Leadership Lounge: How to Succeed as an Interim CEO
episodePreviously titled “How to Succeed as an Interim CEO ” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 12, 2026
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome to the Leadership Lounge, a place to kick back and listen as our experts dissect some of the biggest questions leaders face today. I'm Emma Coombe, Leadership Advisor in our London office. In today's episode, we're talking about the rise in interim CEO appointments and how you can succeed in that role. Some of the most notable leadership successions of recent decades have included an interim chapter. Tim Cook served as interim CEO at Apple before ultimately succeeding Steve Jobs, while Howard Schultz returned as interim CEO at Starbucks multiple times during key transition periods. And more recently, Stella David was appointed permanent CEO at Entain after initially stepping into the role on an interim basis.
But taking on an interim CEO role isn't easy. You're often expected to provide stability during uncertainty, make important decisions from day one and build confidence among employees, investors, customers and the board. All while everyone knows your appointment may be temporary. So how do you establish trust with your executive team, make difficult decisions and create momentum when your future in the role remains unclear? And if your ambition is to become a permanent CEO, how do you approach that conversation with the board? Before we dive in, remember to share any burning questions you want our experts to answer by emailing redefiners at russellreynolds.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
And if you enjoy listening to our episodes, leave us a review on Apple or Spotify. And if you're looking for practical advice on how to navigate high stakes moments in your leadership journey, whether that's becoming an interim CEO or looking to drive more impact in your current role, search Your Leadership Journey by Design, where our experts share their insights.
Why are interim CEO appointments increasing in 2025?
We'll share a link to it in our show notes. Let's dive in. First up, I'd like to welcome Effie Ekaizi, Leadership Advisor at Russell Reynolds Associates Miami office. Effie has over two decades of experience advising senior leaders, and I'm looking forward to hearing his perspective on the topic. Effie, welcome to the Leadership Lounge.
Thanks for having me. Delighted to be here.
So before we really get into how to succeed as an interim CEO, I'd like to first speak a little bit about the increase in appointments. While interim CEO appointments are still uncommon, our data shows that in 2025, 27 interim CEOs were appointed on the major indices around the world that we track, which is a significant increase from 16 in 2024. Let's dig into some of the reasons why these appointments are increasing in the first place. Effie, what's driving it in your experience?
There's a few factors I think are at play here. For me, Emma, I think the main thing is the ever-increasing pressure boards are under right now. You have a climate where there's an increasing demand for shareholder return, and there's a lot of churn in the CEO role, a lot of unexpected departures. I think we're still seeing a post-COVID burnout phase with a lot of CEOs and a very short 10 years as part of that. You kind of see a lot of the CEOs are not even lasting three years. As a result, you have this... phenomenon of unexpected departures. And so boards are not necessarily set up with the right succession planning that they would typically have in these situations.
You're right, Effie, and many board clients I speak with do have to deal with this sudden emergency appointment situation. And while many organisations will have CEO succession plans in place, we have seen an increase in sudden leadership departures, whether driven by performance concerns or personal misconduct. When these unexpected events occur, boards take their responsibility to identify the right successor very seriously, in my experience, and that process naturally takes time. So appointing an interim leader can provide much needed stability and continuity for the organisation during a period of real uncertainty. That said, not all boards place enough emphasis on succession planning.
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Chapters
4 chaptersSpeakers
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