In this article, Rachael Eddom shares insights from conversations with strategy and transformation leaders across the TMT sector in 2026. She highlights how many professionals are reassessing their trajectory, prioritising roles closer to product, commercial outcomes and execution, while increasingly favouring organisations with clear momentum and credible value creation plans.
On the surface, many senior strategy professionals look firmly embedded within their organisations, yet beneath that stability sits a growing level of reflection. Across numerous discussions I’ve had this year, individuals have been asking themselves whether their current role still offers the exposure, influence and momentum they expected when they first joined.
These reflections are rarely driven by a single event. Sometimes they follow leadership changes, restructures, new investment rounds or tightening innovation budgets. In other cases, it is simply a gradual realisation that the organisation no longer feels as forward-leaning as it once did.
What’s notable is that the conversation is rarely about simply changing jobs. Instead, it’s about evaluating whether their current environment genuinely allows them to build the next phase of their career.
One of the most consistent themes emerging in 2026 is the desire among strategy professionals to move closer to the core engines of value creation.
Many candidates are actively reassessing whether they are gaining enough exposure to product development, data capabilities, go-to-market strategy and commercial decision-making. These areas increasingly represent where the most meaningful business impact is generated.
As a result, strategy roles that operate at arm’s length from execution are becoming less attractive. Producing strategic frameworks, influencing roadmaps from the sidelines or operating through layers of committees is no longer enough for many ambitious operators.
Instead, there is a growing pull toward roles where strategy is directly linked to execution. Positions that blend strategy with operations, product leadership or commercial ownership naturally attract more interest because they allow individuals to work at the intersection of customer insight, product evolution and revenue outcomes.
For many strategy leaders, this proximity to execution is where the most meaningful learning and long-term career growth now happens.
Another noticeable shift in 2026 is how strategy talent evaluates the appeal of large or prestigious organisations.
Historically, the reputation of a well-known Media or Consumer company or global platform was often enough to retain ambitious professionals. Increasingly, that dynamic appears to be changing.
Many candidates describe environments where hierarchy slows decision-making, delivery feels more theoretical than tangible, and their direct influence on the P&L is limited. In these contexts, brand prestige alone struggles to maintain engagement among the most ambitious operators.
Instead, strategy professionals are gravitating toward organisations that demonstrate genuine momentum.
This might mean a scale-up with strong product-market fit and accelerating subscription growth, or an established business undergoing a meaningful transformation. What matters most is the sense that the organisation is evolving – whether through platform expansion, digital transformation or new AI-driven capabilities.
In these environments, strategy leaders feel they can see the direct impact of their work on the trajectory of the business.
Another theme that has emerged strongly so far this year is the way strategy talent evaluates compensation and long-term value creation.
The conversation has moved far beyond base salary comparisons. Candidates increasingly want to understand the logic behind the entire value proposition: the structure of the equity package, the credibility of the company’s valuation, the discipline of the growth plan and the transparency of the progression pathway.
Across both high-growth businesses and more established operators, individuals are thinking far more critically about how the value they help create will compound over time.
Many candidates are willing to flex on cash compensation if the equity story is compelling. But that story needs to stand up to scrutiny. Leadership alignment, clarity of the value creation plan and the realism of the growth trajectory all matter significantly in these discussions.
In other words, compensation conversations are becoming more analytical, reflecting the commercial mindset of the candidates themselves.
The underlying message from these conversations is simple: the best strategy talent is becoming more intentional about where they choose to spend their time.
They are not simply searching for the next role or reacting to short-term market movement. Instead, they are evaluating whether their current environment offers the trajectory they want: exposure to meaningful decisions, proximity to execution and the ability to influence outcomes that genuinely shape a business.
The most attractive opportunities in today’s market are those where strategy translates directly into action – where product is evolving, the business model is shifting and leadership has conviction about where the organisation is going.
As a result, strategy talent is becoming more reflective, more selective and more demanding of the environments they choose to join.
They are not necessarily looking for the safest option or the most recognisable brand. They are looking for momentum, meaning and impact – places where strategy does not sit in theory, but turns into real execution.
