My way to interim management — Ricarda Betzing

Fixing what’s unclear. Structuring what’s complex. Strengthening what’s missing.

With a career rooted in transformation and international HR leadership, interim management is Ricarda Betzing's natural next step.

As part of BBTP's ongoing #Way2InterimManagement series, we spoke with Ricarda Betzing about her career and what led her to the interim world. Learn how Ricarda got to where she is today by reading her journey to interim management.

Ricarda Betzing: HR leader and transformation specialist   

With more than 20 years of experience in HR leadership, Ricarda Betzing has built her career across a wide range of industries — from engineering and research to financial services, tech, and more. What connects these roles is not the sector, but the nature of the challenge.

“The common thread in my work has always been building structure where things need fixing or better maintenance. Always in complex environments and always with many moving parts."

Whether scaling HR operations, strengthening governance, or supporting transformation, Ricarda consistently achieves lasting results. She has a knack for building solutions that work for people and translating strategy into something that works on the shop floor. 

Internationally-minded and people-centered 

Ricarda's career has been distinctly international. Having worked with organizations such as the European Space Agency and FIFA, she has developed a strong ability to navigate complexity across borders and cultures. In her work, she combines systems thinking with a high tolerance for ambiguity.

Ricarda’s professional path has been deeply influenced by the environments she has lived and worked in, both culturally and professionally.

“Even outside work, my life has always been very international and multicultural. This is something which has become a major asset that I bring to every job.”

Early exposure to engineering and science-driven environments further strengthened her structured and analytical approach to HR. Combined with her experience collaborating with people from across the globe, this has shaped her perspective on what she describes as “people work.”

"I never forget that the H in HR stands for Human. HR is ultimately people service and people care.”

The combination of these influences has defined her approach, which combines structure and empathy. 

Progressing toward interim roles 

Looking back on her career so far, Ricarda sees her move toward interim management as an organic progression.

“For the last 10 years or so, I noticed that the roles I've been holding have been quite interim in nature...if not always, by intention.”

Since much of her interest and experience involves HR transformation, she believes this is where the progression began.

"Transformations and other HR projects have clear deliverables, so they lend themselves easily to contract roles. More and more, I was gravitating towards these roles, even establishing a consulting agency around them." 

With a like-minded partner, Ricarda started a boutique consultancy agency that operated for over 10 years. The two partners balanced employment-based positions with consulting and more hands-on gigs. 

When assessing where she wanted to go in the next decade of her career, Ricarda reflected on her experience with the agency and the types of assignments she enjoyed most.

“I thought, why not take this as a lesson and work towards my own independence?”

Now, Ricarda's interim business is in its infancy but primed for success. She is actively expanding her network and sharing her offerings, while learning the ropes of running a company as a solo entrepreneur. 

Creating impact through structure 

Ricarda’s recent work reflects the kind of impact she can deliver as an interim professional.

Entering as Head of Training and Development with a non-governmental organization, she was tasked with establishing essential HR foundations, particularly around onboarding and offboarding.

"Their existing team was really starved for something structural. So, I developed clear and practical resources, including onboarding materials that employees could rely on beyond informal support."

The results were immediate and tangible. The frameworks and materials Ricarda introduced not only passed board scrutiny “with flying colors,” but were also recognized as the strongest the organization had seen in some time.

What stands out for Ricarda is the balance between effort and impact. While the solution itself was relatively straightforward to implement, its reception was overwhelmingly positive.

“It didn't cost me an arm and a leg to put it together, but the impact was all the more enjoyable… it was received with very open arms.”

The outside perspective and structural background that Ricarda brought to the role were exactly what the organization needed to create a more consistent and sustainable HR approach. 

Where Ricarda makes the difference 

Ricarda is clear about where she delivers the most value.

“I think the occasions on which I really shine are the ones that require fixing... particularly in situations where HR has fallen by the wayside or needs more governance or renewed direction."

Her focus is on bringing strategic alignment to HR functions that may be operating reactively. This includes ensuring that HR operations are not only managed day-to-day but also positioned to support broader organizational goals.

International environments, in particular, remain a natural fit. Ricarda is based in Zürich, Switzerland, but is accustomed to communites to different areas, even different countries. She also speaks 7 languages at full professional proficiency or higher. 

"An assignment on an international level, for me, is all the better.” 

Do you have an assignment you would like to advertise to a wider audience of independent experts?  

Ricarda is one of over 1500 experts who are registered on Best Best Talent Platform. If you have a talent need that you would like to advertise to a larger talent pool, get in touch with our team. We are always eager to help companies in need of high-level expertise. 

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