Not enough time to read the full article? Listen to the summary in 2 minutes.

Succession isn’t a future problem anymore. It’s unfolding right now – across factory floors, finance offices, and family boardrooms.

A record 231,000 German SMEs are considering shutting down by the end of 2025. And not because of insolvency, digital disruption, or overseas competition. The reason is simpler and more sobering: their owners are aging out, and no one’s lined up to take the wheel.

Some are preparing formal handovers. Others are still “thinking about it.” But on the ground, there’s a far more urgent question than ownership:

Who’s running the business today?

The invisible drift beneath the data

We often picture succession as a ceremonial moment – speeches, signatures, a baton passed across a conference table.

But the reality is far messier.

According to Germany’s KfW and DIHK, more than 215,000 owners intend to hand over their companies by the end of next year. Yet less than one-third have confirmed successors. Family interest is waning, employee buyouts are rare, and external deals are moving slowly – if at all.

In the meantime, operations drift. Managers hesitate. Big spending decisions are postponed. Customers feel the wobble. Suppliers tighten terms.

And the team starts to whisper: Who’s in charge now?

In our work with Mittelstand firms across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the pattern is clear: once leadership becomes ambiguous, it doesn’t matter what your five-year plan says. Execution grinds down in real time.

Succession planning is not the same as leadership continuity

Here’s the truth many founders and boards quietly admit – even if the company has a transition plan, nobody’s actively leading during the waiting period.

The CEO is semi-retired, the next generation is hesitant, and senior managers are stuck between overstepping and under-delivering. Some external candidates are circling, but no one’s signed. What fills the vacuum?

Often… nothing. Or worse, conflicting voices with no mandate.

That’s why we push for a clear, temporary solution: appoint a trusted interim CEO or COO to lead the business now, while the succession process moves forward in parallel.

This is not about hiring a consultant or a figurehead. It’s about putting someone in the chair who can run the business, preserve value, and protect the people – for 30, 60, 100 days or more. With authority. With rhythm. With clarity.

Because even if no one owns the company yet, someone still needs to run it today.

What real control looks like – when ownership is unclear

When an interim executive steps in, three things change fast:

✔️ Decisions get made again – pricing, production, people.

✔️ KPI reporting regains structure – daily stand-ups, weekly dashboards.

✔️ Customers, suppliers, and employees regain confidence – someone is clearly in charge.

The cadence is everything. We recommend:

• Daily: 20-minute huddles focused on cash, service, and safety
• Weekly: Tight KPI pack covering backlog, receivables, churn, and supplier risk
• Fortnightly: Updates to stakeholders – especially lenders, key clients, and works councils
• Monthly: Full-board view on stability, risk exposure, and handover progress

This isn’t bureaucracy. It’s air traffic control. And in a leadership vacuum, it’s non-negotiable.

The first 30 days: Contain the risk

Before you plan the future, you need to stabilize the present. That starts with three priorities:

1. Customers

Your top accounts need to hear from leadership immediately. Reset delivery expectations, confirm product continuity, and give them a name and number they can trust.

2. Cash

Get a daily grip on receivables, short-term payables, and cash runway. Authorize exceptions carefully – not emotionally. Prepayment requests from suppliers? Escalate. Discounting pressure from clients? Push back with clarity.

3. People

Lock in your key individuals – especially those in production planning, maintenance, and finance. Keep communication clear and consistent. Weekly floor briefings go further than any email.

The companies that collapse during succession don’t fall because of strategy. They fall because of silence.

Days 31–100: Choose the path and prepare the handover

Once stability returns, it’s time to decide how the business moves forward – and who leads it.

Whether the plan is a family transition, MBO, trade sale, or external acquisition, the operational handover must begin before the legal transaction closes.

Too many firms wait for the notary to start onboarding the new leader. By then, trust is fragile, and the team is tired.

Whichever path you take, make it explicit:

• If family-led: align roles and decision rights early
• If PE-backed: ensure data rooms are clean, not bloated
• If MBO: secure financing in parallel with leadership approval
• If sale: protect top accounts with transition service agreements

And in every case, the interim leader should work to exit gracefully – not cling to control.

Where succession efforts break

We’ve stepped into dozens of handovers that were failing quietly behind the scenes. These are the four red flags we see most:

• Founders still pulling strings after stepping back
• Key employees walking out without replacement plans
• Silent lenders worried but uninformed
• No real governance during the handover gap

These aren’t failures of intent. They’re failures of control. And they can be avoided.

There’s more at stake than the company

The Mittelstand isn’t just a segment – it’s Germany’s industrial heart. These companies represent 99% of all firms and over half the workforce. They train the majority of apprentices and anchor regional economies.

When one firm closes due to succession failure, the loss is local but the impact ripples.

That’s why the succession crisis isn’t just a personal dilemma for aging founders. It’s a national challenge with operational consequences.

So if your company – or a portfolio firm you support – is entering succession mode without a clear operator in place, now’s the time to act.

What does acting look like?

It’s simple:

• Appoint someone who can lead the business today
• Run a tight, structured cadence across the next 100 days
• Separate the succession decision from the leadership function

Everything else – lawyers, buyers, advisors – can move in parallel.

At CE Interim, we help companies do exactly this: step into leadership gaps with experienced operators who run the business quietly, effectively, and professionally while you resolve the long-term path.

No disruption. No egos. Just execution.