Interim Management
When the seat is empty, it shouldn't stay empty for six months. We step in, run the operating cadence, hire the permanent successor alongside you, and hand over an organisation measurably better than the one we walked into.
What you get
- A functioning exec seat from week two. Team briefed, stakeholders mapped, operating rhythm running.
- A turnaround diagnostic by week three: the five things that are broken, the two that matter, the one we'll fix this quarter.
- Permanent successor hiring run in parallel — shortlist, interviews, structured handover.
- A written handover pack at the end: decisions made, decisions deferred, live risks, relationships built.
How we work
- Continuity protection. For multi-month mandates we brief a second senior — internal or from our network — in the first week, so an absence doesn't stall the programme.
- Day rate, capped month, written scope. We don't charge retainer for empty chairs.
- No lock-in. The mandate ends when the successor starts. We've never turned a six-month interim into an eighteen-month retainer.
- We write the handover, not the eulogy. By the last week, the successor has a one-pack briefing — not a 40-slide "state of the function".
Ideal for
- CEOs carrying a vacant direct report with no space in the diary to run recruiting.
- Boards bridging a leadership transition without stalling execution.
- PE funds dropping an interim into a portfolio company pre-sale or post-deal.
- Global teams bridging transitions across regions where continuity matters more than speed.
Typical engagement shape
- Duration
- 3–9 months, ending when the successor starts
- Team
- 1 principal in the seat, with a briefed senior continuity partner for mandates beyond 3 months
- Cadence
- Full-week presence first month, then 3–4 days/week
- Starts with
- A two-week scoped mandate letter — continuation is a mutual decision
- Exit
- Permanent successor in seat + written handover pack
Where we've run this before
Operational redesign and delivery leadership mandates across CEE growth-stage companies (Abris Capital portfolio including WDX and Versabox), and inside AB InBev's global digital transformation programme. See four engagements with real numbers →