Interim CPO
Fixed-term, all-in
Sometimes you need help immediately. Sometimes you are not yet ready for the long term hire. Sometimes you’re waiting for a permanent candidate to join. Sometimes you need a very specific skillset. Sometimes you need to get ready for tomorrow’s opportunities by fixing problems today.
Sometimes you need an interim Chief Product Officer.
What is an interim CPO?
An interim Chief Product Officer (CPO) is an experienced leader you hire on a full time basis for a fixed term. They bring strategic bench strength, proven experience, and a comprehensive playbook; joining your senior team to drive major periods of change, growth, or transformation.
How does hiring an interim Chief Product Officer work?
When I work on an interim basis, I become a proper part of your senior team for the whole project. I usually work with clients for six to nine months (or, in some cases, up to a year), but it does vary depending on the company and the challenge. Apart from that, everything else is much like a new permanent CPO arriving. I might not be staying for years but it won’t stop us from building true long term value together.
What can an interim CPO achieve?
I’ve always found that being an interim CPO allows me to achieve much more than I would as a permanent employee. Indeed, the majority of my transformational product moonshots have been delivered in ‘interim mode’ where I’ve been able to accelerate innovation and compress timelines because I’m new, I arrive with a fresh energy, I bring an external perspective, and I’m extremely focused on a very specific period of time.
Interim Chief Product Officer FAQs
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I tend to join clients when they need to drive change, provide clarity, and maintain focus. That could be because they are proactively seeking to capitalise on a new opportunity and need to move quickly. It could be because they need to make a major change and don’t have the right experience in the current team. It could also be to fill a void (your existing CPO has left, for example), respond to a crisis, or because an incoming CPO is several months away from arriving.
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Yes, when I am in an interim CPO role I’m fully embedded in the executive / leadership team, exactly as if I had joined as a permanent employee. I attend leadership meetings, I’m in the right Slack channels, and I am responsible for day to day operational execution too. I’m like any other C-suite exec, I’m just not here forever.
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Absolutely. It’s more common than people think to have a situation where the product leader in place currently is not the person you need now or later. This can happen for many reasons - sometimes early employees’ experience has not kept up with the company’s growth. Or it may be that the CPO you’ll need in a year’s time is not what you need now - there’s a big difference between setting up a Product team for success then leading it day to day. A good interim Chief Product Officer can smooth these transitions and prepare everyone - and the business - for the future.
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Most of my interim roles have been six to nine months long, but it does vary greatly. For real impact it makes sense to have a minimum engagement length and I find this to be three months. As you approach a year it starts to become more appropriate to transition to a permanent hire. Occasionally I’ll complete one project / transformation / journey and then switch to another but I usually ‘sign off’ once we’ve delivered everything we set out to.
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I find it’s best to be clear from the outset - I’m here as Interim Chief Product Officer. Not only does it set expectations early on, it also helps people understand the pace, momentum, and energy that comes with an interim placement. With a fixed timeline for a project - explainable by the interim label - it’s usually quite easy to galvanise people. Especially when they see results early on.
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Of course. I’ve built entire Product teams from scratch, I’ve managed existing teams, I’ve added to teams, and I’ve helped transform the skillsets of teams. I’ve done this in teams of half a dozen people to teams of more than 100. I’m used to doing this on-site, remotely, and in hybrid mode; all around the world.
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In every interim CPO role I’ve held I’ve reported directly to the CEO. This works well because it keeps the strategy and planning for Product aligned with the overall company strategy and planning. This is also usually the setup for the other c-level execs so it makes sense.
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I work flexibly. Sometimes that leans more towards being on-site (if you have teams that do the same, for example). I have experience working to a hybrid setup where everyone gets together in person for specific workshops, meetings, or strategy sessions etc. I’ve also led significant projects fully remotely with team members distributed globally. I most frequently work out of London but have previously been based in Geneva, Singapore, New York, Toronto, Paris, and Oslo too.
Let’s talk
Do you have an upcoming project in mind? I’m always happy to discuss new opportunities and offer an initial consultation without charge.