What Alternative Managers does

Alternative Managers SAS is a France-based professional services firm founded in 2007 by Bertrand Gaucher-Piola that specializes in interim management and transition management (management de transition) for French enterprises. The company recruits a vetted pool of senior executives — each with a minimum of 15 years of operational experience — and places them on short-term assignments to cover vacant managerial positions, lead transformation projects, manage crisis situations (restructurings, turnarounds, site closures), or provide relay management during prolonged absences. The core service is delivered as a single bundled offering built around a six-step process, with commitments to respond to client inquiries within 24 hours and to present a candidate shortlist within five days.

The firm operates with a small internal core team supported by a network of independent interim managers, using the legal framework of temporary work (travail temporaire, NAF 7820Z) as its operating chassis. It is headquartered in Lyon (50 rue de la République, with a secondary office on Place Tolozan) and operates a Paris office (Place de l'Opéra); international missions are executed using multilingual managers without any owned foreign entity. In 2013 the founder acquired recruitment firm Ethika, creating a combined offering of interim management plus permanent executive search, jointly led since 2023.

Revenue is generated through quote-based fees negotiated per mission, with multi-year contract cadences typical. The firm serves enterprise and mid-cap clients (ETIs) across at least eight verticals — including agrofood, chemistry/pharma, energy, healthcare, distribution, retail/luxury, automotive, and education — with a reference list that includes Hermès, BASF, Bayer, BioMérieux, Framatome, Bonduelle, Valrhona, Ramsay Santé, Eurofins, Trigano and emlyon business school. The company is privately held with €100,000 of registered capital, no disclosed institutional investors, and no public financial reporting.

Name

Alternative Managers

Legal name

ALTERNATIVE MANAGERS SAS

Website

https://alternative-managers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Alternative Managers SAS is a Lyon-based French firm founded in 2007 that provides interim and transition management services, placing vetted senior executives (minimum 15 years' experience) on short-term assignments for enterprise and mid-cap clients across France.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Executive Interim Management Services

NAICS

Executive Search Services (561312), Management Consulting Services (54161), Human Resources Consulting Services (541612), Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Interim Executive & Fractional Leadership Placement (BPACAAAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Restructuring & Turnaround Advisory (BPAHAOAC), Organization Design & Restructuring (BPACAJAB), Organization Design & Change Management Consulting (BPAHACAD)

Keywords

• Interim management services
• Management de transition
• Executive placement
• Crisis management consulting
• Senior management staffing

Headquarters

HQ city

Lyon

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Interim Management Services: Revenue generated through the provision of experienced interim managers and transition managers to client companies. Managers are deployed on temporary assignments to cover vacant positions, manage projects, or handle crisis situations. The company acts as an intermediary, providing the legal framework of temporary work (travail temporaire) while matching qualified managers with client needs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Alternative Managers provides interim management ("Management de Transition") and executive recruitment support, placing experienced managers (minimum 15 years' operational experience) and executives on temporary assignments with client companies under French temporary-work (Travail Temporaire, NAF 7820Z) legal framework. The offering is organized around three service lines: project management (new organizations, tool deployment, change management), crisis management (restructuring, turnaround, governance issues), and relay management (position vacancies, long-term absences). The company responds to inquiries within 24 hours and presents candidate shortlists within 5 days, serving large enterprises and ETIs across France.

Product overview

Alternative Managers is a single unified service offering interim management and temporary executive placement. The core service provides rapid deployment of experienced managers and executives for transitional periods, organized around three main service lines: project management (new organizations, tool deployment, change management), crisis management (restructuring, turnaround, governance issues), and interim/relay management (position vacancies, long-term absences). The company operates alongside its sister brand Ethika, a dedicated recruitment firm, enabling clients to access both temporary and permanent placement solutions. The company also offers a downloadable digital brochure as a marketing resource.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Management de Transition (Interim Management) Core service providing rapid deployment of experienced executives and managers (minimum 15 years' operational experience) to companies during transitional periods, crises, or staffing gaps. Organized around three sub-services: project management (new organizations, tool deployment, change management), crisis management (restructuring, turnaround, governance issues), and relay management (position vacancies, long-term absences). Targets large enterprises and ETIs across all managerial functions (General Direction, HR, Supply Chain, Finance, IT, Industrial, Commercial, Quality), with 5-day shortlist delivery and 24-hour response SLAs under French Travail Temporaire (NAF 7820Z) legal framework.
• Management de projets (Project Management sub-service) Sub-service within Management de Transition covering mise en place of new organizations, deployment of management tools, piloting of structuring projects, change management, and integration of new activities. Targeted at companies needing experienced managerial leadership for defined transformation or integration projects.
• Management de crise (Crisis Management sub-service) Sub-service within Management de Transition covering restructuring, turnaround, return to equilibrium, site closures, PSE (Plans de Sauvegarde de l'Emploi), cessation of payment, alert procedures, and governance problems. Targeted at companies facing acute operational or financial crises requiring experienced turnaround leadership.
• Management relais (Relay Management sub-service) Sub-service within Management de Transition covering position vacancies, long-term absences, on-the-spot replacements while awaiting recruitment or internal promotion solutions. Targeted at companies needing to ensure managerial continuity when permanent hiring is pending.

Quantifiable outcome

• Presentation of candidate shortlist within 5 days
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EthikacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Alternative Managers has established a strategic partnership with Ethika, a recruitment firm. The two companies merged their operations, allowing clients to benefit from a comprehensive and complementary service offering. Ethika handles permanent recruitment while Alternative Managers provides interim management services. Bertrand Gaucher-Piola acquired Ethika in 2013, with Etienne Pezzoli serving as Associate and Operational Director.
• OVHminorOthersOVH provides web hosting services for alternative-managers.com, as disclosed in the legal mentions page.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Hays: Hays is a global specialist recruitment firm operating across France. Comparable as a broad incumbent in professional and executive staffing, with overlapping coverage of senior management placements.
• Korn Ferry: Korn Ferry is a global organizational consulting and executive search firm offering leadership placement, interim management and talent advisory. Comparable as a broad incumbent entering the interim management space alongside its core search and consulting offerings.
• Michael Page: Michael Page is a global executive search and recruitment firm with strong French coverage; Alternative Managers' Associate Director Aymeric de Brosses previously worked there. Comparable as a broad incumbent in mid-to-senior executive search with overlap in French enterprise clients.
• Robert Half: Robert Half is a global staffing and executive search firm with significant French operations. Comparable as a broad incumbent in executive placement and interim/temporary professional staffing, though much larger and offering many services beyond Alternative Managers' interim focus.
• Heidrick & Struggles: Heidrick & Struggles is a global executive search and leadership advisory firm. Comparable as a broad incumbent in C-suite executive search that increasingly competes for senior interim and transition mandates.

Direct peers

• Alixio: Alixio is a French HR transformation and restructuring group providing interim management, social restructuring, and outplacement. Direct competitor in interim management plus adjacent restructuring and change management consulting.
• EIM (European Interim Management): EIM is one of Europe's largest pure-play interim management providers, matching senior executives on transitional mandates across multiple geographies. Direct competitor to Alternative Managers in interim executive placement, serving similar enterprise clients with similar engagement model.
• Valtus: Valtus is a French specialist interim management firm placing senior executives on transition and turnaround missions. Direct competitor in the French mid-market and large enterprise interim management space, with overlapping service lines in project, crisis and relay management.

Others

• Ethika: Ethika is Alternative Managers' sister company under shared ownership, providing permanent executive search and recruitment. While not a competitor, it is the closest related entity and represents the bundled offering Alternative Managers extends to enterprise clients for both interim and permanent leadership needs.

Emerging players

• Lee Hecht Harrison: LHH is a global HR consulting and outplacement provider, and founder Bertrand Gaucher-Piola previously developed outplacement and enterprise reorganization activity at Lee Hecht Harrison. Comparable in transition-related HR advisory, career transition, and reorganization support — partially overlapping with Alternative Managers' crisis management practice.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alternative-managers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Alternative Managers