Interim Executives: Why UK CEOs Are Rethinking Leadership Now

UK CEOs are increasingly hiring interim executives to lead transformation programmes, not just to plug unplanned vacancies. Under mounting pressure to deliver AI-driven change while permanent talent remains scarce, 75% of CEOs now cite access to talent as their single largest business risk — above geopolitical uncertainty, inflation or supply chain disruption.

That risk is reshaping how CEOs resource transformation. Rather than waiting months to make a permanent senior hire, boards are approving interim mandates to move faster.

Why are UK CEOs turning to interim leadership now?

According to Heidrick & Struggles’ 2026 UK research on on-demand talent, interim executives are increasingly delivering transformation programmes for UK businesses precisely because permanent leadership hiring cannot keep pace with the speed of AI-driven change. Interim leaders bring proven transformation experience without the multi-month recruitment cycle a permanent CFO, CTO or COO hire typically requires.

This is compounded by a wider skills shortage. According to the British Chambers of Commerce’s 2026 “Powering Productivity” report, 54% of UK firms have now adopted AI, up from 35% in 2025, but the organisational capability to lead that adoption has not kept pace with the technology itself.

• Executive Action: Identify which transformation workstreams are stalled specifically due to a leadership capability gap, not a resourcing or budget one.
• Build a pre-vetted shortlist of interim executives before a critical role becomes vacant.
• Brief the board on the cost-benefit case for interim versus permanent hires on a named transformation programme.

Which roles are best suited to interim leadership?

Interim mandates work best where the task is bounded and outcome-defined: a carve-out, an ERP migration, an AI governance build-out, or bridging a leadership gap during M&A integration. CEOs should be wary of using interim leaders to avoid a genuine strategic hiring decision — the data shows around one-third of CEOs expect increased permanent hiring for AI and digital roles even as interim usage rises, suggesting the two are complementary, not substitutes.

• Executive Action: Scope every interim mandate against a defined deliverable and end date before appointment.
• Run a parallel permanent search for any role expected to remain long term.
• Use INFORMD’s technology strategy review template to define the transformation scope an interim leader will own.

How should CEOs redesign roles alongside AI adoption?

CEOs are clear that AI transformation and workforce transformation cannot be separated. Most now plan to redesign roles and reskill existing employees rather than replace them outright, while around one-third expect to increase hiring specifically for AI and digital roles. Around one in five firms already report staffing reductions attributable to AI, and one in six UK employers expect AI to shrink their workforce over the next twelve months — a trend most pronounced at larger private sector firms.

• Executive Action: Commission a role-by-role AI impact assessment before the next headcount planning cycle.
• Set a reskilling target alongside any AI deployment that affects existing roles.
• Report workforce impact transparently to the board rather than treating it as a communications matter alone.

What should CEOs brief the board on before appointing interim leadership?

The board’s role is to approve the resourcing strategy for major transformation, not to select individual interim candidates. CEOs should bring a clear business case: the workstream at risk, the cost of delay, and the interim-versus-permanent trade-off. Boards should also ask what knowledge transfer plan exists so that transformation gains outlast the interim mandate itself — a common failure point INFORMD sees in post-mandate reviews.

• Executive Action: Require a documented knowledge transfer plan as a condition of every interim executive contract.
• Present the board with a clear cost-of-delay case, not just a cost-of-hire comparison.
• Benchmark leadership capacity gaps using INFORMD’s executive self-assessment tools.

Interim leadership is no longer a stopgap; for the CEOs moving fastest on transformation, it is a deliberate capacity strategy. For guidance structuring an interim mandate against a specific transformation goal, contact INFORMD.

INFORMD provides intelligence briefings, tools and frameworks for senior business leaders across technology, finance, strategy and compliance. Based in Milton Keynes, UK, we help executives stay informed and act with confidence. Explore our full briefing library or access our free assessment tools.

Stay ahead. Subscribe to INFORMD’s weekly executive briefing at informd.co.uk.