How to Evaluate an Interim CEO Candidate

Boards often evaluate an interim CEO the way they would evaluate a permanent CEO. That is a mistake. The right questions for an interim CEO are about how they operate under pressure, how they hand over cleanly, and whether they have actually done the work before, not just seen it from a slide.

Questions that reveal the operator

Walk me through your first 30 days on your last mandate. What did you actually decide?
Where did you disagree with the board, and how did you resolve it?
Who did you let go, and how did you communicate it?
How did you know when the company was ready for a permanent CEO?

Signals to trust

Specific, named situations, not generic frameworks
Willingness to talk about mandates that went badly
A clean, documented handover from the last mandate
Reference calls with the previous chair or lead investor

Red flags

Cannot describe a real operating cadence in concrete terms
Every past mandate is a success story with no lessons
Wants to keep the role permanent from day one
Cannot explain how they would leave

https://niklaslindahl.com/guides/how-to-evaluate-an-interim-ceo-candidate