Interim Management Report 2025: Current Trends and Developments in Interim Management
Written by EO Executives on July 22, 2025
Why the ability to act now is crucial
When every decision counts, companies need flexible leadership on demand. The Interim Management Report 2025 shows how experienced interim managers ensure fast implementation, clarity, and sustainable impact in today's challenging business environment.
Imagine your CFO leaves the company tomorrow
Your figures remain stagnant. Your stakeholders lose confidence. Your projects come to a standstill. How many days in limbo can you afford? Most decision-makers intuitively know the uncomfortable truth: only those who act find success.
If you hesitate, you risk gaps in the leadership team, uncertainty, and poor strategic decisions – and the longer a leadership position remains unfilled, the greater these risks become.
The Interim Management Report 2025 by EO Executives exposes this reality. It reveals why interim managers are more important than ever for the survival of companies: they take decisive action today and set the course towards the future.
The paradoxical standstill: Companies remain in crisis mode
Despite geopolitical risks, digitalization initiatives, and global supply chain problems, many organizations are currently exhibiting an astonishing pattern: instead of focusing on rapid reinforcement of their leadership team, they remain at a standstill.
The Interim Management Report shows that 38.6 percent of interim managers report a declining number of interim assignments, even though the need for leadership and operational implementation is higher than ever before.
In concrete terms, this means that strategies are decided and projects set up, but not implemented. Management gaps, excessive demands, and priority chaos slow the company down. Interim management offers a pragmatic answer to these challenges: a dedicated temporary manager who takes on operational responsibility and becomes effective immediately.
Despite massive economic challenges, 38.6 percent of interim managers report falling demand in 2025.
Interim management provides insurance against operational vacancies
When a key position suddenly becomes vacant, there is often no time for a lengthy search process. That's why interim managers take on full responsibility from day one and ensure the organization's ability to operate.
The "cost of vacancy" (the cost of an unfilled key role) can quickly amount to three times the corresponding annual salary. Every day lost means lost productivity, strategic setbacks, and reputational damage.
Interim executives are key in preventing such a standstill. They bring speed, independence, and assertiveness to the company, bridging critical phases professionally and with strong implementation skills.
The four key findings of the Interim Management Report 2025
Top players in the market view interim managers as a way to actively secure the future and aim to utilize their extensive experience to their advantage. The Interim Management Report offers data-based insights into the perspectives of interim managers.
Here are the four key findings for 2025:
Key Finding #1
Interim managers have the greatest impact in times of crisis and transformation.
Key Finding #2
A state of emergency is becoming the new normal. Companies must act now to set the course for tomorrow.
Key Finding #3
Resilience is becoming a key competency. Interim managers improve the resilience of the organizations in which they work.
Key Finding #4
Despite many challenges, the demand for interim management is falling. This discrepancy presents valuable opportunities for companies with a strategic mindset.
Where interim management makes a difference
The following are some of the most typical areas in which the strengths of interim managers come into play:
- Bridging a C-level vacancy
- Restructuring during financial or operational crises
- Implementation of complex digitization programs
- Post-merger integration and cultural alignment
- International expansion and establishing new locations
Interim management is highly adaptable and can be used in almost any crisis. However, it shouldn't be used as a last resort, but as an active instrument to secure the strategic ability to act. Interim managers do not deliver concepts, but results; they manage change in the company holistically.
Fast implementation with clear goals and long-term effects
The Interim Management Report 2025 reveals the key strengths of interim managers:
- Strategic implementation (19.8 percent)
- Strong focus on results (15.2 percent)
- Many years of operational and strategic experience (14.1 percent)
This means that interim managers act decisively and pragmatically, even in uncertain conditions. They create structures that remain sustainable even after their assignment ends. And their independence from the internal day-to-day business allows them to fully focus on implementation, free from internal politics.
»As interim managers, we provide answers when change must not be delayed. Wherever quick results matter but resources or the ability to implement are lacking, we take the reins. We think independently, act consistently to achieve your goals, and bring projects to a successful conclusion.«
Guest commentary by Peter Kuhle
Interim Executive Manager (View Website)
The key position of HR
In many companies, interim management is still only considered in emergencies. When utilized properly, however, it becomes an integral part of strategic planning. HR departments play a decisive role here. They may use interim management to reduce operational risks, actively manage change processes, or strengthen the organization's resilience in the long term.
However, this requires courage, vision, and the will to take unconventional paths and use interim management as a tool for active corporate management. Nevertheless, organizations that involve interim managers in transformation, restructuring, or expansion phases act faster and more confidently.
Practical examples show what this can look like in concrete terms:
Interim management examples
Example #1
A medium-sized supplier loses its CFO while rolling out a new ERP system. Within ten days, an experienced interim CFO stabilizes the reporting system and secures liquidity.
Example #2
In another case, an interim CHRO sets up an international shared service center and leads the cultural integration across national borders. Within a few months, the processes are standardized, and efficiency has increased significantly.
Example #3
An international corporation has to reorganize its IT security after a cyber attack. An interim CIO takes over crisis management, introduces immediate measures, and develops a new IT security strategy. After two months, the company's IT is completely secure again.
When does the ability to act become a competitive advantage?
In a crisis, if you wait you lose not only time but also your ability to act. Anyone who hesitates too long in addressing urgent management issues risks tensions, creates uncertainty, and loses market share.
The demands placed on business leaders have changed massively in recent years. Volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity are the new constants. In this environment, it is no longer just strategy and capital that decide success or failure, but the capacity to act and implement.
Decision-makers who use interim management strategically turn challenges into competitive advantages. They gain the necessary momentum to successfully innovate – and they strengthen their resilience in the long term.
Frequently Asked Questions: Interim Management
When does an interim manager truly make a difference?
Interim managers deliver immediate, measurable results when leadership gaps need to be filled more quickly than internal resources allow. Common scenarios include growth bottlenecks, sudden leadership vacancies, or stalled transformation initiatives. According to the Interim Management Report 2025, interim managers are most frequently engaged for change management and crisis situations.
What does an interim manager cost—and is it really worth it?
The average international day rate is €1,032, with Germany averaging €1,177 per day (Interim Management Report 2025). Most companies achieve a positive return on investment because interim managers solve operational challenges quickly and help deliver critical business outcomes faster.
How quickly can I bring an interim manager on board?
Most interim assignments start within 5 to 10 business days. In urgent cases, a qualified interim manager can be available within 48 hours. Speed of deployment is a key benefit of interim management (Interim Management Report 2025).
In which business situations is interim management ideal?
Interim management is ideal for leadership transitions, turnarounds, change initiatives, post-merger integrations, digital transformation projects, and bridging leadership gaps during succession processes. It provides critical support in high-pressure or resource-constrained situations.
Interim management vs. traditional consulting: Which is better for my company?
Interim managers take direct responsibility within the organization and drive change from within. Consultants deliver concepts and recommendations—interim managers deliver tangible, on-the-ground results. For mid-sized companies, execution capability is often the deciding factor.
How can I quickly and reliably find the right interim manager?
Speed is decisive! With EO Executives, you receive tailored profiles of vetted interim managers within just a few days and interim managers can often start within 48 hours.
Conclusion: It's your decision
Interim management is no longer an emergency solution. The Interim Management Report 2025 shows that the question companies need to ask themselves today is not whether they should consider interim management in the first place, but when and how an interim manager can best be utilized.
With over 20 years of experience and more than 1,000 successfully completed assignments worldwide, the professionals at EO Executives know that every business challenge is unique and requires an individual solution.
When it comes to interim requests, speed is of the essence. We support you within a few hours: Your request will be processed as quickly as possible, and a suitable EO consultant will get in touch with you.
About EO Executives
EO Executives is an international executive search and interim management company. Since 1997, we have supported businesses in recruiting proven leaders who take responsibility and create real impact.
Our consultants have held senior roles themselves and know what it takes to remain effective in complex situations. Through the EO network, they bring together the right experts to tackle every challenge with a high-performance team.
Our approach is clear: we don’t think in profiles, but in results. Because sustainable success doesn’t come from perfect planning – but from people determined to take responsibility.
