Interim CEO. Italy. Cross-border.
Interim CEO for Italy. Full mandate, real accountability.
Brief
Hire an interim CEO, temporary CEO or ad interim CEO for the Italian operation. Interim management at chief executive level, delivered by an English-speaking CEO based in Milano and running mandates from Milano to Roma for PE funds, foreign owners and international scale-ups.
Niklas Lindahl
Former CMO of LeoVegas Group. Turnaround CEO. Founder with an exit. Twenty years of executive operating roles across digital, consumer and iGaming, with seats in Italy, the Nordics and the UK. Trilingual: English, Italian, Swedish. When the mandate is specifically marketing leadership rather than the full P&L, the engagement runs as a fractional CMO.
The numbers
Operator numbers. Not advisory numbers.
€120M
Marketing budget run as CMO of LeoVegas Group
€50M
Incremental revenue in under 12 months
€607M+
MGM acquisition of LeoVegas, contributed to
+500%
Italy grown from €3M to €18M in one year
40% → 30%
Marketing-to-revenue ratio cut at scale
18%
EBITA uplift at LeoVegas Group
100+
Team members led across markets
10+
Markets operated in across Europe
Definition
What an interim CEO actually changes.
An interim CEO, or chief executive officer, is an experienced executive hired for a defined period to lead a company through a critical phase: a leadership gap, a turnaround, a post-acquisition stabilisation, or a scale-up push. Full decision authority. No political agenda. Clean exit on handover. Mandates typically run out of Milano and cover the whole of Italy, Roma included.
You are not buying a recommendation. You are buying the person who has done it before and will do it again, inside your company.
In Italy the role is also searched as CEO ad interim or, in larger corporates, Direttore Generale ad interim. The authority and mandate are identical. When the need is leadership for a defined period without the full chief executive title, companies also look for a temporary manager or a manager ad interim.
Operating principles
How I work.
- /01Execution beats strategy
- /02Speed is a competitive advantage
- /03Accountability is non-negotiable
- /04Focus creates scale
- /05Data informs, decision decides
- /06Structure drives performance
- /07Own the outcome
Who this is for
- Private equity funds with a portfolio company in Italy
- Foreign investors with an Italian subsidiary
- Multinationals with a country general manager gap
- International scale-ups entering or restructuring in Italy
- Boards facing a sudden CEO exit
- Founders stepping back into chair roles
Testimonials
What colleagues and partners say.
“One of the most outcome-focused operators I have worked with in twenty years.”
“Treats obstacles as line items. Removes them and moves on.”
“Built a digital agency in Italy from a standing start into a name the market respects.”
“Commercial instinct, operating discipline and the work ethic to match.”
“Direct, hands-on and generous with the playbook when the team needs it.”
“Leads from the front. Keeps the team aligned through real pressure.”
Advisory practice
Quick answers
What people ask before the first call.
What is an interim CEO in Italy?
An interim CEO in Italy, also called a temporary CEO or ad interim CEO, is a full chief executive engaged for a defined period, with the same legal and operational authority as a permanent CEO. Interim management at CEO level is typically used by private-equity funds, foreign owners and international groups to lead the Italian operation through a turnaround, a post-acquisition phase, a leadership gap or a rapid scale-up.
Interim CEO, temporary CEO, ad interim CEO: is there a difference?
Same seat, different label. Interim CEO is the international term. Temporary CEO is the descriptive equivalent. Ad interim CEO and CEO ad interim are the Italian-market phrasings for the identical role: a full chief executive on a defined mandate with full authority and full accountability.
Who is the interim CEO behind interimceo.it?
Niklas Lindahl. Milan-based, trilingual operator (English, Italian, Swedish). Former CMO of LeoVegas Group, where he ran a €120M annual marketing budget and contributed to the €607M acquisition by MGM Resorts International. Founder of Optimized Group, sold for €1.35M. Twenty years of executive operating roles across digital, consumer and iGaming.
How quickly can I hire an interim CEO and get started in Italy?
Days, not months. After a 30-minute scoping call, a written mandate and pricing are issued within 48 hours and the interim CEO is typically on the ground within two weeks. Faster than any permanent CEO search.
Does the interim CEO work in English with the board?
Yes. Daily board, fund and group-HQ communication runs in English. Local execution with the Italian team, suppliers, banks and advisors runs in Italian. One person, no translation layer.
More on the FAQ page, the cost page and how an engagement works.
Next step / 01
Need a CEO in Italy. Fast.
Book a 30-minute intro call. No pitch deck. Direct answers on fit, timeline and scope.