Banking & finance continues to dominate the private sector interim management industry, with 28% of the share of placements in 2009, according to the Interim Management Association’s (IMA) Ipsos MORI research.

Last year not only saw the banking sector retain its place as the number one sector, but also saw ‘special projects’ overtake the ‘HR function’ as the most requested interim job function with 26% of the total figure. 

Leadership roles and programme/project management remain the most popular reason for hiring an interim manager, accounting for a third (32%) of all IMA assignments in 2009. 

There was also strong demand for business improvement (20%) and change/transition management (11%) roles. Chief executive, managing director and general manager appointments also increased by three percentage points compared to annual figures for 2008.

IMA chairman, Paul Botting, says: “The interim management sector has been focused on both the private and the public sector over the last year, with the split remaining fairly even.

“In a period of uncertainty, we have seen increased engagement from clients in specialist projects, where they have looked to make use of skill sets they don’t have internally and only need on an interim basis.”