Interim CEO salary · day rates 2026
What an interim CEO earns · day rates by mandate
An interim CEO salary is a day rate, not a salary.
Exec Capital publishes £1,000–£1,800 a day for SME and mid-market roles, £1,800–£3,500 for complex listed or private equity-backed mandates, and £3,500 or more for turnaround specialists.
FD Capital puts a full-time interim chief executive at £1,200–£2,500 a day.
Across all functions, the Institute of Interim Management’s 2026 survey puts the average interim day rate at £907, and £1,004 in the private sector.
When you hire an interim CEO through us, we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
How a brief runswhat we undertake
- 01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
- 02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR35After the brief
- 03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
- 04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
- 05Fractional, interim and permanentIR35 POSITION SET OUTOn every brief
Shortlist3–5
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to hire an interim CEO
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with Interim CEO candidates, their day rates and availability.
- 0115 minutes, video or phone
- 02We scope the role and the days a week
- 03A shortlist of 3–5 after the call
- 04Fractional, interim and permanent briefs
Pick a day that suits · live availability
On the board · last 3 months
Interim CEO jobs on the board
Live interim chief executive roles
How fractional recruitment agencies compare is set out in one place, including how we work: a Interim CEO brief and a shortlist of three to five.
01/ the role
Interim CEO day rate, the real unit of pay
An interim chief executive is engaged full-time for a fixed term, usually to cover a gap, lead a turnaround or see a business through a sale.
They are paid by the day, and Exec Capital says that is typically through a personal service company.
There is no salary, bonus scheme or pension from the client.
Exec Capital sets out the interim CEO day rate by mandate: £1,000–£1,800 for SME and mid-market roles, £1,800–£3,500 for complex listed or private equity-backed mandates, and £3,500 or more for turnaround specialists and crisis leadership.
FD Capital publishes £1,200–£2,500 a day for a full-time interim chief executive, which it puts at £24,000–£50,000 a month.
Both are search firms, and these are their published ranges rather than survey results.
The two do not agree exactly, which is normal: each describes the mandates it sees.
Price the mandate in front of you, not the title.
For what the role covers day to day, see what an interim CEO does.
02/ scope
What sets the rate
The mandate
Exec Capital’s top band is for turnaround and crisis leadership.
A gap between permanent chief executives in a stable business sits at the lower end; a refinancing, a regulatory crisis or a sale under time pressure sits at the top.
Size and ownership
Listed and private equity-backed businesses pay more, on Exec Capital’s bands.
The IIM’s 2026 survey found private equity and venture capital-backed clients were the largest single client type for interim assignments.
Sector and IR35 status
Across all interim functions, the IIM survey found an average of £1,004 a day in the private sector, £700 in the public sector and £728 in the third sector.
Interims outside IR35 averaged £949 a day, against £830 inside.
These are market-wide averages, not chief executive rates, but they show the direction of each effect.
How we price a shortlist
We recruit interim, permanent, fractional, part-time and temporary chief executives, and non-executive directors.
Every candidate goes through our five-stage vetting, and every shortlist sets out day rate, availability and IR35 position.
For roles on the board, see interim CEO jobs.
03/ the board
What the board holds.
A read of the roles on the board on this page, counted as they stand: how each is engaged, whether the posting gives the days and the rate, and where the work happens.
On this board, last 90 days · 1 role · Interim CEO
Engagement
- Interim1
Days a week
- Stated in the posting1
- Not stated0
Day rate
- Verified rate0
- Estimated (est)0
- Rate not stated1
Work arrangement (as the job feed classifies it)
- Remote0
- Hybrid1
- On-site0
Newest posting on the board: 18 Sept 2026.
04/ rates by stage
Interim CEO salary by mandate and source
Day rates published by Exec Capital and FD Capital, both search firms, with the Institute of Interim Management’s 2026 survey averages across all interim functions beside them. Each figure is quoted as its source publishes it.
05/ economics
What a day rate annualises to and why it is not a salary
To compare an interim rate with a permanent salary, multiply it by working days.
At 220 days, a full working year, £1,000 a day comes to £220,000, £1,800 to £396,000 and £3,500 to £770,000 (our arithmetic).
That is a comparison only.
It is not what an interim chief executive earns in a year.
Few interims bill a full year.
The IIM’s 2026 survey found an average of 148 days billed in a year, an average assignment of 10.0 months and an average gap of 3.2 months between assignments, across all functions.
At £1,000 a day, 148 days is £148,000 (our arithmetic).
Out of that the interim funds their own pension, holidays, insurance and the weeks between roles.
For the client, a day rate carries no employer pension or benefits.
If the engagement falls inside the off-payroll rules, the deemed employer deducts Income Tax and employee National Insurance and pays employer’s National Insurance, at 15% above £5,000 a year for 2026 to 2027 (HMRC).
Outside them, the interim’s own company pays Corporation Tax on its profits.
The rate calculator converts day, month and year.
06/ vetting
How we vet interim CEOs
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify Interim CEO tenure, sector context and stage fit.
SOURCING - 02
Mandate fit
Match to your situation — stage, board dynamics, timing.
MATCHING - 03
Reference deep-dive
We take references ourselves, from recent past clients — real outcomes, not titles.
VERIFY - 04
Shortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
SHORTLIST OF 3–5
07/ interim chief executive officer salary
Interim chief executive officer salary: how it differs from permanent pay
A permanent chief executive is paid a salary, a bonus and often long-term incentives, with a pension, benefits and a notice period.
An interim chief executive officer salary has none of that.
The day rate is the whole of the pay, and it stops when the assignment ends.
Tax treatment is decided by how the engagement runs, not by its label.
Under the off-payroll working rules (IR35), a medium or large client determines the worker’s employment status; for a small client outside the public sector, the worker’s own company decides.
HMRC’s CEST tool gives its view of a specific engagement.
Our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
For permanent pay by company size, see CEO salary.
For a chief executive on agreed days each week rather than full-time, see fractional CEO salary.
08/ choosing the route
Interim, permanent or fractional: which the seat needs
Interim cover suits a fixed piece of work with an end date: a gap between permanent appointments, a turnaround, a sale or a crisis.
If the business needs a chief executive every day for the long term, it is a permanent hire; our guide to how to hire a CEO sets out each route.
If it needs senior leadership for part of the week, a fractional CEO is usually the better fit.
Many interim searches run alongside a permanent one.
The interim holds the seat while the board takes the time to recruit properly.
For how an interim search runs across functions, see interim executive recruitment.
09/ questions
Interim CEO salary FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in an interim CEO.
Book 15 minutes · shortlist of 3–5
Bring the brief. We architect the team.
A shortlist of 3–5 with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.
