Interim Assignments
Interim · Digital health · Series B
Interim CPO during a six-month leadership gap
Stepped in as full-time interim Chief Product Officer after an unplanned exit, holding the roadmap together through a major regulatory release.
Client
Kestrel Health
Engagement
6 months
Headline
Shipped on the FDA window
8 of 9
Roadmap commitments hit
0
Voluntary attrition during interim
11 weeks
Time to permanent CPO start
Challenge
Their CPO left two weeks before a critical FDA submission. Three squads were pointing at three different roadmaps and the board was understandably nervous.
Approach
- 01Took ownership of the regulated release end-to-end, including evidence packaging and clinical sign-off.
- 02Re-prioritised the roadmap onto the two outcomes the board actually cared about for the next funding round.
- 03Coached two senior PMs into stretch leadership roles so the permanent CPO would walk into a stronger team than they left.
- 04Ran the search loop with the CEO so the permanent hire was someone the team had already worked with as a candidate.
Outcome
The submission shipped on schedule, the team didn't lose a single PM, and the permanent CPO landed into a roadmap that already had board buy-in.
"We bought ourselves the time to hire well instead of hiring fast. That's the entire ROI of an interim done right."
— Dr. Eleanor Park, CEO, Kestrel Health