Interim solutions
The Essenta Difference
Speed is essential for Interim leadership. But speed without judgement creates risk.
Our approach combines pace, insight and Assessment to ensure every Interim leader is matched to the situation, not simply the role.
We know where to find leaders who can step into complex situations and make progress quickly. Our network is built around proven Interim executives who have navigated transformation, change and critical moments, bringing the experience and authority needed from day one.
A strong Interim brief starts with the outcome, not the job title. We define what the business needs to stabilize, change or build, then match the leader to that specific situation.
That might mean an Interim CEO to restore direction, or an Interim CFO to steady performance. It might mean a different solution is needed entirely.
Senior Essenta partners stay close throughout the assignment, from diagnosis to delivery. By retaining the context behind the challenge, we help leaders and organizations make decisions quickly while maintaining the insight needed to get them right.
Our proprietary Discovery Process® allows you to make confident hiring decisions with an objective view into capability, readiness, value fit and behaviours.
Case Studies
Discover how our tailored Interim work has helped high-growth businesses and private equity firms appoint leaders through moments of major change.
Our Integrated Services
Our Search, Interim and Advisory experts work together closely, bringing continuity, context and accurate judgement to every stage of the relationship. That means faster, better-informed decisions, the right expertise when you need it, and leadership solutions that are tailored to your unique needs.
View serviceOur Executive Search Services
More than your standard Executive Search. We combine market insight with rigorous Assessment to deliver leaders who power growth during transformation.
View serviceOur Leadership Advisory Services
Essenta builds stronger leadership through senior-led Advisory, assessment, and succession planning. Integrated consulting that creates a lasting advantage.
View service
Laurence Frantzis
Senior Partner, Interim, Leadership Advisory and Central Operations
Central Operations
Interim
Leadership Advisory
London
Mike Thomas
Principal, Interim
B2C
London
Stephanie Barrett
Project Coordinator, Interim
Interim
London
Amin Mahboubi
Principal, Interim
Interim
London
Senior Partner, Interim, Leadership Advisory and Central Operations
Some businesses need experienced leadership quickly, to steer them through a critical period or deliver a specific outcome. Laurence helps them find it. He leads Essenta’s Interim and Leadership Advisory practices, partnering with private equity-backed businesses and PLCs across the UK, Europe and the US. He advises investors, boards and leadership teams on critical appointments and complex leadership challenges, from transformation, turnaround and value creation to growth and significant organizational change.
Before joining Essenta, Laurence held senior positions at leading Executive Search and Talent Advisory firms, specializing in Executive Interim Management and senior leadership appointments. In a previous role, he played a key part in integrating three complementary service lines, helping shape a more cohesive market proposition across Executive Search, Interim Management and Leadership Advisory. He built significant expertise in manufacturing, FMCG, consumer and healthcare, partnering with PE-backed, privately owned, and listed businesses on senior leadership and transformation mandates.
His work has also been recognized by the Institute of Interim Management, which named him Interim Service Provider Consultant of the Year in 2021.
Experience on paper only gets you so far. What matters is whether someone has the judgement, pace and credibility to operate in the specific environment they’re stepping into. My role is to understand both the business challenge and the individual, and make sure the two genuinely align.
Mike is a Principal in Essenta’s Interim Practice, advising private equity-backed, listed and privately owned businesses on senior Interim leadership appointments across the UK, Europe and the US.
His clients are dealing with leadership gaps, transformation, growth, operational improvement and other business-critical situations, where experienced leaders need to make a difference straight away. Mike starts with the business context, the leadership challenge and the outcome required. He combines market insight with pace and judgement to find experienced leaders who can deliver.
Mike has more than 20 years’ experience in recruitment and Executive Search, advising clients on board and functional leadership appointments across international consumer, CPG, industrial and manufacturing markets.
His clients have ranged from early-stage and private equity-backed businesses to major listed and multinational organizations. Before joining Essenta, he held senior leadership and partnership positions in Executive Search and recruitment, and co-founded and ran his own business.
Integrity sits at the core of how I work. That means being straightforward in my advice, building relationships for the long term and being prepared to give an honest view, even when it isn’t the easiest message to deliver.
In Interim, pace and precision matter. I take a clinical approach to understanding the situation, defining what success looks like and identifying the leadership experience needed to deliver it. The objective is simple: move quickly, apply sound judgement and appoint someone who can make an immediate impact.
Stephanie helped establish Essenta’s Interim practice, implementing the systems and processes that enabled its growth, and she now keeps it running day to day. She makes sure assignments are managed accurately and efficiently from first engagement to completion, and she is a key point of contact for clients and Interim executives, bringing structure and clarity to a fast-paced, often complex environment.
Working closely with the Interim team, she manages executive diaries across multiple time zones, complex international travel, client and candidate communication, invoicing and credit control, business development activity and the practice’s operational needs.
With extensive experience supporting C-suite executives and working in Executive Search, Stephanie is organized, responsive and trusted to anticipate requirements and manage competing priorities, so that clients and candidates consistently receive a high level of service.
Stephanie has more than 20 years’ experience supporting senior executives, managing complex operations and delivering projects across Executive Search and professional services.
She has also held PA and project management roles at Goldman Sachs and RBS, gaining extensive experience of complex project delivery, stakeholder management and high-volume operational environments.
I want people to feel that everything is under control, even when circumstances are changing quickly. That comes down to anticipation, trust and consistency: knowing what needs to happen next and spotting issues before they arise. In an Interim environment, where priorities shift fast, I bring structure, keep momentum and make sure everyone knows what’s happening and what comes next.
Amin is a Principal in Essenta’s Interim practice, where he has a particular focus across Financial Officers and Technology Officers.
His clients include private equity-backed businesses, their boards and investors, as well as corporate clients across manufacturing, media and financial services. Clients typically bring him in for CFO or CTO gaps and succession, and for key moments in a business’s life: exits and refinancing, carve-outs and integrations, turnaround and cash focus, and first-time private equity ownership. He also supports finance function transformation, systems and ERP change, digital transformation and technology due diligence.
Before joining Essenta, Amin worked client-side as a commercial director. He has also led multiple businesses at a listed recruitment group, and a number of businesses across several sectors for one of the UK’s largest privately owned staffing businesses.
Clients should experience speed without any loss of judgement. I offer a straight view, even when it isn’t the answer someone had hoped for; and I stay close to the mandate from briefing to the end of the assignment, rather than stepping away at offer stage. I believe candidates deserve the same candour, and a relationship that lasts well beyond a single assignment instead of a transaction.
Tell us what the business needs to achieve. We will help you understand the leadership challenge in front of you and identify the right approach.
Connect with Laurence 
Email Laurence