Top Interim Manager 2026 honored

The Diplomatic Council Future Academy, in cooperation with United Interim, has honored six interim managers as «Top Interim Manager of the Year 2026». The award went to Jane Enny van Lambalgen, Ulf Camehn, Eckhart Hilgenstock, Klaus-Peter Stöppler, Roland Streibich and Paul Stricker. «Anyone who holds this title can count themselves among the best,» explained Hang Nguyen, Secretary General of the Diplomatic Council, at the award ceremony during the New Year's reception in Frankfurt am Main.

High requirements for the award

The award is based on strict criteria. The Board of Examiners, consisting of Dr. Harald Schönfeld (Academic Director of the Diplomatic Council Future Academy), Prof. Dr. Günther Singer (Dean of the Diplomatic Council Future Academy) and Jürgen Becker (Co-CEO of United Interim), decides on the award. «All six are well deserving of this honor,» agree the three experts, who together wrote the «Career Handbook for Interim Managers», which is considered a standard work in the industry.

Candidates must demonstrate years of excellence with high added value for their clients. This includes concrete results and references as well as the publication of at least three case studies as proof of practical experience. It is also required that the managers are committed to their industry, participate in scientific studies and demonstrate a sustained public impact in the press and social media.

The award-winning interim managers

Jane Enny van Lambalgen is Founding Partner and Managing Director of Planet Industrial Excellence. As an interim manager, she specializes in strategy, operational excellence, turnaround, supply chain management and digital transformation. She holds positions as CEO, Managing Director, COO, Delegate of the Board of Directors, Supervisory Board and Advisory Board in the SME sector. Her work focuses on international operations assignments with a focus on production, supply chain and logistics. She is one of the most frequently quoted interim managers in the German-speaking industrial press and has received the award for the second time in a row.

Ulf Camehn has more than 25 years of experience in medium-sized family businesses. His activities range from restrictive to expansive restructuring, transformation and turnaround management to cost-cutting programs and rapid cost reduction. He brings extensive expertise in organizational development, in the establishment, management and further development of shared service centers as well as in centralization, merger and post-merger integration projects.

Eckhart Hilgenstock is one of the most sought-after interim managers in Germany. Companies regularly bring him on board as a temporary manager when it comes to profitable growth and sales as well as digitalization and the use of AI in organizations. «Eckhart Hilgenstock is regarded as a role model in the industry,» WirtschaftsWoche wrote about him. He gained his experience as General Manager EMEA at Microsoft and previously as Managing Director DACH at Lotus Development and IBM Germany. He regularly appears in the German-language media on the topic of «Artificial Intelligence in Business Development» and received an award last year.

Klaus-Peter Stöppler is one of the ten most renowned executive interim managers in Germany with over 35 years of experience in the construction, real estate, energy and industrial sectors. He supports medium-sized companies as a permanent advisor or as a temporary interim manager. His expertise includes construction project management, business rescue and strategic consulting. He is a frequently sought-after author of specialist articles and commentaries in the construction industry trade press. He is being honored for the second time in a row.

Roland Streibich is an interim manager and Chief Restructuring Officer with restructuring experience, a certified supervisory and advisory board member and an expert in the field of business advisory. His professional focus is on restructuring and transformation, supporting M&A projects, implementing post-merger integrations and strategic business development in new markets. He has been working successfully in interim management for over 20 years. His particular expertise includes the construction and real estate industry, architecture, construction industry and construction planning as well as the building materials and construction supply industry. He also has extensive experience in the infrastructure and utilities sectors.

Paul Stricker has many years of international experience in line and project functions and supports organizations in a wide range of challenging HR issues. This includes the professionalization and further development of HR structures as well as the development of modern HR functions in complex, rapidly growing and internationally oriented companies. He supports companies in the internationalization of their HR function, drives innovation and ensures that HR teams retain stability and orientation even in turbulent phases.

Seismographs of the economy

All six Top Interim Managers 2026 are involved in the «Wirtschaftsreport 2026» by the management community United Interim. The report is based on a scientifically sound survey of 550 interim managers. «Interim managers are seasoned executives who are brought in by companies for a limited period of time to carry out specific projects,» says Dr. Harald Schönfeld, explaining why interim managers are regarded as seismographs of the economy.

The Diplomatic Council is a global think tank with consultative status at the United Nations. With a reach of over 12,000 interim managers, United Interim is the leading online community in this industry. Entries for the 2027 award are now open. Active interim managers can nominate colleagues. Self-application is not possible.

Direct contact to the Top Interim Managers 2026: Jane Enny van Lambalgen: www.planetie.ch, Ulf Camehn: www.ulfcamehn.de, Eckhart Hilgenstock: https://hilgenstock-hamburg.de, Klaus-Peter Stöppler: https://bau-interim.com, Roland Streibich: www.streibich-bauconsult.de, Paul Stricker: www.paulstricker.at