Executive Interim Managers - The Evolving Market

A decade ago executive interim managers were used for filling gaps and fire-fighting crises. But today when they are asked why they are needed, their responses show a much stronger focus on strategic rather than tactical assignments; as a recent survey by Russam GMS shows.

"Strategic" and "Tactical" are our designations for the categories of assignment presented, not the researchers' designations.

However, MORI surveyed "British Captains of Industry" and asked the question: "For which main purposes have you ever appointed executive interim managers at main and/or subsidiary board level in general management or head of function capacity?"

The answers (below) showed a rather different emphasis, at least for the moment. Apart from identifying that most of British Captains of Industry hadn't yet used executive interim managers; as a whole, their needs for executive interim managers were more tactical than strategic, as were their most significant reasons for using executive interim managers at this level: namely "to hold the fort" and to cover the "sudden departure" of an employee.

"British Captains of Industry" 187 board directors of Britain's leading companies (top 500 by turnover, FTSE 500, top 100 by capital employed) of whom 68% were chairman, CEO, managing director or president.

Our interpretation of this data is that "Captains of Industry's" views for the moment lag somewhat behind the wider (albeit less senior) executive interim manager user-base. Most providers of executive interim managers anticipate that in time, more and more of the most senior executives in British industry will use executive interim managers successfully and as their confidence in the solution grows, more and more of their short-term strategic needs will be met by executive interim managers.

This view accords with the experiences of many of our registered executive interim managers. One of whom in a previous role as a senior executive within a "Big Four" consultancy, began to see an increasing number of the most strategic supply chain assignments being won by small highly experienced teams of executive interim managers, who were prepared not only to recommend the solution, but implement it and deliver the savings for the client. He knew he was seeing the thin end of the wedge and because of it decided to become an executive interim manager himself.

Ten years or so ago, that didn't happen.

Want to Know More About Executive Interim Managers?

From an overview of the contents of the Sambrook Report executive interim managers can gauge just how comprehensive this review of the interim management industry is. See our articles for details of how you can obtain the full copy of the Sambrook Report. The CBI Interim Management Guide is another complementary introduction to the industry.