CEO, for Now
With boards facing a steep number of CEO openings to fill, many are turning to interims. How is that going?
Key Takeaways:
- Nearly one-third of public-company directors say they don’t have a successor identified who could effectively take over if the CEO left tomorrow.
- At the same time, CEO turnover at S&P 1500 companies last year was the highest it has been since 2010.
- Boards are increasingly considering and appointing interim-CEOs to keep the company moving forward while they decide on the right long-term strategy and successor.
When Should Boards Consider an Interim CEO?
The CEO had to leave abruptly for personal reasons, and the board realized that its designated successor’s skills didn’t fit the company’s current leadership demands. But the corner office couldn’t sit empty while the board conducted a months-long search for the right long-term hire. The fix: an experienced interim executive who could run the business and take on urgent priorities while the permanent CEO search was ongoing.
In growing numbers, boards with empty corner offices are turning to interim executives. In 2025, S&P 1500 companies named 168 new CEOs, the most since 2010, with many boards reporting they’re unprepared for sudden vacancies. Indeed, 30% of public-company directors say they don’t have a successor identified who could effectively take over if the CEO left tomorrow, according to the National Association of Corporate Directors. Meanwhile, roughly 4.1 million Americans will turn 65 both this year and next, as the baby-boom demographic wave continues—creating an unusually deep well of veteran talent reaching traditional retirement age.
“There’s all this expertise retiring from the workforce, but these individuals don’t want to sit still,” says Monte Weirman, President, KF Interim Consumer, Healthcare & Industrial Practices, N.A. Weirman says that many of these retiring executives deliberately choose interim work, which allows them to bring their decades of experience to a defined challenge, then move on. “With this demographic, boards have access to a unique, highly skilled level of talent for interim roles,” Weirman says.
Companies may also need a particular kind of leader for a particular moment. “The executive who’s great at hypergrowth may not be the one you want for an IPO or a bankruptcy,” says Mike Distefano, CEO of Korn Ferry’s Professional Search and Interim businesses. Whereas traditionally a single executive team is expected to manage through all seasons and business cycles, now, Distefano says, “companies can bring in the dream team for the challenge at hand.”
CEO turnover is leaving even well-prepared boards with few alternatives as they face abrupt departures, strategic shifts, and leadership gaps.
To be sure, appointing an interim CEO isn’t a substitute for proper succession planning. And some of them may struggle to effect changes precisely because staffs won’t see them as permanent, experts say. Still, CEO turnover is leaving even well-prepared boards with few alternatives as they face abrupt departures, strategic shifts, and leadership gaps. And temporary doesn’t always stay temporary: About 20% of executive-level interim engagements ultimately convert to permanent roles, says Distefano, who calls the process “business dating.”
The ultimate goal of appointing interims, Distefano says, is to keep a company moving forward while it takes the necessary time to make the right long-term decision. As he notes, “The urgency around building a long-term team and the urgency around getting things done can be parallel paths.”
Learn more about Korn Ferry’s Interim Executive and Professionals capabilities.
