The positions of chief financial officer and controller were most in demand. A substantial number of senior-level positions also were filled in marketing and sales, human resources and information technology. Flexible executive staffing has become a strategic management tool, according to Imcor, a unit of Interim Services Inc., also based in Stamford. But the interim execs are careful about who they do business with. And even in these IPO-crazed times, they aren't necessarily looking to be paid in stock.
Stock is nice, but good old American greenbacks are the compensation of choice.
Paying cash, even a small amount, brings financial discipline to the enterprise, the experts say. Technology is so hot, everybody and their mother is willing to take equity. But I'm very careful with whom I choose to do that. I think it's important for a start-up to pay some cash. Despite the easy arrangement, the working relationships between new companies and temporary executives aren't without pitfalls.