What Is an Interim Executive?

An interim executive is an experienced business professional who temporarily assumes an executive position within an organization or company. The reasons for assuming a high-level position on a temporary basis vary according to circumstances, but it is not unusual for someone to assume an interim role when the previous holder of the position leaves the company or organization. Other occasions for hiring an interim executive would be in situations where a business is experiencing unusual growth or challenges that its existing staff is not equipped to address. The amount of time that an interim executive remains in the role varies, and these transitional positions may last anywhere from a few months to more than a year.

In many companies and organizations, executives play a key role not only in day-to-day business, but also in the long-range goals of a company as well as its overall culture and mission. When someone with significant authority leaves an organization, a period of adjustment for remaining staff is inevitable. This is particularly true if the executive dies or otherwise leaves his position suddenly and there has not been a transition plan put into place. By immediately replacing one executive with another, additional stress can be experienced within the organization due to changes in management style and the need for the executive and his colleagues and subordinates to develop a working relationship. In order to reduce the stress, some companies will appoint an interim executive who can assume many of the previous executive's tasks while remaining executives or the organization's board of directors conduct a search for a suitable, full-time replacement.

Another reason why an organization may prefer to hire an interim executive is that, following the departure of a long-time organizational leader, the company itself may be in need of a significant change in its operations. In such cases, bringing on a new executive right away may be counterproductive. By hiring an interim executive, the company's leadership can make important decisions about refocusing or even reinventing the company and then hire a permanent executive who fits in well with those goals.

In other cases, a business may venture into new areas or take on additional challenges that are outside the experience of its current executive and management teams. These businesses may have no need to establish a new position in their company, at least on a permanent basis, but may need help from an experienced business leader who is willing to become more integrated into a business than a third-party consultant might be. In such cases, the interim executive may take on a temporary position working with existing staff to bring them up to speed and then preparing a current staff member to take over his responsibilities.