Interim management for turnaround and crisis

The situations that call for a turnaround executive

Cash under pressure

Covenants at risk, credit lines to renew, working capital drifting. The absolute priority is to restore thirteen-week cash visibility and reopen the dialogue with financial partners on a credible, quantified basis.

A pre-insolvency or court-supervised process on the horizon

France's preventive procedures, from mandat ad hoc to conciliation and sauvegarde, have their own timetable, counterparties and reporting requirements. An executive who has been through them knows how to prepare what is expected, work with the administrators and advisers, and protect operations during the negotiation.

Losing grip on operations

Margins collapsing without a shared explanation, strategic customers threatening to leave, an industrial or quality crisis. An operational turnaround starts with a rapid, unsparing diagnosis, followed by a tight action plan that gets executed.

A governance crisis

A sudden departure at the top, conflict between shareholders, teams losing confidence. The company needs a neutral authority, with no history in the conflict, to restore a working decision process.

The typical turnaround mandate

Every turnaround is singular, but the working sequence is remarkably constant:

• The first two weeks: a reliable cash forecast, a map of commitments, first cash preservation measures, a message to teams and partners
• The first month: profitability diagnosis by activity, identification of the loss-makers, a quantified turnaround plan
• The negotiation: dialogue with banks, creditors and shareholders, alongside legal and financial advisers
• Execution: portfolio restructuring, reorganisation, performance plan, with weekly reporting
• The exit: stabilisation, transfer to permanent leadership or preparation of a disposal

Depending on the nature of the crisis, the mandate goes to an interim CEO, to an interim CFO when the stakes are primarily financial, or to an interim industrial director when they are primarily operational.

The Bloomco approach

On a turnaround, we only present executives who have already led comparable situations and whose previous principals we have called. The process is handled with absolute discretion: a turnaround assignment must be known neither to the market nor to the teams before leadership has decided it.

Two to three profiles within days, an engagement letter setting the scope of authority, milestones and governance with the shareholder and the advisers, then a Bloomco lead through to the exit. Our guide to interim management covers the other situations where the format applies.

Frequently asked questions

Can a turnaround executive operate during a formal procedure?

Yes. They then work with the administrator or conciliator and the company's advisers, within the framework the procedure sets. The scope of their powers is settled at the framing stage.

How quickly can they start?

A few days. In a turnaround it is often the deciding factor: every week of lost cash visibility narrows the options available.

What budget should you plan for?

The market's average billed rate stands at €1,333 per day excluding VAT according to France Transition; at Bloomco, executive functions range from €1,500 to €1,800 per day. See our day rate barometer.