As of fiscal year-end 2025, Korn Ferry's 350 Marquee and Diamond accounts represented approximately 39% of consolidated fee revenue. That's a significant chunk of the business coming from a relatively small number of very large, established organizations. This relationship depth shows they are embedded partners, not just one-off vendors.

The firm serves organizations requiring C-suite, board, and senior executive talent through its Executive Search solution. This segment is clearly a growth engine; Executive Search posted fee revenue of $227.0 million in Q4 FY'25, which was an increase of 14% year-over-year at actual rates. The demand here is for leaders who align with strategy and culture, which is why this segment continues to perform well, growing for the fourth consecutive quarter in Q4 FY'25.

Korn Ferry's reach spans the entire organizational spectrum, serving the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors across all major industries. For instance, their Workforce 2025 research surveyed professionals across key areas like Consumer Markets, Financial Services, Healthcare, Life Sciences, Industrial, Technology, and Government & Public Services. You can see this breadth in the client counts across their different solution areas:

For companies seeking scalable RPO and professional/interim talent solutions, Korn Ferry provides dedicated services. The RPO business supported over 240 enterprise clients in fiscal 2025 with large-scale workforce buildouts. To be fair, the RPO fee revenue saw a decrease in Q1 FY'25 due to moderation in hiring volume, but it bounced back, showing a 4% year-over-year increase in Q3 FY'25 fee revenue. The Professional Search and Interim segment also serves this need, covering middle and upper management placements.

A key indicator of customer stickiness is how often clients use more than one service. Korn Ferry emphasizes this integrated approach:

• More than 83% of assignments in fiscal 2025 were with clients they had served in the prior three years.
• 77% of their clients purchase 2 or more of Korn Ferry's solutions.
• Cross-solution referrals accounted for 25% of consolidated fee revenue in Q4 FY'25.

This high rate of repeat business and multi-solution purchasing tells you their customer segments value the integrated talent strategy they offer. Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Korn Ferry (KFY) - Canvas Business Model: Cost Structure

You're looking at the core expenses that power Korn Ferry's global operations as of late 2025. Honestly, for a firm built on human capital, the biggest drain is always the people.

Personnel costs are the primary driver of the cost structure. As of April 30, 2025, Korn Ferry employed a total of 9,253 full-time professionals globally. This workforce is split into 3,050 consultants and execution staff, and 6,203 support staff. The total Compensation and benefits expense for the full fiscal year 2025 reached $1,758,024 thousand.

The firm continues to invest heavily in its digital future. Technology and platform investment, reflected in capital expenditures (excluding leasehold improvements and furniture & fixtures), totaled $62.4 million in FY2025. This spend supports the proprietary Talent Suite® platform. Also, the resulting Depreciation and Amortization expenses for FY2025 were reported at $80.3 million.

General and administrative expenses cover the necessary overhead for a global footprint. For the full fiscal year 2025, these expenses were $258,488 thousand. This covers everything from global office leases to corporate functions.

Strategic growth through external means also impacts costs. Korn Ferry invested $44.4 million in Mergers and Acquisitions during FY2025. Furthermore, the reported integration/acquisition cost increased by $2.6 million in FY2025 compared to the prior year, largely due to the acquisition of Trilogy.

Variable costs tied directly to client service delivery include expenses that are often billed back. Reimbursed out-of-pocket engagement expenses for FY2025 were $30,998 thousand. The overall Cost of services expense for the year, which includes these variable delivery costs, was $285.1 million.

Here's a quick look at the major reported cost components for the full fiscal year 2025:

You can see how the fixed and semi-fixed costs stack up against the variable components. The structure is heavily weighted toward human capital, which is expected.

Key personnel metrics impacting this cost structure include:

• Consultants and execution staff count (as of April 30, 2025): 3,050
• Support staff count (as of April 30, 2025): 6,203
• Total professionals: 9,253
• Cost of services as a percentage of fee revenue (FY2025): 10%

The firm's focus on cost management is evident in the Cost of services expense as a percentage of fee revenue, which decreased to 10% in fiscal 2025 from 11% in fiscal 2024.

Korn Ferry (KFY) - Canvas Business Model: Revenue Streams

You're looking at the core ways Korn Ferry converts its talent and organizational expertise into hard dollars as of late 2025. The firm's strategy is clearly built around diversification, balancing high-value, project-based executive work with more scalable, recurring digital and outsourcing revenue.

The Total Fee Revenue for Fiscal Year 2025 was $2,730.1 million. This revenue is generated across its five solution areas, with significant contributions from Consulting and Digital, which together accounted for over $1.026 billion of that total.

Here is a breakdown of the key revenue components identified for FY2025:

The Executive Search revenue stream, which targets the highest echelons of leadership, operates on a clear, upfront fee structure. You can expect the retainer fee to be generally one-third (33%) of the first-year total cash compensation for the placed candidate, which includes both base salary and anticipated bonuses. This is a classic, high-touch service model.

The other project-based and outsourced services contribute through various fee arrangements:

• Consulting fees from organizational strategy and workforce transformation engagements.
• Fees from Professional Search, which focuses on mid-to-senior level roles.
• Fees from Interim placements, providing temporary executive talent.
• Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) fees, which are often volume-based or contract-based.

The Digital segment's revenue is particularly interesting because it blends project work with more predictable income. For instance, the Subscription and license revenue was $137.7 million in FY2025, showing a clear move toward recurring revenue streams that help balance the lumpier nature of search work. To be defintely clear, 77% of Korn Ferry's clients bought two or more solutions in FY2025, showing they are actively cross-selling these revenue sources.