Chief Executive Officer. Italy.
A hiring guide for board chairs, founders and PE deal teams looking for a Chief Executive Officer in Milano, Roma or across Italia. Cost, contract, timing and fit. Then book an intro call with one operator.
One operator. Milano. Roma. Italia.
A hiring guide for boards, founders and PE deal teams that need to find and hire a Chief Executive Officer in Italy. Based in Milano, working with portfolio companies and opcos in Roma and across Italia. Read the guide. If the fit is there, book a 30-minute call.
Three proof points
Operator numbers. Not advisory numbers.
€120M+
Annual marketing budget run as CMO of LeoVegas Group
€50M
Incremental revenue delivered in under 12 months
€607M
Contributed to the MGM acquisition of LeoVegas
Full numbers on the track record page.
How hiring works
Four steps. Two weeks.
01
Intro call
30 minutes. Situation, timeline, reporting line.
02
Written mandate
One page. Outcome, scope, day rate or retainer. 48 hours.
03
Start
On the ground within two weeks. Full executive authority.
04
Handover
Clean exit. Successor briefed. Documented.
The full process is on the how-to-hire page.
Solutions by situation
Pick the page that fits your case.
Solution
Interim CEO for PE
Hold the operating line in your Italian portfolio company.
Solution
Turnaround CEO Italy
Cash in 30, cuts in 90, plan in 180. Hands-on operator.
Solution
Post-acquisition integration
Day-one execution. 100-day plan. One accountable seat.
Solution
Italy market entry
Stand up your Italian opco. No expat cost. Trilingual.
Solution
Fractional CEO Italy
Part-time CEO for scale-ups and family businesses.
Italiano
CEO ad interim Milano
In italiano. Amministratore Delegato a termine per aziende italiane.
Italiano
Direttore Generale ad interim
In italiano. DG a termine con delibera del CdA e polizza D&O.
Guide
How to hire
Mandate, scope, contract, start, handover.
Guide
What it costs
Day rate vs retainer. What drives the number.
Proof
Track record
Mandates with the numbers as headlines.
Top questions
What buyers ask first.
How do you find and hire an interim CEO?
To find an interim CEO, work through your board network, PE operating partners and specialist interim firms rather than generic recruiters. To hire one, define the mandate in one page (situation, outcome, timeline, reporting line), agree day rate or monthly retainer, sign a short interim engagement contract, and start within two weeks. The board or controlling shareholder signs, not HR.
What does an interim CEO cost in Italy?
Day rates for a credible interim CEO in Italy typically run between EUR 1,500 and EUR 3,500 per day, or EUR 25,000 to EUR 55,000 per month on retainer. The number is driven by company size, complexity, urgency and time commitment. Total engagement cost is what matters, not the rate.
How fast can an interim CEO start?
Days, not months. A scoped mandate and written pricing land within 48 hours of the intro call. On-the-ground start is typically within two weeks.
Do you work as Chief Executive Officer in Milano and Roma?
Yes. Based in Milano, with regular on-site work in Roma and across Italia. Chief Executive Officer mandates run wherever the operating company sits, including Turin, Bologna, Verona and Naples, with a fixed cadence of on-site days each week.
Interim CEO or fractional CEO. Which do I need?
Interim CEO is full-time, single mandate, defined exit. Fractional CEO is part-time, ongoing, often across multiple companies. Pick interim for turnarounds, leadership gaps and post-acquisition. Pick fractional for early-stage scale-up with limited budget.
Interim CEO, CEO ad interim, ad interim CEO or CEO interim. Same thing?
Yes. In Italy the same role is searched as interim CEO, CEO ad interim, ad interim CEO and CEO interim. The Latin phrase 'ad interim' means 'in the meantime' and is used interchangeably with the English 'interim'. Same chair, same authority, same contract shape. The legal title on the filing (Amministratore Delegato, Direttore Generale) is what actually matters.
Is this an on-demand interim CEO service?
Yes. On-demand interim CEO means one operator, ready to start in two weeks, engaged directly by the board or controlling shareholder. No search firm, no retainer, no placement fee. Written scope and price within 48 hours of the intro call. Day rate or monthly retainer. On-demand also means on-demand exit: the mandate ends on the agreed date with a briefed successor, not when a recruiter says so.
Who is Niklas Lindahl?
The operator behind this site. Milan-based interim and fractional Chief Executive Officer. Former CMO of LeoVegas Group (EUR 120M+ marketing budget, contributed to the EUR 607M MGM acquisition), former Managing Director Italy of an international group (revenue from EUR 3M to EUR 18M in one year), founder and exit of Optimized Group. Trilingual in English, Italian and Swedish.
Full list on the FAQ page.
Next step
Need a CEO in Italy. Fast.
Book a 30-minute intro call. No pitch deck. Direct answers on fit, timeline and scope.