In today’s infrastructure sector, where projects are complex, timelines are tight, and capital investment is high, leadership agility can be the difference between strategic success and costly delay. Increasingly, asset owners and operators are turning to professional interim executives who bring the experience, clarity, and pace needed to navigate change, transformation, or even crisis.
Far more than stopgap appointments, these seasoned leaders deliver strategic clarity, operational discipline, and measurable impact from day one. Here’s why now is the time to harness their value, and how to do it effectively.
How to hire the right interim leader
Success starts with a clear, outcome-driven brief. Define the strategic, operational, or cultural priorities that must be addressed, then:
- Partner with a specialist interim provider such as Savannah, whose rigorous vetting process ensures only proven leaders with sector-relevant track records are shortlisted.
- Specialist providers know their candidates and can deliver experienced talent very quickly.
- If you want to move swiftly, then professional interims are available to start often within days or weeks, accelerating the transition period.
- Evaluate on a candidate’s achievement and agility, not just their sector familiarity; the best interims apply transferable skills across transport, energy, utilities, and beyond.
Professional interims vs ‘in-between’ permanents
The distinction matters:
- Professional interim executives are career specialists who usually work on short-term, high-impact assignments. Focused solely on delivery, they are adept at stabilising underperforming assets, leading digital transformation, or implementing turnaround strategies without distraction or political influence.
- Candidates “in between roles” may be able to provide operational continuity but typically lack the honed ability to enter complex capital environments and deliver transformational outcomes under intense time pressure.
Mitigating risk
With significant capital at stake, governance, delivery assurance, and cultural fit are paramount. Savannah mitigates risk by:
- Conducting a minimum of two deep reference checks and performance-based interviews to source leaders who have successfully delivered in high-stake environments.
- Structuring agile, milestone-led engagements that allow continuous performance review.
- Ensuring each appointment fits the commercial, operational, and governance realities of infrastructure programmes.
The strategic impact if interim leaders in infrastructure
- Strategic Leadership: Interims quickly align leadership teams around key priorities in environments defined by regulatory scrutiny and often long investment horizons.
- Financial & Operational Performance: They deliver measurable gains through capital efficiency, asset optimisation, and operational turnaround.
- People & Culture Transformation: With objectivity and no internal agenda, interims restore trust, re-energise teams, and reshape leadership capability.
- Technology & Innovation: From AI-enabled asset management to smart construction, they lead digital adoption with a balance of ambition and disciplined delivery.
- Diversity of Thought: Their cross-sector, global perspectives improve governance, accelerate innovation, and mitigate risk in strategic decision-making.
Interview questions to identify the best interim talent
Ask candidates:
- “Describe a time you delivered transformative impact within 90 days — what were the outcomes?”
- “How have you aligned multiple stakeholders mid-project in a complex infrastructure setting?”
- “What measures do you implement to safeguard capital performance and governance?”
- “What is the most challenging interim programme you’ve led, and what were your key lessons?”
- “How do you ensure knowledge transfer and continuity after your engagement ends?”
In a sector where agility, resilience, and delivery are everything, the right interim leader can bridge today’s challenges to tomorrow’s opportunities. Savannah’s network of proven infrastructure executives ensures you make the right critical hire, fast.
Contact us to access top tier interim leaders.
