When to Consider an Interim CEO

The gap is usually sudden

Most companies do not plan for a leadership gap. A CEO resigns, an owner's health changes, or a board loses confidence in the current direction. In each case, decisions keep arriving whether or not anyone has the authority to make them.

An interim CEO is an experienced executive who takes on that authority for a defined period, so the business keeps operating while the longer-term answer is worked out.

Situations where it tends to help

• An unexpected departure of the CEO or owner-operator.
• A family business where the next generation is not yet ready to lead.
• Declining performance, cash pressure or lender concern that needs one accountable leader.
• The period after an acquisition, when two ways of working have to become one.
• A planned succession where the owner wants a steady bridge before handing over.

Questions to ask first

What decisions are stalled today, and who is waiting on them? What would success look like at the end of the engagement? Who will the interim executive report to, and how will progress be reviewed? Clear answers to these questions matter more than the length of anyone's résumé.