CIO Hired Guns – Interim Execs Featured in Computerworld

July 10, 2017
CIO Hired Guns – Interim Execs Featured in Computerworld

In the Computerworld article “The latest in IT services? CIO hired guns“, Robert Jordan, CEO of the Association of Interim Executives explained to Computerworld that interim executives are responsible for “hiring, firing and making decisions”.

Thank you to RED Team members, Damon Neth and Dean Samuels, who also provided great insights. Dean Samuels, Interim CIO, said “This is exactly what the future is. We’ve gone from an IT asset portfolio to an IT service portfolio. So if IT has transformed into a services portfolio, why wouldn’t you get an IT service-oriented CIO as a service?”

Interim CIO, Damon Neth explained the honesty that comes with interim executives adding “I have no problem selling unpopular messages if I believe that they’re right for the organization or addressing the elephant in the room.”

2017 RED 3 Chicago

March 10, 2017

RED Team Roundtable
May 1 – 2, 2017

Register Now

Annual Association of Interim Executives RED Team Member Meeting: May 1 – 2
Location: William Blair, 222 W Adams St, Chicago, IL 60606

Sponsored By: 



Monday, May 1: Happy Hour (4:30pm – 6:30pm) & Breakout Group Dinners
Tuesday, May 2: RED 2 Annual Meeting (8:00am – 4:30pm)

**The full day RED 3 conference is only open to members of the RED Team**

MONDAY, MAY 1

Happy Hour: 4:30pm – 6:30pm
Location: Pinstripes, 435 E Illinois St, Chicago, IL 60611
This is an opportunity to catch up and informally meet other RED Team members.

Dinner Breakouts: 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Location: Various restaurants
For those interested, we will be coordinating small groups of RED Team members to go to dinner at various local restaurants to enjoy smaller group conversations. Cost of dinner is not included in registration cost.

TUESDAY, MAY 2

RED Team Annual Meeting: 8:00am – 4:30pm
We will be hosted by William Blair for the ONE day a year when we have an opportunity to meet in person and brainstorm, share best practices, develop new ways to drive forward in both our individual practices and RED Team collaborations. The overwhelming feedback from RED 1 and RED 2 was that having an opportunity to meet in person is one of the most valuable services we can offer.

The goal, as with RED 1 and RED 2, is to expand our thinking and actions to make for a more prosperous environment in our work and more powerful connections leading to bigger and bigger opportunities, more rewarding engagements and new collective equity possibilities. Breakfast, lunch and snacks are included in registration. A more detailed schedule will be presented on May 2, but a summary of the day is as follows:

8:00am – 8:30am       Check in and Breakfast
8:30am – 9:30am       A Mastermind Partnership: The 2017 RED Team
9:30am – 9:45am       Presentation by William Blair Private Equity, Venture Capital and Investment Banking
Break
10:00am – 10:45am   The State of Our Union – Robert Jordan, CEO, InterimExecs
Break
11:00am – 12:00pm   The Interim Toolkit: Assessments
12:00pm – 1:00pm     Lunch and Partnerships Into Equity/RED Capital
1:00pm – 1:15pm    Presentation by White Oak Global Advisors: Transformational Senior Secured Direct Lending Financing Solutions for Middle Market Companies in Transition
Break
1:25 – 2:15pm            The Interim Toolkit: Best Practices
2:15 – 2:30pm          Presentation by Concur: Technology and Connected Data
Break
2:45 – 3:30pm            Purpose Driven Projects and Teams (PDPs)
3:30pm – 4:00pm     Forum for Members

Register Now

red33

 Hotels Near the RED3 Meeting

1. JW Marriott: across the street from meeting place
2. La Quinta Inn & Suites: 1/4 mile from meeting place **special negotiated rate**
3. Palmer House (by Hilton): 1/2 miles from meeting place
4. LondonHouse (by Hilton): 1 mile from meeting place
5. The Alise Chicago:: 1 mile from meeting place

10-15 Minute Cab Ride – River North & Gold Coast
7. Peninsula Chicago: 1.7 miles from meeting place **special negotiated rate**
8. The Gwen: 1.6 miles from meeting place **special negotiated rate**
9. Thompson Hotel: 2.2 miles from meeting place **special negotiated rate**

**Email paula (at) interimexecs.com for discounted rates

Services

February 14, 2017

Interim Management

For companies that are experiencing leadership gaps – CEO, CFO, COO, CIO, CTO, CMO, CSO – interim executives step in to get a company on track, ultimately hiring their permanent replacement. The average assignment ranges from 3 months – 9 months, but can go as long as 2+ years. Read how more company owners are using interims or see if an interim executive is a fit for your company.

Part-Time & Fractional Execs

Fractional executives take on multiple clients, especially with companies at a stage where they are ramping up growth and are not ready to to bring on a full-time hire. Whether a CFO to put systems and processes in place or CMO to lead strategy and execution of marketing initiatives, companies get the benefit of a full-powered executive for a fraction of the cost. See how fast-growing companies are using part-time and fractional leadership.

Private Equity Operating Executives

Private equity funds utilize the RED Team to step into operating roles in PE portfolio companies seeking big growth and big returns. Sometimes there’s a leadership gap to be filled whether in the form of Interim CEO or CFO. More powerful possibilities come up when we bring in executives to grow the company, prepare for sale, or acquire and integrate other businesses to expand. An interim COO can streamline operations. An interim CFO can upgrade financial reporting. An interim CIO can improve IT systems. Private equity funds can build out an on-demand leadership team to scale. Read more on how PE funds can find top interims.

“Having someone embedded in our organization not only allowed substantive focus on multiple issues—it inspired real change.”

– Angela Kimball, National Director

Project Execution & Implementation Teams

When companies undergo specific initiatives, they often draw on project executives to add resources to the team without adding to permanent overhead. In most cases, transformation is needed whether technology (SAP implementation, outsourcing, systems integration), operations (process improvement), finance (prepare for IPO, M&A transactions), marketing (product launch, market expansion), and beyond. Find more on the RED Team here.

“If you look at the most successful companies in the world they change, they adapt, they innovate.”

– Robert Jordan, CEO, InterimExecs

Operational Roadmap

When companies find themselves wondering if they are on track — running efficiently, utilizing all resources, taking full advantage of the market and opportunities for growth — operating executives step in for a few days to a few weeks to get a full view of the organization: financials, operations, marketing, people, process, sales. At the end of the assessment, the executive or team will present a roadmap that a company can actually execute on. And if they need more resources to carry out the plan, our RED Team go beyond the world of consulting, and engage to make it happen. Ready how the best organizations have a good action plan for the future.

Turnaround, Distress, Restructuring

One classic use case for interim executives is turnaround. Revenues fall. Losses mount. Team morale plummets and key people leave. Whatever the level of distress, from minor storm clouds to catastrophic failure, turnaround specialists can step in to fix or preserve assets. Where true turnaround has been achieved, it means the interim executive has been successful transforming the organization, whether improved infrastructure and systems or enhanced culture, in either case leading to renewed profits and reinvigorated operations. See a turnaround CEO’s approach to getting things back on a positive track.

“They had a CEO that was leaving that had taken the organization in a direction that may not have been sustainable.”

– Gregg Steinberg, Interim CEO

Ready to Learn More?

Contact us by web or +1 (847) 849-2800 for a confidential discussion

Request a Call

Private Equity Investors Tap Interim Executives to Transform Portfolio Companies

November 17, 2016
Olivia Wagner
By: Olivia Wagner President, InterimExecs
Private Equity Investors Tap Interim Executives to Transform Portfolio Companies

“No duty the executive had to perform was so trying as to put the right man in the right place.” -Thomas Jefferson

Private equity fund managers aren’t in the caretaking business. They are in the business of sparking change within companies that can be grown or turned around to produce big returns for their institutional investors. And that change can’t be just incremental. Fund managers strive to be in the business of transformation.

Sometimes, along with capital, transformation means bringing in solid, experienced leadership to help take a company to the next level.
Continue reading →

Landing Page_TASC Business Assessment

May 20, 2016

Get a Complete Business Roadmap by a Top Operating Executive

To succeed in business, it’s dangerous to get stuck in the day to day minutia. You need a big picture — a vision and strategy for the future. But it can be difficult for busy leaders to focus on strategies when they’re overwhelmed by the immediate demands of running a business. They spend most of their time down in the trenches, rather than surveying the horizon and making plans to boldly win far more than competitors.

Find Executives

Assuming that your business is dedicating adequate resources to big-picture thinking, how many of those plans have been put into action versus sitting on a shelf? Even with a plan in hand, developing strategic blind spots along the way is also a threat. Problems don’t only arise from the risks you understand or don’t understand. The biggest danger may be from those things you don’t see coming at all. Periodically having an outside expert assess your business can eliminate these blind spots and bring greater overall clarity about what’s working, what isn’t, and how to improve.

LET’S TALK ABOUT WHERE YOUR BUSINESS IS AND WHERE YOU WANT IT TO GO >

What is an Operational Roadmap?

Before an organization builds, expands, or renovates, a master blueprint is needed. An operational roadmap from the InterimExecs RED Team is an assessment of your business that sets strategic priorities and formulates an action plan to achieve your biggest goals. If additional resources are needed to execute, we can then rapidly deploy an interim executive or executive team.

Your Company's Health Report

Doctors give patients an annual physical to establish health baselines and detect problems before they are serious. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as the saying goes. Taking a bit of precaution now, when a problem is still small, is easier than dealing with a full-blown crisis. So why don’t we approach business the same way?

When you’re focused on the day-to-day, you can lose sight of the big picture questions that will drive your organization forward. Is everything running smoothly and optimally? What can be improved? What KPIs should you have in place to best track operational and financial performance? Is your organizational design fast and efficient?

We created a business roadmap tool for owners, investors, and management teams to get a clear assessment of their company and operations. Think of it as a health checkup for your business, performed by a top operating executive who can identify areas for improvement, develop an action plan, and deliver results.

PHASE 1: DISCOVERY

Interviews with key senior management (CEO, CFO, COO, etc.), select members of the team, and customers take place along with research and review of data and analytics. An executive or team analyzes key metrics from financials and sales, unique IP, markets, brand awareness, risks, regulatory issues, competitive outlook, and operational flags.

PHASE 2: HEALTH SNAPSHOT

The result of a deep dive into everything from finance and accounting to operations, marketing, IT, and sales is a clear view of what’s running optimally and what can be improved. In a health snapshot, a company receives a fresh outside perspective on areas that include strategic vision and alignment, business governance, operational execution, information technology, people and capabilities, culture, performance trajectory, and financial viability.

PHASE 3: OPERATIONAL ROADMAP

From a health snapshot comes an operational roadmap which outlines areas of opportunity and prioritizes which initiatives should be tackled first across sales, marketing, and information technology.

Request Your Operational Roadmap

Find out how the RED Team can help you achieve big results in the year ahead

Get Started

Interims are not consultants. You are accessing the power and brainpower of boots-on-the-ground operators, who have a wealth of experience working with companies that span across size and industry. We don’t like big binders that end up sitting on a dusty shelf. A TASC business assessment provides an outlook of a company that points to results and how to get there fast.

– Robert Jordan, CEO, Association of Interim Executives

Not Just Advice. We Mean Action.

We all know the story. A company pays thousands (or millions) of dollars to get advice packaged up in a pretty report by a consulting company’s fresh MBA. And then…nothing happens. Maybe it’s a lack of resources, but ultimately, no one actually executes on the plan.

The RED Team consists of interim executives who have run, grown, and turned around businesses. While this experience lends itself to creating a strong roadmap, the true strength of interims is that they can be engaged to make the plan a reality. For organizations stretched for internal resources or wanting to speed up the timeline so they don’t sit stagnant, a project-based or interim executive can be a powerful solution.

Dick Lindenmuth

“The company had lost $6 million in the last year. We presented a financial and operational business assessment to the investors and owners, and then engaged in implementing the plan. Three months later we were cash flow positive.”

Dick Lindenmuth Interim CEO
Damon Neth

“In a business assessment we bring to light processes, efficiencies, organizational needs and challenges and map those to the structure of an organization. These are high value, quick hits that are designed to move the football incrementally down the field.”

Damon Neth Interim CIO, CTO

True Operators Deliver Strategy and Implementation

  • Align the team, partners, owners, boards and employees
  • Grow sales and expand markets globally
  • Fix what is stuck, stalled, shutdown or stagnant
  • Maximize the value of a current or future transaction
  • Optimize profit, systems and processes
  • Create a new product, process, spinoff, JV or new company

A Low Risk Way to Engage

With your operational roadmap in hand you will know if you have the right team in place to implement. Need more resources? You can instantly access rapid executive deployment (RED) to seamlessly move into execution mode where your interim executive or RED team carries out the plan.

Request Your Business Assessment
Philippe Lavie

“We always go through an assessment to figure out what is going on within the organization from a revenue generation standpoint. We can quickly look at how they’re organized, how they function and if there are any constraints within the function of sales.”

Philippe Lavie Interim CSO
Michelle Barnes

“I find a lot of times organizations don’t really know why they’re in the situation they are. They just know they’re in a bad situation. I work with the staff, the board and some of our major funders to figure out what is really happening and present it back to the board.”

Michelle Barnes Interim CEO
Request Your Business Roadmap

NPR Discusses the Rise of Interim CEOs

March 4, 2016

npr-logoIn a recent NPR story about the rising demand for interim executives, Association of Interim Executives CEO, Robert Jordan shares that a temporary CEO is not a babysitter, but rather a specialized surgeon. “It creates a bias in favor of action and against playing politics,” Robert said, then commenting that Interim CEOs are “trying to solve a problem and work themselves out of the job.”

Association RED Team Member and Interim CEO, Richard Lindenmuth, is also interviewed sharing about his turnaround of Styrotek, an agricultural packaging company in California that contacted the Association in the midst of a 3-month drought and big financial losses. Dick was able to parachute in as Interim CEO and get the company quickly back to profitability. He says “you really have to listen – the solutions are generally within the company.”

Listen to the Story: http://www.npr.org/2016/03/04/469149268/interim-ceos-passive-placeholders-or-rented-fixers 

Institute

August 3, 2015

Are You Ready to Expand Your Career as an Interim Executive?

Start with the Interim Execs Institute

The Leadership Program for Interim Execs is Here.

Great interims are change agents who do more than just give great advice…they implement. If you are expert at moving the meter in companies, the Leadership Program for Interim Execs is designed to help you take your career to the next level through a series of audio programs featuring top experts.

The Fundamentals of Interim Management

The Fundamentals of Interim Management

  • 101 Introduction
  • 102 The View from 50,000 Feet: The New and Expanding Career Choice
  • 103 Negotiating Agreements & Getting Paid Handsomely
  • 104 How to Go to Market
  • 105Findings
The Advanced Program for Interim Executives

The Advanced Program for Interim Executives

  • 201 Structuring Multiple, Parallel Assignments
  • 202 Entering Into Assignments as a Team
  • 203 Taking Assignments Around the World
  • 204 How PE Funds Utilize Interim Executives
Becoming an Interim Exec Specialty Breakout

Becoming an Interim Exec Specialty Breakout

  • 301 Interim CFO
  • 302 Interim CIO/CTO
  • 303 Turnaround
  • 304 Interim Chief Sales Officer

Start the Leadership Program

You Have the Credentials. Now Multiply Your Results.

InterimExecs work with 2,000+ interim executives over 15 years has been distilled down to
three programs and a discussion with 24 experts.

  • What is interim management?
  • The mindset of a successful interim executive
  • Steps to become skilled and trusted by clients
  • Best practices for negotiating a contract
  • Secrets to structuring payment
  • How to execute assignments as an interim
  • Ways to present yourself to the marketplace
  • The benefit to parallel assignments
  • How to strengthen your positioning with a team
  • Interim management around the world
  • Ways to work with Private Equity funds
    …and more

This is everything you need to know to be successful as an interim executive

Start the Leadership Program Now

Hear from a Panel of Veteran
Interim Execs & PE Funds

Dick Lindenmuth
Dick Lindenmuth

Interim CEO with 30+ years experience in domestic and international operations ranging from high-growth to distressed environments.

Tony Evans
Tony Evans

Interim CEO with 18 years interim experience and $880M of value added to companies across Europe and the Middle East.

Astrid Rapp
Astrid Rapp

Interim CFO with 20 years experience and interim assignments with 10+ companies throughout Europe and the US

David Neafus
David Neafus

Interim CFO with 20+ years CFO experience, managing all aspects of financial performance and HR for client companies.

John Collard
John Collard

Interim CEO with 35 years in business and 45 transactions totaling $1 billion along with numerous operating roles.

Mona Pearl
Mona Pearl

Interim COO who’s been involved in over 20 startups, lived on three continents and speaks six languages.

Robert Hudzik
Robert Hudzik

Interim COO who’s managed multiple international post-merger acquisitions ranging from $20M to $2.6B.

Sanjay Dvwivedi
Sanjay Dvwivedi

Interim CFO for the past four years serving with six companies, five in India, one in the US.

Scott Philips
Scott Philips

Interim CEO with 30+ years general management experience with over 200 companies and interim assignments with over 20 organizations.

Michael Pfeffer
Michael Pfeffer

Managing Director of Post Capital Partners (New York), a family fund and private equity fund with hundreds of millions of dollars under management

Paul Pickard
Paul Pickard

Managing Director of Stewart Capital Management, a family fund with a long-term focus and an ability to work with companies lacking a full management team.

Sean Roberts
Sean Roberts

Vice President of Huron Capital Partners (Detroit), a private equity fund that has raised over $1.1 billion since 1999.

Dominic Luzi
Dominic Luzi

Interim CIO expert in delivering business transformation solutions for small/medium enterprises and global enterprise

John Lafferty
John Lafferty

Interim CFO with 40 years experience working with entrepreneurs, startups, emerging and mature businesses

Yoav Cohen
Yoav Cohen

20+ year experience in CFO, COO and  CEO positions successfully shaping strategy, driving growth and improving operations

John Matthesen
John Matthesen

Interim CIO with 21 years experience in high-tech, expert at taking companies from startup to global enterprises

Mark Palmer
Mark Palmer

Interim CEO and Chief Sales Officer with 40+ years experience focusing and restructuring technology companies

Tom Murray
Tom Murray

Interim CIO for organizations undergoing significant change due to business growth, merger & acquisition or company re-organization

Robert Jordan
Robert Jordan

CEO of the Association of Interim Executives, entrepreneur, with 20 years helping companies launch and grow

Gary Brooks
Gary Brooks

Interim COO to 27 under-performing manufacturers and distributors where he re-established a foundation of profitable growth

Philippe Lavie
Philippe Lavie

Interim CSO expert in helping B2B companies, $3M – $300M in revenue, change business behaviors to sell more effectively

Eric Kish
Eric Kish

Interim CEO and turnaround executive, with expertise in PE backed turnarounds ranging from petrochemicals to software

Learn How to Excel At Interim Management

“The interviews commanded your attention all the way through.  The facilitation, questions and participants’ content responses were outstanding.  It truly is a life-changing decision to fully commit to the interim designation and make it work. I’m sure glad I went down that path.”

- John Lafferty -

“I describe myself as being a great sprinter, not a great marathon runner. I don’t want to be in an organization more than 18 to 24 months frankly because my value is up where I can get clarity on the issues and on the solutions that they need and then help work with them to get those solutions started and moving down the road.”

- Scott Philips -

“You need to be able to operate very quickly. And my experiences working with interims, they get things done in a very incisive and laser-like way, which you do not find commonly within the permanent ranks of a company.”

- Tony Evans -

The key differentiating factor between a consultant and interim executive is decision making. In a consulting capacity you advise existing management. And in the case of turnaround situations, often times you are advising the same management that have made poor decisions before and caused the company to get into trouble. Why would you think you would have a different outcome?”

- John Collard -
Download Now

From Great Interims Come Great Results

In the Leadership Program for Interim Execs audio series, veteran interim executives and private equity fund managers will give you a broad understanding of the opportunities and challenges in becoming a highly successful interim executive.

The Fundamentals of Interim Management

The Fundamentals of Interim Management

  • 101 Introduction
  • 102 The View from 50,000 Feet: The New and Expanding Career Choice
  • 103 Negotiating Agreements & Getting Paid Handsomely
  • 104 How to Go to Market
  • 105Findings
Advanced Look at Interim Management

Advanced Look at Interim Management

  • 201 Structuring Multiple, Parallel Assignments
  • 202 Entering Into Assignments as a Team
  • 203 Taking Assignments Around the World
  • 204 How PE Funds Utilize Interim Executives
Becoming an Interim Exec Specialty Breakout

Becoming an Interim Exec Specialty Breakout

  • 301 Interim CFO
  • 302 Interim CIO/CTO
  • 303 Turnaround
  • 304 Interim Chief Sales Officer

Start the Leadership Program

Meet The Team

July 27, 2015
Robert Jordan
Robert Jordan Founder & CEO

Robert Jordan has launched companies and helped other owners and investors build their companies for 25+ years. After founding the first Internet-coverage magazine in the world, Online Access, and landing on the Inc 500 list of fastest-growing companies, Jordan sold the magazine and began taking on interim CEO gigs. High multiple company sales and IPOs followed. In 2007 he started an online network for interim executives around the globe, expanding to 2,300 executives from 45 countries. Jordan then co-founded InterimExecs, helping owners and investors with powerful leadership on demand through InterimExecs RED Team (Rapid Executive Deployment). Jordan is author of How They Did It: Billion Dollar Insights from the Heart of America, and publishing partner for Start With No, Jim Camp’s bestselling book and audio on negotiation.

Olivia Wagner
Olivia Wagner Founder & President

Olivia Wagner co-founded InterimExecs and directs the organization, matching owners and investors with powerful leadership on demand through InterimExecs RED Team (Rapid Executive Deployment). Olivia previously built an online network for executives from a home-grown website into a robust social network with thousands of members from around the globe. She is co-author of Right Leader Right Time: Discover Your Leadership Style for a Winning Career and Company, which explores four unique leadership modes for success. She directed publication of various ebook, website, and marketing initiatives and edited How They Did It: Billion Dollar Insights from the Heart of America. In conjunction with the book she led a national event series for entrepreneurs which drew hundreds of attendees and co-hosting organizations. Wagner is a Michigan native, recently making her way back to the Detroit area where she resides with her husband and son.

Paula Saban
Paula Saban Development Director

Paula Saban brings 25 years of success in the financial services industry to InterimExecs. As Development Director, Paula works closely with companies, private equity funds and top interim executives around the globe. She serves on the board of one of the largest non-traded real estate investment trusts in the US which invests primarily in retail properties around the country. Prior to InterimExecs she was Senior Vice President at Bank of America, and is part-owner in a family business since 1996.

Sher Downing
Sher Downing Director of Client Engagement

Sher Downing joined InterimExecs as the Director of Client Engagement after a 17-year tenure in hospitality. She works with organizations to provide top interim leadership, seeks out new growth opportunities, and aligns with industry leaders and strategic partners. Sher worked for independent projects, premier hotel management and investment groups in every capacity from local to international business development. Although currently based in San Diego, she is a liaison for clients around the globe.

Tyler Meredith
Tyler Meredith Executive Assistant

Tyler Meredith joined the InterimExecs team in 2022, and is a master at keeping the team and schedules organized while leading development and design of social media content. With a background in the performing arts world, Tyler is an actor and voice over artist. Her voice over client list includes work with Kitchenaid, Ragu, ACT Mouthwash, Google, Boost Mobile and several animation projects. She holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from the University of Illinois-Chicago, and is a graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy and the School at Steppenwolf.

When Do You Bring In an Interim Executive?

November 26, 2014

When do you bring an interim executive in to a company? In this video two veterans, John Collard, Chairman of Strategic Management Partners and Robert Jordan, CEO of the Association of Interim Executives, give a quick description. Do interims always replace existing management? Decidedly — no. Many times interims complement the existing team

Webinar: Five Secrets for Sourcing Your Next Client

September 4, 2013

For some interims the mentality is feast or famine – and that’s not a great position to be in. But it doesn’t have to be that way. In this member-exclusive webinar Robert Jordan, CEO of the Association of Interim Executives, shares five secrets for capturing more opportunities and positioning yourself for more work and less downtime. Learn how to become more powerful right now.
Continue reading →