“Investment funds and venture capital firms use interim management as a management tool”

Juan Manuel Gil de Escobar is a Managing Partner at EPUNTO Interim Management. He specialises in crisis management, corporate operations management, productivity improvement, the professionalisation of family businesses, and the management and mentoring of start-ups.

Madrid, 27 June 2022

As a partner at EPUNTO Interim Management, one of Spain’s leading firms in this field, where does the company stand at present, and what are its short- and medium-term plans?

We work alongside companies in their day-to-day operations, sharing their problems and concerns, and the challenges they face in a rapidly changing world. That is why we get involved in their projects, whether in situations of economic uncertainty, as was the case during the worst months of the pandemic, in scenarios such as the current one, with significant increases in production costs, or in capitalising on opportunities, such as the much-discussed European funds for the implementation of the PERTE (Strategic Projects for Economic Recovery and Transformation).

It varies from place to place. Expectations and moods are diverse and ever-changing; as my father wisely says, there are as many as there are varieties of plums.

In response to your question about the situation at EPUNTO Interim Management, paradoxically, it is the usual one in this ever-changing world: providing flexible management solutions to resolve crisis situations during difficult economic times or driving development projects forward when conditions are favourable for accessing various types of funding. In fulfilment of this responsibility, and aware of our ability to tackle difficult situations in extraordinary circumstances, we provide solutions that help companies establish and create value.

On the other hand, we tend to take a long-term rather than a short-term view. The short term is revealed to us through our day-to-day work, whilst the long term allows us to remain alongside our clients, without losing touch with a world whose trends can change with the flutter of a butterfly’s wing on the other side of the globe.

Private equity funds and venture capital are among the main reasons for engaging in interim management. Could you explain why this is the case and what the service entails for this type of client?

Among the core values of interim management are a results-oriented approach, commitment that goes beyond mere involvement, discretion and, last but not least, the trust built up through experience gained in hundreds of challenges.

Beyond day-to-day activities, the very act of investing as a corporate operation – whether with the aim of restoring a company’s viability, improving its profitability or developing the business – represents extraordinary situations that need to be managed. We are referring, amongst other cases, to restructuring and turnaround in crisis situations; to business transformation involving profound changes to company policy and culture; to growth through the realisation of untapped potential; or to market expansion, whether through exports or internationalisation.

These are extraordinary situations which, as such, require nothing less than a precise, ‘sniper-like’ approach to secure and maximise the value of the investment. This is the true value of interim management when practised by genuine interim managers – senior executive directors capable of achieving extremely demanding goals.

The service offered to these investment firms consists of providing leadership and management expertise to the companies in their portfolio. To fulfil this mission, we select the best professionals with experience in corporate operations of a similar nature so that, in an agile manner and within a pre-agreed timeframe, they can work intensively towards achieving their objectives of recovery or realising a return on investment.

EPUNTO Interim Management is part of the international network Globalise – The Global Interim Management Group, with a worldwide presence. Are these interim management services for investment fund managers and venture capital firms also prevalent in other countries?

Membership of the Globalise international alliance is key to being able to offer flexible management services in today’s globalised economy. Business opportunities know no borders, and investment flows currently reflect this reality.

We cannot think in parochial terms because there is a vast territory beyond our borders, where investment funds and venture capital firms number in the thousands, drawn by Spain’s appeal as an investment destination.

Interim management – that is, temporary or transitional management – has long been widely used in many countries, including by their public administrations.

That said, EPUNTO Interim Management embraces the well-known globalisation motto: ‘think globally, act locally’.

At the start of the interview, you referred to the Strategic Projects for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE). To what extent is interim management useful in managing them?

The PERTE programmes, as a tool to drive the transformation of the Spanish economy, represent a unique opportunity that businesses must seize. This involves a vast amount of financial resources made available to companies and institutions on reasonably manageable terms, through the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, via the European ‘Next Generation’ mechanism. It is not a matter of applying for grants just for the sake of it, but of doing so in a coherent manner and in line with each company’s strategic plan, regardless of its size. It is in relation to these strategic objectives that interim management fits these projects – which are usually of an extraordinary nature – like a glove. The same applies in the case of investment funds and venture capital, as it is mandatory to demonstrate sound management and the proper use of the funds provided to the relevant authorities.