Interim Insights: A conversation with Ralph Charlton

As part of our Interim Insights series, Olivia Grant, Associate Director and leader of our interim practice, is speaking with Director-level interim professionals to discuss approaches and frameworks that enable them to make immediate and meaningful impact. We will explore what exceptional interim leadership looks like and why it continues to be a critical asset for organisations navigating change.

In this interview, Olivia speaks with Ralph Charlton, who has had an extensive career as an interim communications leader, including at FTI Consulting, and Group Director of Communications at Just Eat, Ascential plc and Connells Group amongst others, about how he rapidly diagnoses risk, builds trust, and leaves a lasting legacy in complex and often high-pressure environments.

About Ralph Charlton

I’ve been in the communications world for more than 25 years. I started at a two-person agency where I was essentially the skivvy – stuffing envelopes and sending out press releases. From there, I moved to, what was then, Burson-Marsteller, one of the world’s largest PR agencies, working across major consumer brands and then into a boutique agency to build their technology practice during the dotcom boom.

After several years agency-side, I took two years out to complete an MBA because I wanted a deeper understanding of business and to better follow – and influence – the conversations happening at the top table. When I returned to the UK, I joined Sage Group, a FTSE 100 software business in-house as UK PR Manager and stayed for 11 years, ultimately leading global corporate and financial communications as well as elements of internal comms.

When I left, I knew I didn’t want to go back into a traditional corporate leadership track. I set up on my own with a handful of consulting clients, and fairly quickly realised I didn’t want to build an agency either. That’s when I started exploring interim roles – and I’ve now been working as an interim communications leader for eight or nine years.

Over that time, I’ve led communications through significant periods of change: major corporate break- ups, high-stakes crisis and regulatory pressure, reputation recoveries and large-scale transformations, including private-equity-backed tech businesses and most recently Connells Group, the UK’s largest estate agency.

I’ve very deliberately become a generalist: financial, corporate, internal, change and transformation, crisis, branding, some public affairs. That breadth runs slightly counter to the “specialise at all costs” view that some have, but it’s worked for me – and it’s very relevant to interim work, where you’re often dropped into the middle of multi-dimensional challenges.

When you step into an interim leadership role, what are the first signals you   look for to understand whether the corporate affairs function is aligned – or misaligned – with the organisation’s strategic priorities?

The first thing I look for is whether corporate affairs is treated as a strategic partner or a downstream service function. If communications is only brought in at the end – to “polish the message” once decisions are made – that’s usually a sign of misalignment. I want to see corporate affairs involved in shaping decisions, not just explaining them.

I also look at the narrative consistency across channels and stakeholders: what’s being said to investors, employees, customers, regulators, and the media. If each audience is hearing a slightly different story, or if the company and communications strategy isn’t reflected in how issues are managed day to day, that’s a red flag. Conversely, when you see clear line of sight between the business strategy, the risk agenda, and the communications opportunities and priorities, you know the function is plugged into what really matters.

Interim roles often mean entering an organisation during moments of change or crisis. How do you quickly assess the reputational risk landscape?

You start by listening more than talking. I’ll typically run a rapid “360” on reputational risk: talking to senior leaders, legal, risk, HR, investor relations, and frontline teams to understand where they see vulnerabilities. Then I compare that internal view with the external reality – media coverage, social sentiment, analyst commentary, regulator expectations, and, where relevant, political or NGO scrutiny.

I’m looking for gaps between how the organisation sees itself and how it is actually perceived. Are there legacy issues still casting a long shadow? Are there upcoming decisions that could trigger stakeholder backlash? In parallel, I’ll review recent crises or near misses to understand how the organisation behaves under pressure – who makes decisions, how quickly, on what information, and with what level of transparency. That combination of internal insight and external scanning gives you a fast, pragmatic view of the real reputational risk landscape.

But this can sound as if everything is driven by risk and is defensive – the reality though is that whilst a company might have risks to manage what they actually want is a more front footed, strategically aligned communications function that can positively build their reputation. So its also about creating a strategy to deliver on that.

You’re frequently the ‘new face’ in the room, sometimes managing established teams. What’s your approach to earning trust rapidly with both senior executives and key external stakeholders?

With executives, I focus on credibility, clarity, and calmness under pressure. That means turning up well- briefed, asking good questions, and giving practical, unvarnished advice – not just telling people what they want to hear. When leaders see that you’re there to solve their problems, protect the business, and tell the truth constructively, trust builds quickly. On of the privileges of being an interim is that you can – indeed are often expected - to be very straight. Your fresh view, announced view is often welcomed.

With teams, the emphasis is different. You may be their third leader in as many years, so you have to show you’re there to support, not just judge. I spend time understanding individual strengths, frustrations, and ambitions, and I’m transparent about what I’m there to do and how I’ll work. Small things matter: following through on what you say, shielding them from unnecessary noise, and giving them credit publicly. For external stakeholders – journalists, regulators, investors – consistency is key. If you’re reliable, responsive, and honest about what you know and don’t know, you can build trust even as the “new face”.

Contractors are expected to deliver value immediately. What framework, practices or approaches enable you to make high-impact decisions within your first month?

I work to a simple but disciplined framework in the first 30 days: understand, prioritise, stabilise, then optimise. First, you map the landscape: who the real decision-makers are, where the pressure points lie, what’s already in motion, and what success looks like for this assignment. Then you prioritise ruthlessly – you can’t fix everything at once, so you focus on the issues that carry the highest risk or greatest opportunity.

From there, it’s about stabilising anything that’s on fire – an emerging issue, a leadership change, a regulatory concern – while putting in a few lightweight structures that improve decision-making: clearer escalation paths, sharper key messages, short horizon-scanning routines. Only once that’s in place do you move into optimisation – tightening processes, refining strategy, building capability. High-impact decisions in month one come from being deliberate about what you won’t do yet, just as much as what you will.

What legacy do you aim to leave when stepping out of an interim role, and how do you measure the value of that longer-term legacy?

When I step out of an interim role, I want to leave behind stability, clarity, and credibility. That means handing back a function that is at least as strong as when I arrived – ideally stronger – with clear strategies, sensible priorities, and relationships that are in good shape. I see myself as a custodian: even if I’m only there for a defined period, I have a responsibility to ensure that the organisation is better equipped to handle the pressures and complexities it faces. That might be a more resilient team, a clearer narrative, or a more disciplined approach to issues and crisis management.

I measure that legacy less by headlines and more by enduring impact. Are the strategies and frameworks we put in place still being used six or twelve months later? Has the function retained or strengthened its reputation with senior leadership and key stakeholders? Did I hand over a coherent plan that someone else could pick up and run with, rather than a set of disconnected quick fixes? If the answer to those questions is “yes”, then I’m confident the value of my time there extends well beyond the end of the contract.

What advice would you give to someone navigating the job market during a challenging geo-political time?

In a challenging geo-political environment, my first piece of advice is to stay informed and contextual. Understand how macro trends – from geopolitical tensions to regulatory shifts and social expectations – affect the sectors you’re targeting. Employers are looking for people who not only do the job, but can interpret the world around them and help organisations respond with good judgement. Being able to talk credibly about risk, reputation, and stakeholder expectations in this context is a real differentiator.

Secondly, be honest and intentional about your narrative. Whether you’ve done interim, permanent, or a mix of both, be clear about what you’ve learned from each experience and how it equips you to operate in a volatile environment. Don’t shy away from interim or contract opportunities; they can offer exposure to complex issues, rapid learning, and access to senior stakeholders that might be harder to get in more “settled” times. Finally, focus on relationships and reputation – the way you show up under pressure, the trust you build, and the impact you have are what carry you through uncertain markets, more than any specific job label.

This case study highlights how thoughtful interim leadership in corporate affairs can both solve immediate challenges and build long-term resilience – for the function, the organisation, and the leader’s own career.

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