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Hire an Interim CTO for full-time temporary technology leadership. Close leadership gaps, drive transformations, and turn around struggling tech teams—fast.
An Interim CTO is an experienced Chief Technology Officer who joins your company full-time on a temporary basis—typically for 3-12 months. They provide immediate senior technology leadership during critical periods: CTO vacancy, digital transformation, tech crisis, or major system migration.
Unlike fractional CTOs who work 1-3 days per week across multiple companies, an interim CTO is dedicated to your business five days a week. They are not advisors—they are your CTO. They make decisions, take accountability, lead your team, and drive results through a defined transformation period.
"Interim CTOs step into full leadership immediately—closing critical gaps, stabilising teams, and delivering transformations in 3-12 months."
A fractional CTO works part-time (1-3 days per week) across multiple companies. They are ideal for ongoing strategic guidance and architecture oversight when you do not need full-time leadership.
An interim CTO is full-time and temporary. They are brought in for urgent situations: sudden CTO departure, failing technology programmes, digital transformations, or when you need to stabilise before hiring permanent leadership. They are hands-on, accountable, and focused on delivering specific outcomes within a defined timeframe.
Full-time leadership responsibilities during critical periods
Assess situation, stabilise teams, fix critical issues. Take immediate control of failing technology programmes and restore confidence.
Lead digital transformations, system migrations, and platform rebuilds. Define roadmap, manage delivery, and ensure successful outcomes.
Reorganise underperforming teams, establish processes, improve delivery velocity. Make difficult personnel decisions quickly.
Fix technical debt, redesign failing systems, implement scalable architecture. Address years of accumulated technical problems.
Define and execute critical technology initiatives. M&A integration, cloud migration, security overhaul, or platform modernisation.
Stabilise technology, define CTO requirements, support recruitment. Hand over to permanent leader with systems in good shape.
Provide technical credibility during fundraising or acquisition. Address investor concerns and demonstrate technology value.
Start within 1-2 weeks. Interim CTOs hit the ground running—no onboarding needed. They assess, decide, and act immediately on critical issues.
Get leaders who have handled your exact situation before: CTO departures, failing projects, team chaos, tech debt disasters. They know how to stabilise and recover.
Clear scope and timeline. Interim CTOs deliver specific results: complete migration, stabilise team, implement security, prepare for sale. Then hand over cleanly.
Full leadership without permanent hire risk. If your permanent CTO leaves or you need to pause after transformation, the engagement ends cleanly.
No politics, no legacy attachments. Interim CTOs make hard decisions quickly: restructure teams, sunset products, replace vendors. They do what needs doing.
Interim CTOs are brought in for urgent, high-stakes situations requiring immediate full-time leadership. These are the most common scenarios:
Your CTO has left suddenly or been dismissed. You need immediate senior leadership while you search for a permanent replacement.
Immediate (1-2 weeks)Major technology transformation: cloud migration, platform modernisation, or system consolidation. Needs dedicated full-time leadership.
6-12 month programmeSystems failing, team in chaos, security breach, or technical debt disaster. Need crisis management and rapid stabilisation.
Emergency (days)Post-acquisition technology integration. Consolidate platforms, merge teams, standardise systems. Needs full-time focus.
Post-deal (3-9 months)Complete platform rebuild or major architecture overhaul. Too critical to manage part-time—needs full-time technical leadership.
6-18 month projectPreparing for sale or IPO but technology is a liability. Need to rapidly improve systems, team, and processes to pass due diligence.
6-12 months pre-exitFull-time temporary CTO day rates and total engagement costs
Based on full-time interim assignment (5 days/week). CTO UK average interim day rate: £1700.
BetaThis calculator provides rough estimates for illustration only. Actual rates and salaries vary based on location, experience, industry, and market conditions. Consult with a qualified accountant for accurate financial planning.
Day rates vary based on urgency, engagement length, complexity, and specialist expertise (security, AI/ML, fintech). Crisis situations and emergency placements may command premium rates. Most engagements are 3-6 months.
Choose the right model for your needs
| Feature | Interim CTO | Fractional CTO | Full-Time CTO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commitment | Full-time (temporary) | 1-3 days/week | Full-time (permanent) |
| Duration | 3-12 months | Ongoing (6+ months typical) | Permanent |
| Cost | £8,000-£12,000/week | £3,000-£6,000/week | £150,000-£250,000/year + benefits |
| Focus | Gap-fill or transformation | Strategic + operational | All responsibilities |
| Flexibility | Fixed term contract | Scale up/down as needed | Limited flexibility |
| Best For | Leadership gaps, major transitions | Growing companies, specific expertise needs | Large orgs with full-time need |
From first conversation to start date in 1-2 weeks
Tell us about your needs, timeline, and what you're looking for in an interim executive for your 3-12 month assignment.
We curate a shortlist of pre-vetted interim executives available for full-time temporary assignments.
Interview your top candidates. We handle scheduling and ensure they can start within your timeframe.
Your interim executive begins full-time within days. We support onboarding and contract management throughout.
Tell us about your needs, timeline, and what you're looking for in an interim executive for your 3-12 month assignment.
We curate a shortlist of pre-vetted interim executives available for full-time temporary assignments.
Interview your top candidates. We handle scheduling and ensure they can start within your timeframe.
Your interim executive begins full-time within days. We support onboarding and contract management throughout.
Crisis-tested leaders with specific transformation expertise
Legacy modernisation, cloud migration, platform consolidation, API-first architecture
Post-breach recovery, SOC 2/ISO implementation, security architecture overhaul
Post-acquisition tech integration, platform consolidation, team merger, system rationalisation
Payment platform stability, FCA compliance, fraud prevention, financial system recovery
Performance issues, multi-tenancy fixes, infrastructure collapse, scaling emergencies
HIPAA/GDPR remediation, NHS integration, clinical system certification, data governance
We specialise in urgent placements. Crisis management, CTO vacancy, transformation leadership—match with experienced interim CTOs available to start within 1-2 weeks.