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2021 Year In Review
5 Highlights from InterimExecs
Over the course of 2021 we worked with many company owners, boards and executives eager to charge forward, continuing to adapt and grow, flex and expand amid a new normal COVID landscape. It all reinforced for us why we do what we do, helping to build or fix as needs be. It can be lonely in positions of authority, yet we saw brave company owners, boards, and interims bring clarity and strength to their companies and teams.
Here are just a few ways InterimExecs and the RED Team jumped into action in 2021:
We Charted Trends
We surveyed 125 executives to ask what trends they anticipated would have the greatest effect on the interim specialty in the year ahead, and reported on the top 5 trends expanding the need for interim executives.
One thing was for sure: the vast majority saw the demand for interim would only continue to go up.
Did the interim predictions for 2021 play out? Here’s what they said:
> A virtual workforce and increasing tech-centricity would require organizations to modernize, transform data into a corporate asset, and place new priority around things like cyber security. Sure enough, looking back on the year, 2021 boasted the highest average cost from data breaches in the past 17 years — a whopping $4.24 million average per breach according to IBM.
> Businesses would continue to struggle and as investors saw performance objectives missed in 2020, outside leadership would be called in to restructure and set out a growth plan.
> M&A activity would rise. Deal activity in fact steadily rose through the year with Pitchbook reporting over 4,600 deals in Q3 combined for $708.3 billion. Healthcare and IT stood out as sectors trending up for deal activity.
> More CEOs and owners would retire leaving voids in the leadership team and creating opportunities to prepare the company for sale. In September Clarfeld Citizens Private Wealth found that 66% of high net-worth business owners planned on moving up their plan to retire or sell the company post-pandemic.
> The gig economy would continue to gain acceptance. As much of the workforce has gone virtual, we’ve seen companies more focused on finding the right skillset and expertise needed in the role versus focusing solely on location. Long executive search times and the high cost of a full-time hire has also fueled the desire for flexibility that comes with interim or fractional execs.
I don’t know where I am going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.
-David Bowie
We Deployed the RED Team
InterimExecs worked with PE funds, owners, and management teams navigating fast growth or still struggling with the challenges these past few years imposed. Through the Rapid Executive Deployment program, we deployed interim executives from the RED Team individually and as teams across many industries, including:
Fintech Company
A Europe-based fintech company needed an expert CEO to create a plan, win beta customers, launch, and lead expansion into the United States
Transportation Provider
A RED Team CHRO provided fractional services to build a team of union employees and engineers while improving employee engagement
Construction Equipment
A private equity backed construction equipment company engaged an Interim CFO to optimize financial reporting and performance.
Healthcare Association
A nonprofit healthcare association called in a veteran CMO with B2B and B2C experience to transform the marketing function and build out a digital strategy
Wellness App
A fast growing online health and wellness company called in an Interim COO and CTO to help move to a membership model and develop a mobile app
Cannabis
As cannabis sales expand across the US, we deployed a team including an expert CFO and controller to upgrade financials and complete on-time audits
I called InterimExecs when I took on an estate with an operating company where the owner had passed away and there was no successor in place. InterimExecs quickly introduced me to a RED Team executive who perfectly fit the bill. She jumped in eagerly, making sure the business continued to function smoothly, and then helped to efficiently manage the process of successfully selling the company. It was a great outcome and I thank InterimExecs for providing expert leadership fast.
-Dan Felix, Professional Trustee
We Presented Private Equity Value Creation Strategies
In February we teamed up with Private Equity Career News and Private Equity Professional to host a panel exploring best practices for value creation within private equity portfolio companies. The panel, led by InterimExecs CEO, Robert Jordan touched on everything from pricing, to creating a playbook, and building trust within the management team. See highlights here:
Effective executives differ widely in their personalities, strengths, weaknesses, values, and beliefs. All they have in common is that they get the right things done.
-Peter Drucker
We Gathered as a Team
Our annual in-person meetup of RED Team executives went virtual for the second year in a row.
Forty+ executives came together to talk shop. In a mix of group and breakout sessions we covered topics ranging from how sales channels have changed and how to revamp marketing and sales to take advantage of digital channels, to how interims are working to helping client companies ramp up mergers and acquisitions.
Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible.
-Colin Powell
We Identified Four Unique Leadership Styles
How is it that some leaders win brilliantly and repeatedly, while many others suffer in frustration and defeat?
InterimExecs’ co-founders Robert Jordan and Olivia Wagner have spent a decade+ interviewing thousands of executives and matching leaders with organizations in need of help. They have co-authored a book coming out March 29, 2022: Right Leader Right Time: Discover Your Leadership Style for a Winning Career and Company.
Jordan and Wagner share their framework for elevating leaders to greater career success, while helping organizations win bigger opportunities and build more collaborative, intentional teams.
In parallel, we are transforming our matching methodology into a leadership assessment tool to help executives have more impact in the gigs they serve in. We invite you to learn more about your leadership style by taking this confidential survey at www.interimexecs.com/leadership-survey. We will share aggregated results and more updates on the book launch in 2022.
Genius is in the idea. Impact however comes from action.
-Simon Sinek
That’s a Wrap!
Wishing You Much Joy & Success in 2021
-The InterimExecs Team
Explore the Benefits of Interim
- Access to top executives wired for challenge
- Skip the long executive search process
- Backed by a team and wealth of knowledge
- Fresh thinking and best practices
- Action and results – not just advice!
- Proven process to look at your unique needs
- Flexible contracts
- Mentorship and development for your team