[17] In August 1998,[18] Korn Ferry partnered with The Wall Street Journal to start Futurestep.com, aimed at the middle management level.

In 2000 it purchased Boston-based financial services search firm Westgate Group,[23] and Canada-based Pratzer & Partners Inc.[24] During an executive-search industry contraction, Korn Ferry's 2001 redundancies were "more dramatic than those of competitors who aren't publicly traded" such as Spencer Stuart and Russell Reynolds Associates.

This was reported and attributed to having "expanded so heavily during the technology boom" coupled with Korn Ferry's new CEO Paul C. Reilly choosing to "send a message to shareholders.

"[25] In 2001 Korn Ferry purchased Levy Kerson, Helstrom Turner & Associates, and Pearson, Caldwell, and Farnworth.

[32] In 2018 Korn Ferry took a one-time, non-cash intangible asset impairment charge of $106 million, or $79 million on an after-tax basis, to account for rebranding its entire business simply as "Korn Ferry," and sunsetting all the Company's sub-brands, including Futurestep, Hay Group, and Lominger.

[33] According to a list maintained by the Yale School of Management, in March 2022, the company continued to do business in Russia despite a widespread boycott after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

[35] Korn Ferry has implemented significant workforce reductions during challenging economic periods: These instances highlight Korn Ferry's strategic, yet controversial responses to economic pressures, involving workforce reductions to manage costs to satisfy shareholders in short term.

By 2003 the company had market capitalisation of £33 million mainly through acquisition, with offices in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Hong Kong and New York; together with training and advisory divisions.

After strategy disagreements with new CEO Gerard Clery-Melin, in 2003 Mann announced her decision to leave the firm, subsequently setting up MWM Consulting in 2004.

[40] In 2005 Korn Ferry accused one of its former star recruiters, David Nosal, of stealing confidential client data to establish his own competing firm.