- Foreign Recruiter To Help Locally-Based Companies Address Unique Staffing Challenges
to Sustain "Best in Class" Organizations in Growing Market -

LOS ANGELES, October 20, 2004 – Today Korn/Ferry International (KFY), the world’s leading provider of full-service human capital solutions, announced the introduction of Futurestep into Shanghai, China. Futurestep provides a broad suite of turn-key and customized project recruitment and outsourcing solutions designed to help both local and multinational companies in the Greater China Region (GCR) meet the growing demand for skilled professional labor.

Shanghai already is home to more than 60 regional headquarters for established multi-national companies (MNC’s), with more arriving every day. In addition, small and mid-sized companies (US$30 million to US$50 million) are setting up commercial operations in Shanghai and surrounding areas. Many of these companies are struggling to attract and retain enough local talent to fuel their plans for the market.

"China has become the focal point for many MNC’s long-term strategies – whether as an export manufacturing base, product or research and development center, or simply an untapped market,” said Bob McNabb, executive vice president of Korn/Ferry and CEO of Futurestep. “Futurestep’s mission is to partner with our clients and help them fulfill their plans for talent in China by developing and executing hiring strategies that anticipate their existing and future human capital needs while positively impacting their ability to compete and grow over the long term. Under the leadership of Tim Nelson (Futurestep Asia Pacific managing director), the introduction of Futurestep into China will significantly enable us to help companies that are – or want to be – market leaders maintain and expand their footing in what is expected to be a leading market well into the future."

“The much-used phrase ‘war for talent’ clearly applies to the GCR – not only in terms of Chinese and international companies looking to hire CEOs, but importantly also in terms of mid-level managers and other ‘knowledge workers,’” said Charles Tseng, president, Asia Pacific for Korn/Ferry. “Companies here are finding that the professional identification and selection of human capital is critical for growth and are realizing that the traditional methods of recruitment that were effective in the past are no longer suitable. Futurestep’s suite of recruitment and outsourcing products support our strategy to deliver multiple solutions that meet the changing human capital needs our clients throughout the Asia Pacific region.”

In addition to the traditional middle management search offering that Futurestep employs around the world, the new venture team will develop project-based solutions tailored to address some of the specific challenges facing companies in GCR, including:

• Establishing or rebuilding local management teams for existing and “greenfield” organizations;
• Re-engineering local/regional sales teams to ensure they are “best in class”;
• Helping to move existing off-shore professional operations – ranging from international procurement offices,product development and R&D to customer service and call centers – from the US and Europe to China; and
• Offering comprehensive HR outsourcing.

About Korn/Ferry International
Korn/Ferry International, with more than 70 offices in 35 countries, is the premier provider of executive search and leadership development solutions. Based in Los Angeles, the firm partners with clients worldwide to deliver unparalleled senior-level search, management assessment, coaching and development and middle management recruitment services through its Futurestep subsidiary. Korn/ Ferry operates in Shanghai as Shanghai Korn/Ferry Human Capital Consulting Company, Ltd.

Futurestep is Korn/Ferry’s outsourcing and managed solutions consulting business. In Asia Pacific, Futurestep manages key regional accounts out of two major hubs in Australia and Singapore. There are also dedicated consulting teams on the ground in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Malaysia, and New Zealand. Clients in Tokyo are serviced on a project basis utilizing the resources of the Asia-wide consulting teams.

For more information, visit the Korn/Ferry International Web site at www.kornferry.com or the Futurestep Web site at www.futurestep.com