Within three months, a national search had focused on James G. Cairns Jr., then a Seattle bank president, as the person for that "high impact" position.

Russell Reynolds, typically a strong search company for the energy industry, had been forced to push other industries, like banking, to the forefront as the energy industry receeded from the limelight.

Under the current economic conditions, energy companies are not performing job searches for high-ranking company officials, said John Stanton, managing director of the Dallas office of Russell Reynolds.

The company is traditionally strong in energy, he said, and its current lack of involvement is "a simple indication that energy is in lousy shape."

"We do very little work with energy companies, even though our firm has done more with energy companies than any other companies," Stanton said. "The energy demand for employees is flat."

Clients in the southwest include savings and loans, real estate companies, financial service companies and the troubled financial institutions, investment banking, insurance companies and health care companies.

The outlook for Oklahoma City's upper management is bleak, he said. …