Poland Shares Second Place at the IESF Cross Border Awards 2025/2026
NAJ International, representing Poland within the International Executive Search Federation (IESF), has achieved joint second place in the Assignee category of the IESF Cross Border Awards 2025/2026.
The IESF partner from India shares second place, while the United States secured first place.
We are particularly pleased with this recognition because it reflects actual cross-border recruitment activity rather than network membership alone.
It is also NAJ International’s third award in the history of the competition. Previous recognitions, including an award in 2018, form part of our longstanding involvement in international executive search cooperation.
What Does the Assignee Award Recognise?
The IESF Cross Border Awards distinguish between two complementary roles: Assignor and Assignee.
An Assignor refers recruitment assignments to fellow IESF partners in other countries. An Assignee receives and delivers assignments referred by other members of the network.
The Assignee category recognises partners completing the highest number of assignments in their respective countries on behalf of fellow IESF firms.
Our second-place ranking therefore reflects an important aspect of international recruitment: the ability to turn cross-border relationships into assignments delivered in the local market.
Behind every assignment, however, lies a business decision with potentially long-term consequences.
Appointing a CEO, Managing Director or senior leader responsible for market expansion is not simply about filling a vacancy. It means identifying someone whose judgement, experience and leadership capabilities match the challenges an organisation is facing.
What Quality Means for International Clients Recruiting in Poland
Our recognition at the IESF Cross Border Awards 2025/2026 also provides an opportunity to reflect on the value we aim to deliver to international clients.
When a company headquartered abroad recruits a senior executive in Poland, access to candidates is only one part of the challenge.
The company also needs to understand the local talent market, leadership expectations, organisational culture and the realities of doing business in Poland.
That is why we believe a successful executive search process begins with the business objective, not the job description.
Is the organisation looking for a leader to establish a new operation? Someone who can guide a transformation? Or an executive capable of strengthening an established business and taking it into its next phase of growth?
Each challenge calls for a different combination of capabilities and leadership experience.
Our role is to understand those differences, identify relevant candidates and support the client in evaluating who is best equipped to meet the organisation’s specific needs.
This is the quality of advisory work we strive to bring to international executive search assignments in Poland.
Global Reach, Local Insight and Leaders Who Drive Growth
The same principles matter when Polish companies seek leadership talent beyond their home market.
International expansion requires capital, strategy and market knowledge. But even a well-designed strategy depends on people who can translate it into decisions, build effective teams and deliver results in a new business environment.
Through cooperation with IESF partners, international executive search can combine a company’s strategic perspective with the expertise of consultants who understand the market where the search takes place.
At the IESF Annual Global Meeting 2026 in Vietnam, one thought particularly resonated with me: finding the right leader is becoming a more human process, not a less human one.
Technology can help us identify talent, process information and support research. Yet understanding a leader’s motivations, judgement, resilience and ability to build trust still requires professional insight and meaningful conversations.
These qualities often determine whether an executive can lead change, develop an organisation or successfully establish a business in a new market.
A strategy does not execute itself. People make it happen.
For this reason, international executive search should not be measured solely by whether a candidate has been found in the required country.
The real question is whether the selected leader has the capabilities to help the organisation achieve its business goals.
Our Third Recognition, Built on the Same Commitment
The IESF Cross Border Awards 2025/2026 represent another meaningful milestone for NAJ International.
What matters most to us, however, is the work behind the recognition: real assignments, collaboration between partners and responsibility for delivering the projects entrusted to us.
Following the IESF Annual Conference in Amsterdam in 2024, I wrote about the relationship between global cooperation and local impact.
One of my key reflections was that international networks create the greatest value when cooperation translates into practical solutions for clients operating in different markets.
Today, I would add another dimension to that thought.
The ultimate purpose of executive search is not simply to complete a recruitment process. It is to help organisations make leadership decisions that support their future.
Businesses need leaders who can develop people, navigate uncertainty, build competitive advantage and create opportunities for sustainable growth.
That is why the quality of collaboration between executive search partners matters well beyond the recruitment process itself.
What Does This Recognition Mean for Our Clients?
The Assignee award is not a direct assessment of recruitment quality. It recognises the volume of assignments delivered for fellow IESF partners.
Nevertheless, for NAJ International, it is a meaningful reflection of active international cooperation and the trust involved in working across borders.
For our clients, our ambition is to translate that cooperation into professional executive search support in Poland and access to locally knowledgeable partners in international markets.
Whether we are supporting an overseas company recruiting in Poland or a Polish business expanding abroad, our starting point remains the same: understanding the business challenge and identifying leaders capable of addressing it.
Because the right leader does more than manage an organisation. They can create opportunities, unlock potential and establish the conditions for long-term growth.
We see our second-place recognition at the IESF Cross Border Awards 2025/2026 as an encouragement to keep strengthening the quality of our work and our international partnerships.
We thank our fellow IESF partners for their trust and collaboration, and congratulate all the other award recipients.
