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Writer's pictureInes Techt

The Advantages of Working as an Interim Manager: A Personal Perspective

Interview with Swiss Interim Manager Alexandre Hedayat 


Alexandre Hedayat has had a long and varied corporate career, holding global roles in DuPont de Nemours, Computer Science Corporation (DXC) , and Orange Business Services (France Telecom). He now works as an Interim Manager, focusing on  client projects where he can quickly deliver value, share his extensive experience, and help organizations, teams, and leadership to solve specific problems effectively and positively. Each project or role presents new challenges, from executive coaching to transformation, project leadership and team support, making every experience unique. Most importantly, Alex has a proven track record of  leading, driving and successfully delivering large and/or complex projects with high visibility and multiple stakeholders, on time, on budget with the required results.




    

Swiss Interim Management: How long have you been working as an Interim Manager?  

  

Alexandre Hedayat: I have worked as an Interim Manager for about six years with Swiss Interim Management, contributing to various projects across different geographies and industries.  

  

Swiss Interim Management: Can you summarize your professional career?  

  

Alexandre Hedayat: After a 15-year career with DuPont in technology and financial roles, followed by 8 years with CSC in sales and global project leadership., I spent 6 years with Orange Business Services, leading global outsourcing sales and large-scale projects, successfully securing over €1.1 billion in contracts. After that, I worked 10 years with ISG, a global leader in outsourcing advisory, where I led several significant corporate outsourcing deals for global companies across multiple industries and geographies, working at all levels from regulatory, boards, executive management, and most importantly, with client teams.  

  

Swiss Interim Management: Why did you become an Interim Manager?  

  

Alexandre Hedayat: Becoming an Interim Manager allowed me to share my experience and assist teams in solving specific problems, often directly impacting the bottom line, operational results, and performance. The flexibility of working in different environments and industries makes interim management particularly interesting. The nature of the role demands quick decision-making, thorough analysis, and a focus on efficiency and results—a challenge I enjoy with every assignment. Moreover, teamwork is essential to establish a trusted, collaborative environment to achieve results in often complex or demanding settings.  

  

Swiss Interim Management: What distinguishes interim management, and what are its advantages?  

  

Alexandre Hedayat: As an Interim Manager, I work within a defined timeframe to deliver clear results. This requires a high level of focus from both the teams I collaborate with and myself. Often, interim managers step into critical situations where urgent support is needed to achieve ambitious goals, or a rapid recovery, or guide a team towards success. A key difference is that, unlike full-time employees, interim managers aren't concerned with career development within the client company. Instead, our priority is making the best decisions for our clients and achieving the desired outcomes. Another distinct aspect of interim management is the need to continually maintain industry and market contacts to bring leading-edge knowledge, market trends and enable key contacts for our clients. Interim Management  offers new and diverse opportunities, similar to consulting, however, often with more significant organizational responsibilities where we support our clients on key journeys.  

  

Swiss Interim Management: What key projects have you worked on in recent years?  

  

Alexandre Hedayat: Over the past six years, I have worked on approximately seven European projects. Two stand out due to their scope, complexity, and impact: A multi-million Euro outsourcing project for a Danish government IT services company, which provides life-long end-to-end IT solutions for government social and tax services to all Danish citizens, and a multi-year, multi-million Euro outsourcing project for a large systemic bank in the Baltics region.  

  

Swiss Interim Management: Which project was your favorite and why?  

  

Alexandre Hedayat: All projects involving transformation, outsourcing, restructuring, and mergers and acquisitions are fascinating to lead. They come with considerable human and leadership challenges, especially those involving hundreds or thousands of people. They also involve complex legal and labor law frameworks, demanding financials, advanced technology solutions, and high-level executive or private equity management. While these projects are challenging, the mission of an interim manager is to complete the work on time and on target.  

  

Swiss Interim Management: What advice would you give to future interim managers?  

  

Alexandre Hedayat: Interim managers should embody trust, integrity, experience, and leadership. Establishing oneself quickly as an example of ethical and professional conduct is essential. Interim managers must demonstrate the expertise needed to deliver results visibly and promptly. Flexibility, adaptability, empathy, perceptiveness, and active listening are complementary skills that contribute to effective leadership. Drawing on these skills, it is important to lead by example, work closely with teams, and deliver high-quality results. Additionally, Swiss Interim Management offers a wealth of knowledge and experience, and collaboration among interim managers is a valuable support system for both us and our clients.  

  

About Alexandre  

With 30 years of experience, Alex brings deep knowledge in strategy, operations, transformation, restructuring, sales, outsourcing, and leadership across industries such as Manufacturing, Energy, Chemicals, Insurance, Aerospace, Banking, Finance, Consumer Goods, Telecommunications, Defense, and Government. His dynamic leadership style emphasizes keen listening and simplifying complex situations into clear deliverables for effective execution and sound executive management. Alex is also a qualified aircraft and helicopter private pilot with over 35 years of experience flying in Europe and the US. He has lived and worked in Europe and the US, bring a quite multi-cultural background and understanding, and  more recently works across Europe, the Nordics, and the Baltics. He shares his personal time between Geneva, Switzerland, and Athens, Greece, where his wife resides and runs her own design jewelry brand and company.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

  


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