Hire an MD/CEO

Hire an MD or CEO

Permanent, interim and part-time Managing Director and Chief Executive search for UK businesses, from founder-led companies making their first external appointment to private equity-backed and listed groups. Book a free, confidential call with our executive search team.

MD and CEO Recruitment From Exec Capital

Exec Capital is a specialist executive search firm based in London and the West Midlands, working with businesses across the UK. We recruit Managing Directors and Chief Executives on a permanent, interim and part-time basis, for start-ups and scale-ups, founder-led and family-owned companies, private equity-backed portfolio companies, listed groups and FCA-regulated firms.

A strong MD or CEO sets the strategy, builds the leadership team and answers to the board or shareholders for the results. Getting the appointment right shapes everything else in the business for years; getting it wrong is expensive, slow to correct and unsettling for the team. That is why we treat every MD and CEO search as a proper executive search, not a CV-sending exercise.

Which route fits?

Most owners and boards who want to hire a CEO or hire a Managing Director already know the gap they need to fill. What they are less sure about is the format. The table below sets out the routes we run, the situation each one suits and the page that explains it in more depth. If more than one route could work, that is normal: a business often starts with an interim or fractional leader and moves to a permanent appointment once the direction is settled.

Three questions usually settle the choice. First, how long is the need? A gap of six to twelve months, or a defined project such as a sale, points to an interim. Second, how much leadership time does the business genuinely need each week? If the honest answer is two days, paying for five rarely makes sense, and a fractional or part-time leader is the better fit. Third, how certain are you about the long-term shape of the role? If the strategy, ownership or structure is still moving, a flexible appointment buys time to get the permanent brief right. If none of those apply and the business needs a full-time leader for the long term, a permanent search is the right route.

If you are not sure which route fits, that is a good reason to talk to us before writing anything down. We will give you a straight view on the format, the likely candidate pool and how the search would run, with no obligation.

Managing Director or CEO?

The titles are often used interchangeably, but they can mean different things. In many UK private companies the Managing Director runs the business day to day and sits on the board, while in larger and group structures the CEO leads the whole organisation and the MD may run a division or subsidiary. What matters for the search is the scope: who the person will report to, what they will be accountable for, and how much of the strategy they will own. Our guide to the differences between an MD and a CEO explains this in more detail, and our CEO job description and MD job description pages set out typical responsibilities.

MD or CEO? Which title do you need?

The title you choose affects who applies, who responds to a direct approach and how the role is perceived inside the business. As a working rule:

• Choose Managing Director when the business is a single trading company, owner-managed or family-owned, and the role is to run it day to day for the shareholders. In most UK SMEs the MD is the most senior executive and usually sits on the board as a statutory director.
• Choose CEO when the role leads a group, reports to an independent board or investors, owns fundraising and investor relations, or will lead the business through a sale or listing. Investor-backed and international businesses tend to expect the CEO title.
• Use both carefully in group structures. A group CEO with MDs running subsidiaries or divisions is a common and clear arrangement. Two people sharing the top title without clear lines is not.

In a regulated financial services firm the title matters less than the function. The person performing the chief executive function is approved by the regulator as SMF1, whatever their job title says. In a listed company, the UK Corporate Governance Code expects the roles of chair and chief executive not to be exercised by the same person, which shapes how the board and the CEO role are designed.

Whatever the title, if the person will be appointed to the board they take on the statutory duties of a director, including the duty to promote the success of the company and to exercise independent judgement, set out in the Companies Act 2006 general duties of directors. That is worth explaining to candidates who have not held a board seat before, particularly in founder-led businesses where the first external MD may be the only non-shareholder director.

When Businesses Hire an MD or CEO

Most MD and CEO searches are triggered by one of a handful of situations:

• The founder steps back. A founder or founding partners want to move into a chair, strategy or client-facing role and need an external leader to run the business. Our guide to the founder to CEO transition covers how to manage it well.
• A planned succession. The current chief executive is retiring or moving on, and the board wants a strong successor in place in good time. See our CEO succession planning guide.
• Investment or a change of ownership. A private equity investment, management buy-out or acquisition often brings a new leadership brief. We run portfolio company CEO and pre-exit CEO searches for investors.
• An unplanned departure or underperformance. The business needs leadership cover quickly, often an interim CEO or MD while a permanent search runs.
• The business has outgrown its structure. A growing company needs its first Managing Director to free up the owners and professionalise the way it is run.

Each trigger changes the brief. A founder stepping back needs someone who can earn the trust of a team that has only ever reported to the owner. A succession needs continuity and a careful handover. A new investor wants a leader who can deliver a value-creation plan and report against it. An unplanned departure needs stability first and strategy second. Naming the trigger honestly at the start is the quickest way to a brief that attracts the right people and screens out the wrong ones.

It also tells you how quickly you need to move and which format fits. Planned events, such as a retirement or a founder’s exit timetable, usually allow a permanent search with time for notice periods. Unplanned events often call for an interim first. Growth triggers sit in between: many owner-managed businesses start with a fractional or part-time MD and move to a full-time appointment once the role has proved itself.

Hiring your first external MD in a founder-led business

A large share of the MD enquiries we receive come from founder-led and family-owned businesses, many of them manufacturers and engineering firms, that are about to appoint their first Managing Director from outside the family or founding team. It is one of the hardest leadership hires a business makes, because the role being filled has never existed in its current form. The founder has been the MD in all but name, and much of how the business runs lives in their head.

Done well, it frees the founder to focus on what they do best, professionalises the business and often makes it more valuable to a future buyer. Done badly, it ends with the founder back in the chair within a year and a team unsettled by the experience. The difference is almost always in the preparation, not the candidate.

Decide what the founder is handing over

Before anyone speaks to a candidate, the founder needs to be specific about which decisions move to the new MD and which stay with the shareholders. Pricing, hiring and firing, capital expenditure, supplier and customer relationships, product development: list them and decide. A new MD who is told they are running the business but has to ask permission for every purchase order will not stay. Equally, a founder who has not accepted that the new MD will make some decisions differently is not yet ready to hire.

Agree the founder’s new role

Most founders do not leave; they move. Common landing points are executive chair, non-executive chair, a technical or product role, or a client-facing role. Each works, but only if it is defined and the team understands it. Our founder to CEO transition guide and our guide to hiring an MD for a family-owned business cover the options and the traps in more detail. Bringing in an independent chair or non-executive director at the same time can help, because it gives the new MD a sounding board who is not the founder.

Hire for the stage the business is entering

Founders often want someone exactly like themselves, or the opposite of themselves. Neither is the right test. The right candidate has led a business of the size you are about to become, in a similar ownership model, and has done the specific things the next three to five years will demand: building a second tier of management, introducing proper reporting, entering a new market, or preparing for investment or sale. In manufacturing, that usually means operational credibility on the shop floor as well as commercial and financial judgement in the boardroom. Our manufacturing executive recruitment team sees this brief often.

Plan for exit if that is the goal

Many first external MD appointments are really the first step in a founder exit. If the plan is to sell in three to five years, say so in the brief and build the package around it. Candidates who have led a business through a sale know what buyers look for and can make the business less dependent on the founder, which is often the single biggest issue in valuation. An equity or exit-linked bonus can align the new MD with the founder’s goal, and should be agreed with the business’s tax and legal advisers.

Consider a staged route

Where the founder is not sure the business is ready for a full-time MD, a fractional Managing Director working two or three days a week can be a sensible first step. It tests the handover, builds the management disciplines a full-time MD will need and gives the founder experience of sharing control. Some fractional appointments convert to permanent; others prepare the ground for a permanent search later.

Permanent, Interim and Part-Time Options

Permanent appointments suit businesses where the role is central for the long term and the scope justifies a full-time leader. Permanent searches take longer because the best candidates are usually in post and have notice periods, so we agree a realistic timetable at the brief stage.

Interim MDs and CEOs step in for a defined period: covering a departure, leading a turnaround, preparing for a sale or holding the business steady while the permanent search runs. Experienced interim chief executives can often start within days or a couple of weeks. See our interim executive recruitment page for how interim assignments work.

Part-time and fractional MDs and CEOs give a smaller or fast-growing business experienced leadership for one to three days a week. This can be a practical first step for owner-managed businesses that need senior capability but are not yet ready for a full-time appointment, and it can be a way to test fit before a permanent role. See our fractional C-suite page for more.

Outsourced CEO arrangements suit a narrower set of situations: holding companies, special purpose vehicles, businesses in wind-down and companies between owners, where the shareholders need chief executive accountability but not a conventional full-time hire. See our outsourced CEO page.

Investor-backed appointments follow the same formats but with a different client. When a private equity sponsor needs a chief executive in a portfolio company, the brief is shaped around the investment case and the exit, and the sponsor is usually closely involved in the process. Where a portfolio company loses its CEO mid-hold, an interim is often in place while the permanent search runs.

The formats can be combined. A common pattern is an interim MD who stabilises the business and helps write the permanent brief, followed by a permanent search; or a fractional CEO who later hands over to a full-time successor they helped choose. Our guide on fractional versus interim CEOs compares the two flexible routes.

How Our MD and CEO Search Works

Every MD and CEO search follows the same six stages, whether the appointment is permanent, interim or fractional. Interim and fractional searches move through them faster because the candidates are usually available; permanent searches take longer because the strongest people are in post. We agree the timetable with you at briefing and report progress against it throughout.

1. The brief

We start with the owners, chair or investors who own the hire. We want to understand what the business needs the new leader to achieve in their first two years, who they will report to, how the board works, what has and has not worked before, and the package available. From that we agree a written brief and candidate profile with you.

2. Market mapping and direct approach

Our search team maps the businesses where suitable people are likely to sit and approaches candidates directly and in confidence. Most strong chief executives are not looking for a move, so a well-researched direct approach reaches people who will never see an advert. We also draw on the shared network of senior leaders across FD Capital Group.

3. Assessment and shortlist

We interview candidates in depth against the brief, testing what they have actually delivered and how they lead. You receive a shortlist with a clear summary of each candidate’s experience, achievements, motivation and package expectations. Our executive assessment guide and our CEO interview questions explain how to get the most from your interviews.

4. References, offer and onboarding

Before an offer we take detailed references, as set out in our reference checking guide, and help you build an offer the candidate will accept, covering base salary, bonus, equity, notice and restrictive covenants. Our guide to building an executive offer and executive onboarding guide cover the final steps. We stay in touch with both sides after the start date.

5. After the start date

The search does not end when the contract is signed. Notice periods for permanent chief executives can be long, and counter-offers and second thoughts happen. We keep in contact with the candidate through their notice period, help plan the first weeks with you, and check in with both sides once the new leader is in post. For interim and fractional appointments we stay involved for the length of the assignment and handle any extension or change in scope.

What to put in the brief

The brief is the single most important document in an MD or CEO search. It decides who we approach, how candidates judge the opportunity and how you will compare them at the end. A thin brief produces a long list of generically impressive people. A sharp one produces a short list of people who can do this job. Our CEO job description template is a useful starting point, but a search brief goes further than a job description. It should cover:

1. The reason for the hire. Founder stepping back, succession, new investment, turnaround, growth or replacement. Be candid; good candidates will find out anyway.
2. What success looks like. Three to five outcomes the new leader must deliver in the first two years, as specific as you can make them: revenue, margin, a new site, a management team built, a sale prepared.
3. Format and time commitment. Permanent, interim, fractional or part-time, with days per week and expected duration where relevant.
4. Reporting line and governance. Who the new leader reports to, who sits on the board, how often it meets, and which decisions are reserved to the shareholders.
5. The team they inherit. Direct reports, their strengths and any known gaps or changes planned.
6. The founder or outgoing leader’s role. Whether they stay, in what capacity, and for how long.
7. Essential experience. The few things a candidate must have done before, such as led a business of similar size, worked under private equity ownership, run a multi-site operation or held SMF1 approval. Keep this list short.
8. Package. Base salary or day rate, bonus, equity or long-term incentive, pension, car or allowance, notice and location or hybrid arrangements. Our CEO salary guide and Managing Director salary guide help set a realistic range.
9. Confidentiality. Whether the incumbent knows, whether the search can be named, and who in the business is aware.
10. Timetable. When you need someone in post and any fixed dates, such as a board meeting, a financial year end or a sale process.

We write the brief with you after the briefing meeting and agree it before any candidate is approached. It then becomes the scorecard for interviews, which keeps the decision grounded in what the business needs rather than who interviewed best on the day.

What Makes a Strong MD or CEO Appointment

The right candidate is rarely simply the most senior or the most impressive on paper. When we assess MD and CEO candidates we look for:

• Relevant scale and stage. Someone who has led a business of a similar size, through the same stage of growth, in a similar ownership structure.
• Results that can be evidenced. Revenue grown, margins improved, teams built, investment raised or a business sold, confirmed by referees who saw it happen.
• Leadership that fits the culture. A style that will work with the existing team, the owners and the board.
• Commercial and financial judgement. The ability to read the numbers, manage cash and make sound decisions under pressure.

Our guide to what makes a great Managing Director and our guide to hiring a CEO go into more detail, and our executive salary guide sets out what MD and CEO roles typically pay.

What a new MD or CEO typically delivers in the first 90 days

The first three months set the tone for the whole appointment. A new leader who arrives with all the answers usually gets them wrong; one who spends the whole period listening loses momentum. In our experience the strongest MDs and CEOs work through four things in their first 90 days:

• Listening and diagnosis (first month). Meeting every member of the senior team, the largest customers, key suppliers, the bank and the board or investors. Walking the sites. Reading the numbers until they understand cash, margin and the order book in detail.
• Early, visible decisions. Fixing two or three problems everybody already knows about, to show that the new leader listens and acts. These are usually small but symbolic.
• A written plan. By around day 60 to 90, a short plan agreed with the board or owners setting out priorities for the year, the changes needed to the team and the reporting the board will receive.
• The team. A clear view on the leadership team: who is in the right role, where there are gaps and what hires are needed. Many new chief executives make their first senior appointment, often a finance or operations leader, in this period.

For an interim MD or CEO the timescale is compressed. Interims are expected to make an impact in weeks, and the first 30 days usually include a cash review, a stabilisation plan and clear communication with staff, lenders and customers. For a fractional leader the same steps happen at a slower cadence, matched to the days they work. Our executive onboarding guide and our 100-day plan page describe how owners and boards can support this period.

Engagement and fees

We tailor the engagement to the format of the hire. The structure is straightforward and is set out in writing before any work starts.

Permanent MD and CEO searches

Permanent chief executive appointments are run as retained executive search. The fee is calculated as a percentage of the first-year package and is paid in stages over the course of the search, typically at engagement, at shortlist and on appointment. Retained search means a dedicated team, a defined process, market mapping and direct approach, and a commitment to see the assignment through. It is the right model for a role this important because it puts the effort into finding the right person, not the first available one. Our retained versus contingent executive search guide explains the difference and when each model makes sense.

Interim and fractional appointments

Interim, fractional and part-time MDs and CEOs are engaged on a day rate. The day rate we quote is inclusive of our fee, so there is one number to budget for and no separate placement fee. You pay for the days worked, invoiced monthly, and the engagement can be extended, reduced or ended on the notice agreed at the start. If an interim or fractional leader later becomes your permanent MD or CEO, the conversion terms are set out in our terms of business from the outset.

What is included

Every engagement includes the briefing meeting and written brief, the search itself, candidate interviews and written assessments, interview support, referencing, offer negotiation and follow-up after the start date. Package benchmarking and advice on structuring equity, bonus and notice are part of the service rather than extras.

If an interim or fractional leader works through their own limited company, the off-payroll working rules (IR35) may apply. Medium and large client businesses are responsible for deciding the employment status of the engagement, as set out in HMRC’s guidance for clients. The Companies Act size thresholds were raised for financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025, but HMRC’s April 2025 Employer Bulletin says the change has no practical impact for off-payroll working until 6 April 2027 at the earliest. We will flag the question at briefing so you can take advice early.

Common mistakes when hiring a CEO or MD

Most failed chief executive appointments can be traced back to a handful of avoidable errors. They are worth checking against before you start:

• Hiring for the business you were, not the business you are becoming. A leader who has run a business exactly like yours today may not have the experience for where you need to be in three years.
• An unclear mandate. If the board, the founder and the investors each have a different picture of the role, the new leader will fail one of them. Agree the brief before the search, not during it.
• Over-weighting the interview. Chief executives are practised interviewees. Evidence of what they have delivered, tested through detailed referencing with people who worked for and alongside them, tells you more than a polished presentation.
• Advertising a confidential role. An advert for an unannounced chief executive role can unsettle staff, customers and lenders, and the strongest candidates rarely respond to adverts anyway. A confidential direct approach protects the business. Our confidential executive search guide explains how.
• Letting the process drift. Good candidates have options. Long gaps between interview rounds, or a decision that waits for a board meeting weeks away, lose people. Fix the interview dates when you agree the brief.
• Ignoring the founder’s role after the hire. In founder-led businesses, the most common reason a new MD leaves early is that the founder did not really step back. Agree the founder’s role and stick to it.
• Under-investing in onboarding. Even the best appointment needs introductions, information and a clear first-year plan. Leaving a new leader to work it out alone wastes the first months.

None of these is complicated, but each one is easier to avoid with an adviser who has seen them before and can say so plainly. That is a large part of what we do on every MD and CEO search.

Who we place MDs and CEOs for

Our MD and CEO work is spread across ownership types and sectors. Typical clients include:

• Founder-led and family-owned businesses appointing their first external Managing Director, often in manufacturing, engineering, distribution and professional services.
• Owners planning an exit who need a leader to reduce the business’s reliance on them before a sale or management buy-out.
• Private equity sponsors and family offices appointing or replacing chief executives in portfolio and investee companies.
• Scale-ups moving from founder leadership to an experienced CEO ahead of or after a funding round. See our scale-up executive recruitment page.
• Businesses under pressure needing an interim or turnaround chief executive to stabilise trading, cash and lender relationships.
• FCA-regulated firms hiring an SMF1 chief executive, where regulatory approval is part of the timetable.
• Not-for-profit and membership organisations appointing a chief executive who reports to a board of trustees or directors.

We also place the leaders around the MD or CEO, including finance directors, operations directors, chairs and non-executive directors, which matters when a new chief executive needs to build the team around them. Our wider C-suite search practice covers those roles.

Looking for an MD or CEO role yourself? This page is for businesses hiring. If you are an experienced Managing Director or chief executive interested in permanent, interim or fractional opportunities, please register with us and see our current opportunities.

Regulated Firms and Investor-Backed Businesses

In FCA-regulated firms, the chief executive is usually a Senior Manager Function (SMF1) under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime and needs regulatory approval before taking up the role. We run these searches with the approval process built into the timetable; see our CEO of regulated firm recruitment page and SMF1 hiring guide. For private equity sponsors, family offices and other investors, see our private equity recruitment and family office CEO recruitment pages.

Regulatory approval needs to be built into the timetable from the start. The firm submits the application, the candidate’s regulatory references and background checks need to be gathered, and the regulator assesses fitness and propriety before the candidate can take up the role. Our guide to how long FCA SMF approval takes sets out the current position. For investor-backed businesses, the timetable is usually driven by the deal or the hold-period plan, and the sponsor’s operating partners are often part of the interview process. We agree the timetable with you at briefing in both cases.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does an MD or CEO search take?

Interim and part-time appointments can often be made within a few weeks. A permanent MD or CEO search usually takes longer, because the strongest candidates are in post and may have notice periods of three to six months. We agree a realistic timetable with you at the start and keep you updated throughout.

Do you work with smaller businesses?

Yes. A large share of our MD and CEO work is with owner-managed and founder-led businesses making their first external appointment, alongside private equity-backed and listed businesses.

Is the search confidential?

Yes. Many MD and CEO searches are confidential replacements or new roles that cannot yet be announced. We handle them discreetly with candidates and in the market, and we never share a candidate’s details without their agreement.

Can you recruit outside London?

Yes. We recruit across the UK from our offices in London and the West Midlands, and for hybrid and remote roles where that suits the business. See our MD recruitment in London and Birmingham executive recruitment pages.

How do I hire a CEO?

Start by deciding the format (permanent, interim, fractional or part-time), then write a brief covering what the CEO must deliver, the reporting line and the package. Run a confidential search that approaches proven leaders directly, assess candidates against the brief, take thorough references and agree the offer. Our guide to hiring a CEO covers each step.

How do I hire a Managing Director?

The process is the same as for a CEO, but the brief usually focuses more on running the business day to day for the owners. Be clear about which decisions move to the new MD and what the founder or shareholders keep. Our guide on how to hire a Managing Director goes into more detail.

Should I hire an interim or a permanent MD?

Choose an interim if you need leadership now, the need is time-limited or the long-term shape of the role is still unclear. Choose permanent when the role is settled and the business needs a long-term leader. Many businesses use an interim first and then run a permanent search.

What does a fractional CEO cost compared with a full-time hire?

A fractional CEO is paid a day rate for the days worked, so the cost scales with the time the business needs. There is no salary, pension or bonus commitment for the days they are not working. We quote a day rate that includes our fee, so there is no separate placement fee.

Do you charge a fee for the first conversation?

No. The initial conversation is free and confidential. We will give you a view on the format, the candidate market and how we would run the search before you commit to anything.

Can a fractional MD become our permanent MD?

Yes, and it is a common route in founder-led businesses. Working together for several months lets both sides test fit before a permanent commitment. The conversion terms are set out in our terms of business at the start.

Part of FD Capital Group

Exec Capital is one of five specialist recruitment firms in FD Capital Group, sharing one network of senior leaders, many of whom also hold non-executive roles: FD Capital for fractional, interim and permanent CFOs and Finance Directors; NED Capital for non-executive directors and chairs; SMF Capital for Senior Manager Function and compliance appointments in FCA-regulated firms; and Accountancy Capital for qualified finance professionals below director level.

Published Research

Adrian Lawrence has published research on fractional and interim leadership and the role of non-executive directors in UK businesses:

• The Evolution of Fractional CFO Leadership in Modern UK Businesses (March 2026)
• The Strategic Role of Fractional and Interim Executives in Supporting Organisational Growth and Transformation (March 2026, co-authored)
• Independent Oversight and Strategic Value: An Empirical and Conceptual Analysis of Non-Executive Directors (January 2026)

Accreditations and Standards

Exec Capital is accredited by the Good Business Charter, a recognised standard for responsible business practice covering fair pay, employee wellbeing, environmental responsibility and ethical conduct. We follow the principles of the UK government’s voluntary code of conduct for executive search firms, and we support Tree-Nation‘s reforestation programme.

Our Executive Search Services

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