Managing director recruitment · MD search · Permanent, interim or fractional
Managing director recruitment: how to hire an MD
Managing director recruitment starts with the scope of the seat: the most senior executive of a standalone company, the head of a division inside a group, or the leader of an investor-backed business with a plan to deliver. To hire a managing director, fix that scope and who the MD answers to, then test candidates on evidence from businesses like yours.
We recruit permanent, interim, fractional, part-time and temporary executives, and non-executive directors. On every brief we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.
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 a managing director
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with Managing Director 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
Managing director roles jobs on the board
Managing director roles sit with chief executive roles on our board.
Live managing director and chief executive roles
Fractional recruiting starts with the brief, not the CV pile. Send a Managing Director brief and we come back with a shortlist of three to five candidates, each through five-stage vetting.
01/ the role
What the seat is, and when you need to fill it
A managing director runs the company day to day for the board. The Institute of Directors describes the managing director or chief executive as the most senior full-time executive (unless there is an executive chair), responsible for the company’s performance as dictated by the board’s strategy: the corporate and annual plans, the budget, the staff, the main customer and supplier relationships, and the annual report and accounts.
When a company hires a managing director
The usual triggers: an owner or founder steps back from running the business; a group sets up or reorganises a division and needs someone accountable for its results; an investor wants a leader to deliver its plan; or the current MD leaves. If the seat will be empty before a permanent hire can start, an interim managing director can hold it.
The title and the law
“Managing director” is a job title; appointment to the board is what makes someone a director in law. Most MDs are appointed, and then the seven general duties of a company director apply, including the duty to promote the success of the company under section 172 of the Companies Act 2006. GOV.UK notes those duties also apply to someone who acts as a director without being formally appointed. A new director must also verify their identity with Companies House, now a legal requirement.
02/ scope
How to hire a managing director
1. Write the brief around what must change
Set out what the managing director will own (the plan, the budget, the senior team, the key customers), what stays with the owners, the group or the chair, and what should be different after two years. A first MD for a founder-run business and a divisional MD in a group are different hires. The managing director job description gives a template.
2. Choose the route: permanent, interim or fractional
A permanent MD suits a business that needs a full-time owner of its results. An interim MD covers a vacancy, a sale or a turnaround full-time for a fixed term. A fractional managing director gives senior leadership for agreed days a week, often to a founder-run business that is not ready for a full-time MD. Where the board wants a chief executive rather than an MD, hire a CEO through the same steps.
3. Assess against evidence, not titles
MD titles cover very different jobs, so test the work. The CIPD’s guidance on selection favours structured interviews: the same questions in the same order for every candidate, scored against criteria agreed in advance, by a panel. Give a real planning or budget problem from your business. Professional standing is one signal among several: CMI’s Chartered Manager (CMgr) status is assessed against its professional standard for management and leadership.
4. Run the checks before the offer
For an employee, you must check their right to work before they start. Search past directorships and disqualified directors on the Companies House register, and take references from an owner, chair or group CEO the candidate answered to.
What we do on an MD brief
We send a shortlist of 3–5 candidates, each with pay or day rate, availability and IR35 position set out. Every candidate goes through our five-stage vetting first.
03/ comparison
Managing director vs CEO
The IoD calls the two roles virtually the same. What differs is where the seat sits.
04/ vetting
How we vet managing directors
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify Managing Director 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
05/ what to test for
Managing director interview questions: what to test for
Test the four things the seat turns on. The plan: give a summary of your last year’s results and ask what they would change in the first hundred days, and what they would leave alone. The numbers: walk through a budget or a cash forecast and ask where the risk sits. The team: ask for a senior hire that did not work and what they did about it. The board: ask how they have handled an owner or chair who disagreed with them, and what they recorded.
Ask every candidate the same questions in the same order, and score each answer against the same criteria. Add a short presentation to the board or the owners if the role reports to them directly.
06/ what an MD costs
What an MD costs: base pay, and day rates
Exec Capital’s 2026 director salary guide gives a base salary band of £130,000–£280,000 for a managing director at a mid-market business (£20m–£200m revenue), and says smaller businesses sit at the lower end. These are base salaries only; bonus, pension and equity are agreed on top. Exec Capital is a search firm, and these are its published figures. For more, see managing director salary.
An interim or fractional MD is paid a day rate or a monthly fee, often through their own company. Then the off-payroll working rules (IR35) may apply: status depends on how the engagement runs, and a medium or large client makes the determination; for a small client outside the public sector, the worker’s own company decides. Our IR35 guide sets out the tests. On every brief we set out each candidate’s pay or day rate on the shortlist.
07/ questions
Managing director recruitment FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in a managing director.
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.
