International; Multilingual executives preferred: recruiters.

• Author: Marshall, Jeffrey
• Position: BusinessBRIEFS - Brief Article

English may be the international language of business, but the ability to speak more than one language is critical to succeed in business in Europe, Asia/Pacific and Latin America. So say 88 percent of executive recruiters from those regions who completed the sixth edition of the quarterly Executive Recruiter Index released by Korn/Ferry International.

Nearly 85 percent of recruiters in Europe, 88 percent of recruiters in Asia and 95 percent of recruiters in Latin America either "strongly agreed" or "somewhat agreed" that being at least bilingual is critical to succeed in today's business environment. Among recruiters in North America, however, that percentage drops to just 34 percent.

Despite these regional differences, recruiters everywhere agreed that in 10 years, it will be "more important than today" for executives to be at least bilingual (Europe, 74 percent; Asia, 72 percent; Latin America, 79 percent; North America, 66 percent). They also reported there is a "significant competitive advantage" for executives who...