State of the Market — Q3 & Q4 2026

An Executive Update from the Fox Search Group Leadership Team

The Market Is Moving Again

After a slower summer, we are seeing a noticeable shift in the technology hiring market as we move into the second half of 2026.

Companies are making decisions. Projects that were evaluated earlier in the year are moving forward, technology investments are gaining momentum, and leadership teams are becoming more deliberate about the talent they need to execute their strategies.

Our conversations with CEOs, boards, private equity firms, and technology leaders point to a market that is becoming increasingly focused on transformation, specialization, and leadership.

The market isn't simply about adding IT headcount. Organizations are looking for the leaders who can help them transform the technology function and connect technology investments directly to business performance.

Leadership Is Back in Focus

One of the clearest trends we're seeing is increased demand for experienced IT leadership.

We are working with a growing number of private equity-backed companies to identify and recruit leaders for their technology organizations. As PE firms continue to invest in businesses and pursue acquisitions, technology leadership becomes increasingly important to integration, scalability, modernization, and value creation.

At the same time, many organizations have strong technical teams but are missing experienced leadership at the manager and director levels.

We're seeing particular demand for leaders with specialized expertise in:

• Data & Analytics
• Artificial Intelligence
• ERP & Business Systems
• Cybersecurity
• Cloud & Infrastructure
• Technology Transformation

The need isn't simply for technical knowledge. Companies are looking for leaders who can build teams, manage complex transformations, communicate with executive leadership, and translate technology into measurable business outcomes.

AI Has Moved to the Top of the Agenda

There is little question where AI sits on the executive priority list.

AI is now at the top of the conversation for virtually every CEO and board we encounter.

The conversation, however, is becoming more sophisticated. Organizations are moving beyond asking “How do we use AI?” and increasingly asking:

Who should own it? How do we govern it? What data should it have access to? How do we measure its value? And what does it mean for our operating model?

We've taken on several searches specifically for Heads of AI and senior AI leaders, reflecting the growing need for organizations to establish accountability around their AI strategy.

At the same time, AI is exposing another issue: the quality, accessibility, security, and governance of the underlying data.

AI may be the headline, but data is the foundation.

ERP Is Having a Moment

Another significant development we're seeing is renewed investment in ERP.

Several ERP transformations that have been discussed, evaluated, or planned over the past several years are now moving into execution. And importantly, companies appear willing to invest more heavily in these transformations than they have in recent years.

That investment is creating demand for leaders who understand both the technology and the business transformation that comes with it.

Modern ERP initiatives are no longer simply system implementations. They touch finance, operations, supply chain, data, reporting, automation, and increasingly AI.

As organizations modernize their ERP environments, they are also recognizing that the quality and governance of their enterprise data will directly impact what they can ultimately accomplish with AI. Gartner and PwC similarly identify connected data, modernization, governance, and AI-enabled ERP as increasingly intertwined priorities for enterprise leaders.

Private Equity Continues to Create Activity

Private equity remains an important driver of technology hiring.

As investment activity continues and M&A creates new opportunities for consolidation and transformation, technology leaders are increasingly being asked to help organizations integrate systems, rationalize technology environments, improve data visibility, strengthen cybersecurity, and build scalable platforms.

For PE-backed organizations, technology can no longer sit on the sidelines of the value-creation strategy.

The right technology leadership can help accelerate integration, improve operational efficiency, and establish the foundation for future growth.

For us, that has translated into a growing number of searches for CIOs, CTOs, Heads of IT, and specialized technology leaders within PE-backed organizations.

The Data & Governance Imperative

Perhaps the most important theme connecting all of these trends is data.

Organizations are investing heavily in their data environments, but they're also confronting difficult questions around ownership, quality, accessibility, security, privacy, and governance.

The rise of AI makes those questions more urgent.

Companies want to leverage their data to drive better decisions and power AI initiatives, but they also need confidence that the information being used is accurate, secure, appropriately governed, and fit for purpose.

We expect this to create continued demand for leaders who understand the intersection of data, technology, AI, security, and business strategy. Industry research is similarly highlighting data foundations and governance as critical barriers to scaling AI effectively.

What We're Watching for Q3 & Q4

As we move through the second half of 2026, several signals stand out:

• Technology hiring is picking up after a slower summer
• AI leadership has become a board-level priority
• Demand is growing for Heads of AI and specialized AI leadership
• Manager and director-level talent remains difficult to find in specialized disciplines
• ERP transformations are moving from planning into execution
• Private equity investment and M&A are creating additional technology leadership needs
• Data strategy and governance are becoming inseparable from AI strategy
• Companies are looking for technology leaders who can drive business transformation—not simply manage IT

Our Outlook

We believe the second half of 2026 will be defined less by broad-based hiring and more by strategic hiring.

Organizations are becoming increasingly intentional about where they invest, but when the need is critical, they are willing to make significant investments in the right leadership.

The market is moving.

AI is accelerating the conversation. ERP is driving transformation. Private equity is creating activity. And data is becoming the connective tissue between them all.

For executives and technology leaders, the opportunity is increasingly about having the right experience at the right moment.

For companies, the challenge will be finding the leaders capable of turning significant technology investment into measurable business results.

The second half of 2026 looks less like a market waiting for certainty—and more like a market ready to execute.

— The Fox Search Group Team