Achieve Seamless Transitions with Interim Executive Leadership

Providing interim executive leadership to address your most critical business challenges

Executive Performance On Demand.

When We’re Needed.
For As Long As We’re Needed.

Your business may require an interim leader for a variety of reasons – a gap due to an unexpected resignation (or termination), a leave of absence or because a new initiative demands an experienced skill set not currently available. An interim executive can provide short term stability while maintaining business momentum, allowing the CEO, the owner or the board to identify the leadership skills needed to move the organization forward.

We offer extraordinary interim executive leadership at a reasonable price. Our principal consultants bring extensive, relevant senior management experience and practical, transferable skills to every assignment. They grasp situations quickly and develop customized solutions in collaboration with the client. From day one, they do the hands-on work that gets desired results to meet the highest standard of quality. The most important responsibility for a business owner or board is to take the necessary time and care to select and support the right people for their team whether it’s for finance, human resources, operations, IT, asset management, marketing and sales or other senior management roles.

We can help by providing an interim executive with the skills and experience that match your needs.

The Osborne Team is comprised of senior executives with a minimum 10 years executive experience. Each principal has more than 20 years senior management experience. We span a broad range of organizations, sectors and functional areas including CEO, COO, CFO, CIO, CHRO, SVP, VP, executive director and general manager.

With their depth of experience, our principals can support your organizations with challenges in:

Business strategy and planning
Finance
Operations
Human resources
Procurement/ supply chain
Capital build
Information systems
Marketing and communications
Sales management and training
Organizational design and development
Succession planning

The Osborne Group, a dynamic team of highly experienced executives, has been helping organizations succeed since 1993. We provide a wide range of professional interim management, consulting, planning, and project management services. Our clients are small, medium size and multinational companies in for profit, not-for-profit and government agencies.

We have experience across many business sectors, including:

Consumer packaged goods
Digital marketing/sales
Healthcare
Finance and banking
Insurance
Manufacturing
Technology
Telecommunications
First Nations

Our principals have leadership experience and in-depth knowledge in all areas of business. We get to work quickly and get the job done to the highest standards.

On every assignment we:

Focus on our client’s needs first
Collaborate to develop the best solutions
Work with integrity
Provide excellent quality service
Commit to outstanding results

We provide flexible and affordable terms that fit the opportunity and budget. Interim or fractional positions are a cost-effective way of quickly injecting experience and knowledge into your organization.

Interim leadership can include the following:

Leadership transition: experienced interim day-to-day leadership allows the organization ample time to search for the best permanent CEO or other senior leader
A senior-level vacancy: when internal events create a need to consider organizational or strategic renewal an interim executive fills the bill
Extended leave replacement: an immediate, experienced Osborne interim leader function head will hit the ground running and step out at the right time
Specific and difficult challenges: when you need strategic insights and guidance or a short-term executive to implement difficult changes
Merger and/or acquisition: an Interim executive with significant merger and acquisition experience will increase the likelihood of success as a typical merger implementation process takes between six and nine months. This period of organizational transition is characterized by unique challenges related to merging the cultures, governance and operations of two distinct entities at the same time as business operations must continue without any gaps in production or service.

You can rely on the Osborne Group’s strategically crafted solutions and implementation plans to produce results.

Contact us so we can assess and recommend a proven executive to help your organization through a critical transition.

We have deep experience providing interim or fractional finance executives who can meet organizational needs such as:

Meeting with departing controller for knowledge transfer of detailed responsibilities, ensuring a smooth transition of operational activities and control functions
Supporting the selection of a contract accountant/bookkeeper for basic accounting duties during the interim period
Participating as a member of the management team
Ensuring day-to-day finance operations meet the requirements of internal and external stakeholders
Assisting in the management of the current accounting software
Overseeing the timely and accurate execution of payroll, accounts payable and accounts receivable
Reviewing and approving internal financial statements for accuracy and helping to interpret them
Ensuring government reporting and remittances are done on a timely basis
Coordinating with banks, auditors, and other external parties  to ensure effective service delivery
Supporting the management team to ensure business decisions are made with timely and accurate financial information
Assisting with the assessment of the future roles and responsibilities of a new CFO and supporting the recruitment of the permanent employee as appropriate

The Osborne Group’s approach to executive recruitment differs from that of the large, specialized search firms. Our flexible and cost-effective recruitment services are customized to most effectively meet client needs. We work within available budgets and minimize costs by charging only for time spent on the assignment. As executive recruitment is not the single focus of our firm, we do not work from a proprietary database. Instead, we work closely with selection committees to leverage organizational contacts as well as our own extensive contacts.

Our knowledge of unique challenges in diverse sectors and their means we can provide excellent support in virtually any situation, particularly during periods of change and transition. Regardless of the situation, we’re committed to a thorough, professional, inclusive and well-organized process.

Osborne Group principals bring extensive experience to every assignment, whether in an interim capacity or as consultants, drawing on their career and life experience to provide executive support and leadership coaching to our clients. We also provide executive coaching and development plans for individuals on specific challenges they are encountering in their leadership roles.

This includes oversight and coaching on a variety of tasks that may be new to a senior executive such as:

Balancing management, staff and board priorities
Financial management – analyzing financial results, developing forecasts and budgets
Human resources management
Coaching on various strategic initiatives such as the process for the development of the next strategic plan or integration activities

Our process to develop a scope of work for leadership support, coaching and development often includes a number of components:

Liaison with the client to analyze the coaching client’s current state
Collaboration with the coaching client to determine developmental focus areas
Regular sessions with the coaching client as they work through the process
Facilitation with the coaching client a strategy to address developmental focus areas
Support the coaching client as he/she/they execute the strategy

We monitor progress and maintain contact through regular meetings, either by phone or in person, at the call of the client.

On-going consultation can be provided on selected issues that may not have been initially identified as a priority.

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Our Clients Say It Best

Our organization needed a strategic plan to enhance our professionalism, establish clear direction, and define our goals. The Osborne Group guided us in creating this plan. Their approach was professional, organized, and structured, enabling full team participation. As a result, we now have dynamic policies, procedures, and sub-committees in place, allowing us to take a proactive approach.

Doug Morrison

President, Board Member, The Table Soup Kitchen Foundation

Faced with potential operational funding cuts, our not-for-profit organization recognized the urgent need to consider various scenarios to plan for financial change. We were looking for structure and experience to help us think through some difficult questions. The Osborne Group facilitated a workshop with our board and using our current strategic plan, they developed three financial scenarios for the organization to explore. The Osborne Group was very thorough and provided the external perspective needed to ask hard questions that led to in-depth conversations and great engagement from the board. We can now step back and look at our organization from a wider lens and we have a plan to best move forward. Overall, The Osborne Group provided incredible value and we are very pleased with the outcome.

Wendy Rading

Executive Director, Arts Etobicoke

Working as a small team had become insular and repetitive, and the challenges of dealing with a tight budget meant we had to be creative to make the most of the available funds. We worked with The Osborne Group to create our new strategic plan because they had experience working with family health teams. They facilitated thoughtful and inclusive discussions with our team which allowed us to generate new ideas, gain a fresh perspective, and get out of our comfort zone. It was all very worthwhile because we now have a realistic plan that includes actionable items that we can work towards to reach the end goals and help drive us forward. The new plan is useful and understandable across sectors and allows the funders to see the challenges that lie ahead but also future success.

Kate Malisani

Executive Director, Crosstown Family Health Team

We were working with a team that had grown dissatisfied and was facing a lot of changes which resulted in low engagement scores. The Osborne Group was able to provide an HR advisor who facilitated sessions to talk with the group about the changes and expectations, new ways of measuring performance, explained the policies and processes and helped them explore career opportunities. After the sessions with the team, we could tell that the team was opening up to new ways of working and realize the benefits of the changes. We feel that overall, the sessions had a positive effect and that we are now on the right path forward.

Marcel Badertscher, CHRE

Vice President, Human Resources, Heartland Mutual Insurance

Our agency was going through a period of major transition, and we lacked bench strength on our team to help assess what was going on and provide top level leadership. The Osborne Group provided an interim executive leader who listened and quickly assessed the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. The ED made recommendations for new staff, restructuring and provided solid solutions that laid the groundwork for us to execute new initiatives and have long-term growth. We now have a stronger organization that’s armed with a strategic plan for a way forward.

Cindy Blakely

Founder, New Circles