The head of the legal department at a renowned food company was suddenly absent due to illness. The company was urgently looking for an interim legal manager to manage the division with 7 employees and to support a significant company acquisition that had just been initiated. Just eight days after the initial contact, the interim manager was fully deployed on site.
Securing legal advice for operational and strategic issues
In this project, the interim manager took on several tasks at the same time. On the one hand, he had to provide legal support for the implementation of the ongoing acquisition of a Scandinavian group of companies. At the same time, he supported the ongoing operational activities with the legal team. The interim manager also prepared the meetings of the management board and supervisory board and attended their meetings. In doing so, he earned a special position of trust with the company management.
Optimally motivating and deploying the legal team
Due to the extremely short start-up phase, the interim manager attached particular importance to winning over and involving all team members. His cooperative, open and communicative management style helped him to achieve this. Only in this way was he able to unleash the full expertise and motivation for the enormous simultaneous demands. This was all the more true as the employees were still suffering from the "trauma" of the loss of their division manager. Unfortunately, it was clear after a few weeks that the incumbent would not be able to return to his role for health reasons.
Company acquisition quickly implemented thanks to good legal advice
The acquisition of the company was also implemented within eight months thanks to the legal support provided by the interim manager. As a result of the transaction, the client became the second-largest provider in its product area in Europe.
In addition, the interim manager ensured that the ongoing operational activities were legally supported smoothly in this capacity-strained situation. He coordinated internal employees, external consultants and stakeholders to the great satisfaction of his client. As a result, the interim manager earned the recognition of his team, his colleagues in the company and the Executive Board.
Post-merger integration & knowledge transfer to permanent General Counsel
In the subsequent phase, the aim was to fully integrate the acquired group. Although the company had a permanent position holder again from the post-merger phase onwards, it was happy to rely on the expertise and commitment of the interim manager for a further six months. During this time, the interim manager was also able to transfer the knowledge from the project to the permanent General Counsel.
