Temporary management
Temporary manager in Milan, Rome and across Italy.
A temporary manager steps into the company with a fixed-term mandate and real executive authority. Not a report, not a recommendation: leading the team, taking decisions, owning a number. For Italian and international companies operating in Milan, Rome and across Italy and Europe that need a situation resolved by a specific date.
Short answer
A temporary manager is an experienced executive hired on a fixed-term basis to lead a function or a whole company through a crisis, a restructuring or the sudden loss of a key hire. In Italy day rates typically run 800 to 1,500 EUR and mandates last 6 to 18 months, with agreed numeric targets and a defined exit date.
At a glance
| Typical duration | 6 to 18 months, reviewed every 90 days |
|---|---|
| Intensity | Full time in a crisis, 2 to 3 days a week in a build phase |
| Indicative cost | 800 to 1,500 EUR per day, or 10,000 to 20,000 EUR per month fractional |
| Company size | SMEs and scale-ups from 3 to 50 million EUR revenue |
| Coverage | Milan, Rome, Turin, Bologna, all of Italy and Europe |
| Roles covered | CEO, general manager, CMO, CRO, COO |
When a temporary manager is the right call
Temporary management fits a discontinuity: an executive leaving without notice, a fund coming in and demanding structure, margin erosion, a stalled generational transition, a turnaround that needs a decision-maker on site. In all of these the company does not have six months to search, select and onboard a permanent director. For the part time version of the same seniority, see fractional CEO.
- Sudden exit of the general manager, sales director or head of operations.
- Margin or cash crisis that needs decisions in weeks, not quarters.
- A new investor asking for governance and reliable reporting.
- Entry into a new market or launch of a new business line.
- Foreign parent company needing an executive on the ground in Italy.
How a temporary management mandate runs
Two weeks of assessment on numbers, people, customers and process. Three or four priorities and a 90 day plan. Then execution, with a board review each quarter and a planned handover in the final quarter. The full approach is on the method page and fees are on pricing.
- Week 1 to 2: assessment based on real numbers, not perceptions.
- Week 3: 90 day plan agreed with ownership.
- Month 1 to 12: execution on site with weekly KPIs.
- Final quarter: knowledge transfer and scheduled exit.
Want to know if a fractional manager is actually right for your company?
Let's talk →Temporary, interim or fractional?
Temporary manager and interim manager mean the same thing: a fixed-term executive assignment, usually full time, often urgent. Fractional means part time and continuous, two or three days a week for a year or more. The full comparison with costs is on temporary vs fractional manager, and country coverage on fractional manager Italy.
Track record
15 years in executive roles across Italy and Northern Europe: a 607 million EUR MGM exit, 500% growth on a B2B business, commercial reorganisations and completed turnarounds. Cases are on case studies, full background on about.
When this is the wrong choice
- Companies under 1 million EUR revenue: you need an operating partner or a consultant, not a temporary manager.
- Buyers who only want a report or a due diligence document: that is consulting work.
- Owners who want to hand over a problem without changing anything in structure or people.
- Roles that need permanent daily on-site presence for years: that is a hire.
Fractional manager in Milan, Rome, Italy and Europe
Management consulting and fractional manager services for companies in Milan (Milano), Rome (Roma), Turin, Bologna and across Italy (Italia). If you need to hire or find a fractional manager, a part time CEO, CMO, CRO or COO, or a fractional Chief Executive Officer in Milan, Rome or Italy, this fractional manager and consultant works with clients in Lombardy, Lazio, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, Tuscany, Liguria, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trentino, Marche, Campania, Puglia and Sicilia. Fractional consulting mandates also across Europe: EU, Northern Europe, UK, EMEA. The fractional manager and part time chief executive officer travels from Milan to Rome, Turin, Bologna, Padua, Verona, Florence, Genoa, Naples, Bari and other leading Italian and European cities. Senior management consulting brings operational leadership in Italy without the cost of a full time chief executive officer.
Frequently asked questions
01What does a temporary manager do?
A temporary manager takes an executive role inside a company for a fixed period, with real decision-making authority, to resolve a specific situation: a crisis, a restructuring, the sudden loss of a key executive, a market entry. They run the function rather than advise on it, against agreed numbers and a defined exit date.
02How much does a temporary manager cost in Italy?
A senior temporary manager in Italy typically costs 800 to 1,500 EUR per day, or 8,000 to 20,000 EUR per month on a fractional two or three days a week basis. There is no severance, no long term incentive and no exit cost: the cost stops when the mandate stops.
03How long does a temporary management assignment last?
Usually 6 to 18 months. Under 6 months you can stabilise a situation but not change it structurally. Beyond 24 months the role should convert into an internal hire: the job of a temporary manager is to make themselves unnecessary.
04Temporary manager or consultant, which do I need?
A consultant analyses and recommends. A temporary manager decides and executes, and answers to a P&L rather than to a project scope. If you need a diagnosis, hire a consultant. If you need someone to lead the team and deliver the number, hire a temporary or fractional manager.
Got a situation that cannot wait six months of executive search? Write to me and in 30 minutes we will know whether a temporary manager is the answer.
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