Does this sound like your company?
You run a PE-backed or growth-stage company, roughly 50 to 300 people, with real technology complexity and no CIO or CTO in the seat. Usually one of these is true:
- An acquisition closed and the integration turned out bigger than anyone scoped.
- The board is asking technology questions the current team cannot answer.
- A security or compliance requirement is in front of you with no one accountable for it.
- Growth has outrun the systems and the team that got you here.
What this has produced
A few results from prior technology leadership roles, anonymized.
- Raised platform uptime from 75 to 98.5 percent at a 55-site care operator by stabilizing a failing legacy system.
- Scaled an engineering organization from 12 to 150 people through a period of rapid growth.
- Improved technology delivery efficiency from 65 to 95 percent at a regulated payer by standardizing how work shipped.
The specifics will differ for your company. The pattern, senior ownership that produces measurable change, holds.
What a fractional engagement actually is
A fractional CIO or CTO is not an advisor who hands you a deck and leaves. It is a part-time executive who owns the technology agenda, sits in the leadership meetings, and is accountable for what gets done. I carry the responsibilities a full-time technology executive would, scaled to the time the company needs.
The work usually covers technology strategy tied to the business plan, the roadmap and the explicit list of what the company will not do, vendor and contract decisions, security and compliance posture, M&A technology diligence and integration, and building or repairing the engineering organization underneath.
Depth in regulated industries, applied anywhere
Healthcare and regulated industries are where I go deepest. Those environments set a high bar: security, compliance, audit, and uptime that affects real operations. A leader who has met that bar brings the same discipline to any company facing M&A integration, a security or compliance requirement, or systems that have not kept up with growth. The industry changes. The technology leadership does not.
How the engagement runs
Operating cadence
I work on a defined weekly commitment, not on call for everything. Most engagements run one to three days a week depending on what is in front of the company. We set the commitment against the actual work rather than a generic retainer.
Executive rhythm
I attend the leadership meeting and the board technology discussion. Between those, there is a standing weekly check with whoever owns delivery, and I am reachable for the decisions that cannot wait.
Decision rights
We agree up front on what I decide, what I recommend, and what stays with the CEO or board. A fractional leader without clear decision rights drifts into being generally helpful and accountable for nothing. Defining it at the start prevents that.
The first 90 days
The first engagement is structured so you can judge it on results, not on a promise.
Weeks 1 to 3
Assessment. Systems, vendors, security posture, technical debt, the engineering team, and what the board actually needs to see.
Weeks 4 to 6
A written plan. The priorities, the sequencing, what gets deprioritized, and the criteria for revisiting it.
Weeks 7 to 12
Execution on the top one or two priorities, with progress the leadership team can see.
By day 90 you have a clear technology picture, a plan tied to the business, and movement on the work that matters most.
When it ends
A fractional engagement is not meant to run forever. It ends when the company is ready for a full-time leader, or when the specific work it was brought in for is finished. If preparing for a permanent hire is part of the goal, I help define the role, the profile, and the first-year expectations, so the search is faster and the eventual hire is set up to succeed. The engagement builds toward its own replacement.
Who you would be working with
I have spent about 30 years in technology leadership, in CIO and CTO roles at Providence Health Plans, ZoomCare, Optum International, and others, across health plans, provider organizations, and multi-country operations. I have run technology through acquisitions and integrations, stabilized failing platforms, built and managed engineering teams across several countries, and stood up data and AI work in regulated settings. I hold CHIME triple certification (CHCIO, CHISL, CHDHE).
I am builder and buyer. I have built technology organizations, and I have sat on the buyer side of technology diligence. That combination is what most companies need when there is no senior technology leader in the seat.
Start with a conversation
Send a short note about what is going on. We will set up a 30-minute call where you get a direct read on your most pressing technology risk and an honest answer on whether a fractional engagement fits, with no obligation to continue. If you would rather begin with a structured look at your environment, the AI Readiness and technology assessment does that first.