Last updated
Hays: Leadership Change
Mark Dearnley confirmed as permanent CEO after serving in interim capacity since February 2026. Previous CEO Dirk Hahn stepped down after 28 years following personal reasons.
Source: City AM
- What happened
- Mark Dearnley confirmed as permanent CEO after serving in interim capacity since February 2026. Previous CEO Dirk Hahn stepped down after 28 years following personal reasons.
- Who
- Hays · Australia & New Zealand
- When
- 2026-06-17
- Source
- City AM
- So what
- A change at the top rarely stays at the top.
The leadership read
A change at the top rarely stays at the top. Hays's move reshapes the layer beneath it in the sector as a new leader sets priorities and the team re-forms. Watch the first two or three appointments that follow; they signal direction more reliably than any statement.
Market context: Backdrop: a 122.7 (Hot) Talent Market Index (up 17.8 on the month) with Oceania activity easing (-24.9pts).
Hays: 0 signals in the last 90 days; 0.1% of MitchelLake's EMEA signal flow; 3 tracked across 30 days.
MitchelLake in this thematic
From the MitchelLake archive
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Where this lands in our work
- Board Search & Advisory →
Incoming executives reshape governance needs within two quarters.
- Executive Search: Oceania →
Our Oceania practice runs the searches behind signals like this one.
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