Immediate replacement of a key executive maintains momentum and avoids a leadership vacuum. Interim CEOs are being used more and more frequently by companies large and small. For more information, see Trend-Interim Management(pdf).
An interim leader must be more than a placeholder! His fresh perspective and broad experience can produce new energy and new strategy, invigorating the company while the search for a permanent executive takes its course.
Tom Gray is an experienced interim executive. He has been Interim CEO at Warwick Valley Telephone Company (New York), and at Mooney Airplane Company (Texas). Earlier, he led divisions at FLAG (London) and Belgacom (Belgium).
His approach takes the business as far as the Board wants it to go. Beginning with a survey of issues and prioritization, he quickly moves to assessment, goals, and strategy.
Tom’s “action-oriented strategy” method aligns management to a single vision, identifies key projects, assigns responsibility, and monitors results. For a description of one of Tom’s operational turnarounds as Interim CEO, see An Operational Turnaround’s First 100 Days (pdf).
Tom’s company can supply interim executives with varied functional and industry backgrounds.
“We wanted a leader, not a caretaker. Tom came in asking all the right questions, and within a few weeks he had developed a strategy, put project plans in motion, and created a budget. He helped choose his successor, and the year’s results were several million better than before Tom came.” - Kelly Bloss, Director, Warwick Valley Telephone Company
