Memo to Global Executives: Learn Spanish

In the global economy it is not uncommon for an American executive to deal with suppliers in China, developers in India and clients in Europe. Though that scenario is rife with potential communication hurdles, when it comes to learning a foreign language, most U.S. executives have focused their attention on the fastest growing population in this country. According to a survey conducted by TheLadders.com, the worldís leading $100,000 jobs Web site, a solid majority of job seekers in the $100k market say Spanish is the most important second language for todayís business people.

The survey of 1,496 executives in the $100k job market found that a 61% majority felt Spanish would be the most useful foreign language in their jobs. The second choice was Chinese, which claimed 16% of the surveyís responses. French followed with 8% of the total vote and German trailed just behind with 7%. Rounding out the pack were Japanese, which claimed 6% of the vote, and Italian, with 2%.
The survey of registered $100k executives was conducted on TheLadders.com Web site from March 2, 2005 through March 31, 2005. The margin of error is 2.6%.

ìAs global business boundaries continue to blur, proficiency in any foreign language is an asset to an executive,î explained TheLadders.com President and CEO, Marc Cenedella. ìBut the Spanish language in particular continues to pop up on our radar because there isnít a business out there that isnít thinking about this rapidly growing segment of the population. An executive with a proven track record who can also move fluidly between English and Spanish is in a tremendously strong position right now.î

Now reaching over 328,000 readers and featuring over 20,000 new $100k job listings each month, TheLadders.com is the largest online job search service catering exclusively to the $100k market. Marc Cenedella founded TheLadders.com in July 2003 after a tenure as Senior Vice President, Finance & Operations, at HotJobs.com, ultimately shepherding that companyís sale to Yahoo, Inc. (NASD: YHOO) in 2002. In May 2004 he was named Entrepreneur of the Year by award-winning marketing newsletter, MarketingSherpa, which cited TheLadders.comís unique business model as a key to its sustained growth.