Why Interim and Fractional CIOs and CTOs Are Essential in this Age of AI Transformation

AI transformation is not just a technology initiative; it is an organizational shift that requires experienced leadership. Interim and fractional CIOs and CTOs bring the expertise needed to help companies align people, processes, and architecture as agentic AI reshapes how work gets done.

Artificial intelligence has moved beyond experimentation. Boards and leadership teams are no longer asking whether to adopt AI, they are asking how quickly they can execute without destabilizing their organization.

What many companies discover is that the biggest obstacle is not technology. It is leadership.

Read More

From SaaS to Agentic BPO: How AI Is Reshaping Business Models

Agentic AI is pushing companies to rethink traditional SaaS economics. As agents begin executing workflows, organizations are exploring outcome-driven models that resemble AI-powered BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) services rather than seat-based software platforms.

For decades, SaaS growth relied on expanding users and licenses. The more seats a company sold, the higher its perceived value.

Agentic AI introduces a different possibility, one where software doesn’t just support work, but performs it.

That shift has led to a “SaaSpocolypse.” Software as a Service companies have shed market value in the face of the rapid emergence of agentic AI. In response, Jack Dorsey, CEO of Block, laid off 40 percent of his workforce and was rewarded with a 24 percent jump in the company’s stock price.

Is that the only way forward? No, says one of our InterimExecs RED Team CIOs.

Read More

The Workforce Crisis Driving AI Adoption (That No One Wants to Admit)

The most successful organizations adopt AI not to replace workers, but to solve talent shortages and scale expertise through AI agents.

AI is often framed as a productivity story. But, according to one of our RED Team Interim CIOs whose expertise involves transforming organizations using AI and technology, the problem is something very different.

“They don’t have the workforce.”

Read More

What Is Agentic AI? An Interim CIO’s Guide to Real Transformation Beyond AI Hype

Agentic AI shifts work from humans navigating software to AI agents executing workflows directly under expert supervision.

“Agentic AI” is one of the hottest terms out there. But what does agentic AI really mean? It’s not chatbots, copilots, or incremental automation. That is so last week in our AI-fueled world.

In our interview with an Interim CIO who has led multiple deployments, the distinction was clear: agentic AI isn’t about assisting users, it’s about artificial intelligence agents actually doing the work.

And it’s big. Really big. In fact, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said in his keynote address at the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show that enterprise AI agents would create a “multi-trillion-dollar opportunity” for many industries, from medicine to software engineering.

So how do you get a piece of that?

Read More

The Agentic AI Shift: Why SaaS Companies Must Rethink Growth, Valuation, and Leadership

Agentic AI changes how software works by executing workflows instead of supporting users. This shift challenges seat-based SaaS economics and requires experienced executive leadership to guide transformation.

For years, SaaS valuations were built on a familiar model: growth, recurring revenue, and expanding user seats. Companies scaled by adding customers and increasing adoption inside organizations.

No more.

Agentic AI is changing not just how software is built, but how work itself gets done. And for many SaaS companies, especially those in the broad middle of the market, that shift has immediate implications for valuation, growth narratives, exit strategies, and executive leadership needs.

Read More

Stop Firing People. Your Business Strategy Is the Real Problem

Corporate distress is so common, sometimes we don’t even notice it.

Twenty percent of companies fail in their first year. Sixty-five percent fail within 10 years. After 20 years, nearly 80 percent have disappeared.

Yet these statistics also reveal that decline is not at all inevitable. What separates the survivors from the casualties?

The difference lies in how they think about their core business.

This isn’t intuitive, or popular. When companies get into trouble, the reflex is frequently to attack the symptoms: costs.

Fire the receptionist.

Cancel the office perks.

Reduce headcount.

But this approach rarely works, because cutting expenses isn’t usually the way to fix a failing business.

Read More

How PE Funds Use Interim CFOs to Drive Value in Middle-Market Portfolio Companies

In the fast-moving world of private equity, middle-market portfolio companies face unique challenges: rapid growth, complex transactions, and tight timelines. For PE firms, ensuring leadership that can drive value immediately is critical to maximizing returns. That’s why more firms are turning to interim CFOs. These experienced executives provide immediate financial leadership, operational expertise, and strategic guidance.

At InterimExecs, we’ve helped PE firms across industries place the right interim CFOs to accelerate growth and unlock value in their portfolio companies. Here’s how.

Read More

Why Interim Leadership Isn’t Executive Search and Why the Fundamental Differences Matter

I just got off the phone with one of our RED Team interim executives, a seasoned operator currently parachuted into a portfolio company owned by a rookie private equity fund. He was brought in to mentor the heir apparent to take over the CEO seat.

Instead, he’s now cleaning up messes no one knew existed.

Very quickly after arriving, our interim executive realized the heir apparent wasn’t just struggling; he was fundamentally incompetent. Then the signs got darker: showing up smelling of alcohol. And then, the final line crossed; groping a young female colleague at a trade show.

Our interim executive had to interview the young woman, then fire the heir apparent.

Read More

Family Office Costs Rising? Why an Interim Executive Can Be the Answer in Uncertain Times

Family offices exist to protect, grow, and steward wealth across generations. At their best, they provide clarity, alignment, and disciplined decision-making for complex financial and personal priorities. Yet in today’s environment of economic uncertainty, regulatory pressure, and volatile markets, many high-net-worth families are asking a difficult question:

Is our family office costing more to run than it should?

Concerns about family office management costs are no longer hypothetical; they are becoming a central issue for families seeking operational efficiency, accountability, and flexibility without compromising discretion or quality.

Increasingly, the solution is not a permanent hire, but interim executive leadership for family offices. It’s not just about the permanent nature of, well, hiring permanently, with all of its burdens – it’s that interim is a powerful way to outsource while still keeping control.

Read More