Lead: Embedded Operating Leadership

Scenarios Our Clients Face

• The CTO left two weeks after close. The portco CEO is now managing the engineering org directly, on top of everything else, and the deal's 100-day plan is running without a technology lead.
• The board approved a $3M platform investment but there's no senior technologist inside the portco to govern the vendor selection and implementation.
• The company needs a CISO to complete SOC 2 Type II certification and get to compliance, but can't justify a $300K+ hire for an 18-month window.
• The GP mandate is to modernize, and the portco CEO is a domain expert rather than a technologist. The modernization has to be finished within the hold period.
• The engineering org has a VP of Engineering who's excellent at delivery but has never operated at PE scale or handled a board-level technology conversation.

What It Is

Embedded senior technology leadership, accountable for EBITDA outcomes rather than deliverables. A fractional CTO, CISO, CAIO, or CDO works as an executive inside the portco. The role owns the technology strategy, runs the technology org, reports to the board, and executes the investment thesis.

Roles Available

Fractional CTO: Technology strategy, engineering org leadership, roadmap accountability, M&A integration execution, board reporting.

Fractional CISO: Security program ownership, SOC 2 / HIPAA / CMMC compliance execution, vendor security governance, incident response, board advisory.

Fractional CAIO: AI strategy and deployment, use case governance, AI program P&L, LP narrative for AI.

Fractional CDO: Data platform strategy, data governance, analytics program leadership, FP&A infrastructure.

When to Engage

• Post-close leadership gap: CTO departed or does not exist
• Major platform or architecture decision requiring senior judgment
• M&A integration requiring executive technology leadership
• PE mandate to modernize and the portco CEO cannot drive it alone
• Transformation underway and current engineering leadership lacks PE experience
• Compliance certification (SOC 2, HIPAA, CMMC) requiring CISO-level ownership

Operating Rhythm

A fractional executive works as a member of the leadership team rather than as a consultant on retainer. The cadence includes board-level reporting, quarterly strategy reviews, monthly operating reviews, and weekly team standups at the appropriate depth. The engagement is scoped to what the hold period requires.

Deliverables (Ongoing)

• Engineering org structure and hiring plan
• Technology roadmap (hold period, updated monthly)
• Technical debt prioritization as CapEx exposure
• Monthly board-ready technology update
• Vendor rationalization tracker
• Quarterly strategic review
• Compliance artifact tracking (SOC 2, HIPAA, CMMC as applicable)

Engagement Tiers

Interim (Full-time, 3–6 months): Post-close sprint, leadership gap, or M&A integration window requiring dedicated executive presence.

Fractional (Part-time, 12–24 months): Sustained hold-period leadership, typically 2–3 days per week, scoped to what the operating plan requires.

Typical pattern: 3-month post-close sprint at Interim → 12-month Fractional retainer.

Proof Point

One of our operators held the CISO and VP Engineering roles at the same time, leading 120 people across engineering, QA, cloud operations, SRE, IT, security and customer support. The organization completed SOC 2 Type II across every function. The same operator has executed multiple transactions in a large-cap PE firm's portfolio.

What Comes Next

Ongoing: Technology strategy → M&A integration leadership → Exit readiness → Board advisory → Sell-side technology diligence (Exit track).