Interim CEO

A person appointed by a company's board of directors to assume the role of chief executive officer during a time of transition or as the result of the sudden departure of the company's previous CEO. These CEOs are tagged with the "interim" tag due to the fact that they have not officially been given the title of full-time CEO. Like many industry leaders, interim CEOs are often called upon to "steady the ship" in periods of great turmoil.

Although, traditionally, companies will call from their existing employee base when hiring an interim CEO, an increasing number of businesses are now bringing in interim CEOs from outside the firm. One of the reasons for this is that the skill set desired for interim CEOs is generally unique, as they are often required to manage a crisis situation, as opposed to the day-to-day operations of the company.