Interim CEOs

Interim CEOs – Interim Executives Fill a Leadership Gap on Times of Transition

Your long-time CEO retired to spend more time with their family. They were poached by a larger organization. They left the industry. You fired them for cause. No matter the reason for a vacancy, your company is in the market for an interim role: someone to hold the reins while you search for a long-term, well-qualified candidate.

Finding the best-fit CEO is a process that can take 6-12 months—even longer, depending on your industry. An interim CEO is often the best solution for shepherding your organization through a transition period. They’ll keep the gears turning and maintain the status quo, so you can focus on finding, vetting and onboarding a new Chief Executive Officer who’s right for the position.

M&A Executive Search helps companies big and small begin the search for a new executive by identifying and placing interim management, drawing from a pool of more than 10,000 qualified interim professionals. We help you keep your C-suite stable with proven leadership that can hold the line until you find the perfect candidate to helm your organization for the long-term. In just a week or two, we’ll find 3-4 potential professionals that match the capacity and fit your need. Then, we facilitate the evaluation and decision process of picking the right one.

What is an Interim CEO?

In the event of a vacant CEO position, it makes sense to hire a long-term, permanent Chief Executive Officer. However, due to the protracted process of finding and vetting C-level talent, it’s often best to fill the vacancy with an experienced interim CEO: someone who can generally meet the demands of this high leadership position.

Hiring a temporary CEO is a form of crisis management and it provides an instant anchor point for senior staff as they seek to manage the stability of the company during transition. The role of an interim CEO is to keep focus on the organization’s goals and core values, and push forward with current initiatives. Working with board members and tenured directors, their chief duty is to keep the company on-track while the hunt for a new chief executive is underway.

When to Hire Interim CEOs

The departure of a CEO can be either planned or unexpected. In either case, interim CEOs are an integral part of the puzzle in orchestrating leadership for the future.

• Managing the Unexpected Departure of a CEO. Different scenarios can lead to an unexpected departure of a CEO. This, coupled with situations where there is no clear successor in the organization, create an opportunity for using an interim CEO. An experienced interim executive can step in to fulfill the general job duties of the position, to maintain the status quo of the company in preparation for a new permanent CEO.
• Specific, Short-Term Leadership Requirements. Changes in a company’s trajectory can demand a specific skillset that the current CEO may not possess. Additionally, an upcoming, prearranged transition may require the CEO to step down. In these situations, an interim CEO bridges both the skill gap and the short-term leadership need. A perfect example involves hiring an interim CEO to lead an exit strategy by selling a company.

Think of an interim leader as the means to fruitful results for your company. Whether they’re keeping the seat warm for your next innovative leader, assisting your current CEO or they’re on-track to become your permanent CEO, an interim Chief Executive Officer is a valuable addition.

Types of Interim Executives

Not every demand for an interim executive is the same. Some companies need a hands-on, highly engaged CEO, while others just need someone to keep the trains running on time. In placing the right talent at your organization, we take the time to understand your needs and make sure they’re being met by someone equipped to commit their capabilities and expertise to your success. Some of the different solutions we offer include:

• Interim Executives generally assume the role for a 2- to 12-month period.
• Interim-to-Hire fill a position immediately while searching for a permanent solution.
• Fractional Executives assume a long-term role, but it’s not a full-time job.
• Project Executives offer unique expertise to solve a specific problem.

Our team will consult with yours about the best solution for your situation, and make recommendations about which interim executive opportunity is best-suited for results. From an interim-to-hire to a long-term fractional executive, rest assured you’ll get leadership in the capacity your company needs it.

How to Successfully Place Interim CEOs

When putting an interim CEO in place, it’s critical that they have both the leadership and industry experience to hit the ground running and make a difference in a short-term arrangement. It’s why M&A Executive Search takes a comprehensive approach to placement. Our network of over 10,000 interim professionals includes interim CEOs with experience in almost all industries, geographies and issue areas. And, if you have unique needs, we can quickly extend beyond our network to identify candidates.

We’ve placed numerous qualified candidates from our network of interim CEOs, which covers a broad number of industries. We look for fit in skill, sector, experience and management style, among dozens of other critical variables that result in the best possible interim placement. Our focus is on first understanding the specific short-term needs of the organization; then, placing an interim executive who has “been there and done that” for a similar organization.

Best of all, there’s no cost to you unless we place the ideal interim candidate. It’s a risk-free way to keep your company on-track during a time of transition. Our results speak for themselves. Our interim CEOs don’t just fill a vacancy—they’re equipped to make a real difference in a short period of time.