Comparison
01
Turnaround CEO vs consultant vs restructuring advisor.
Three roles, three jobs. Picking the wrong one wastes the window you have.
Side by side
| Turnaround CEO | Turnaround consultant | Restructuring advisor | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who | Operator, in the CEO seat | Advisor, on the sidelines | Specialist, working with creditors and courts |
| Acts or advises | Acts. Signs decisions. | Advises. Recommends. | Negotiates and structures. |
| Scope | Commercial and operational recovery | Diagnosis, frameworks, recommendations | Debt, insolvency, legal restructuring |
| Authority | Full P&L. Hire, fire, cut, refocus. | None. Through the management team. | Through process, mandate from board or creditors. |
| Accountability | Owns the outcome. The number is the number. | Owns the report. | Owns the legal process. |
| Tempo | Weeks. 30 / 90 / 180 days. | Months of analysis. | Quarters of process. |
| When to hire | Decline you can still reverse commercially. | Need a second opinion before acting. | Insolvency risk, creditor pressure, court action. |
For commercial decline that is still reversible, a turnaround CEO is the right call. For debt and insolvency exposure, hire a restructuring advisor first. The operating bias behind this work is written up at actionisnow.com and tenperzent.com.