Fractional
A standing part-time seat at the leadership table: strategy, budget, vendor and risk decisions, and a steady hand on the technology team, for organizations that need executive judgment but not a full-time executive.
Work with me · Fractional & interim technology leadership
Fractional and interim CIO, CTO, and CISO.
When an organization needs senior technology leadership now — after a departure, in the middle of a turnaround, or before a hire it isn't ready to make — I step in as a fractional or interim CIO, CTO, or CISO. I take these engagements through Fortium Partners, where I'm a Senior Partner.
Engagement models
Three ways to bring me in
Interim
A full-time, fixed-term executive while the permanent role is open or the organization is in transition. The goal is to stabilize, make the hard calls, and hand over a function that is in better shape than I found it.
Advisory
A second opinion for a CEO or board on the technology decisions that are hard to undo: security, data, risk, and the systems the business quietly depends on. Advisory work runs through General System Dynamics, my own practice.
Where I help
What an engagement usually covers
IT strategy and operations
Enterprise systems, IT operations, software implementation, and process improvement.
Cybersecurity and risk
Security programs built from nothing, SOC 2 compliance and governance, risk mitigation, and board-level cyber reporting.
Resilience
Business continuity, disaster recovery, and data protection that has actually been tested.
Cloud and architecture
Cloud architecture, data center strategy, and the product and platform decisions that follow from it.
Turnaround and change
Digital transformation, stabilizing a team in its worst year, and organizational change grounded in systems thinking.
Track record
Past interim and fractional roles
Through Fortium Partners, among others:
- 2021 – 2024Chief Information Officer — Beyond Indigo Pets
- 2022Interim Chief Information Officer — Deft
- 2022Go-to-Market Workshop — Motum
- 2020 – 2021Interim Chief Information Officer — PJ SOLOMON
- 2020Cybersecurity Program Review — Gothic Landscape
- 2020Strategic Advisor — TVG-Medulla
- 2019 – 2020Strategic Advisor — Indigo Studios
- 2018 – 2019CTO & Strategic Advisor — Ends+Stems
- 2019Strategic Advisor & Interim CTO — Corsearch (Mechelen, Belgium)
- 2019IT Assessment — Lift Brands
- 2018Interim Chief Technology Officer — American Dental Association
- 2018Forensics Advisor — 4Discovery
Through General System Dynamics:
- 2011 – 2024CIO/CISO & Strategic Advisor — Akrete Communications
Before and between those: CIO and Operating Committee member at RHR International, CTO and founder of LawRise, enterprise architect at Dell, and founder of General System Dynamics. I wrote about what the interim seat is really like in Rocking the Boat: Interim CIO/CTO Challenges, first published by the Forbes Technology Council.
Questions
Frequently asked
What is a fractional CIO?
A fractional CIO is an experienced chief information officer who works part time for an organization, on an ongoing basis, instead of a full-time hire. The organization gets executive-level technology judgment for strategy, budget, security, and vendor decisions at the depth it actually needs.
How is an interim CIO or CTO different?
An interim executive is full time for a fixed term, usually while a permanent leader is being recruited or during a turnaround, merger, or other transition. A fractional executive is part time and can stay for years.
Do you also serve as a fractional or interim CISO?
Yes. I have led security programs as a CIO/CISO, I teach cybersecurity at DePaul University, and I write about security leadership for the Forbes Technology Council.
How do I engage you?
Fractional and interim engagements are arranged through Fortium Partners; advisory work runs through General System Dynamics. Either way, use the contact form or my Fortium Partners profile, and we'll start with a conversation about what the organization needs.
Where are you based, and where do you work?
Chicago, Illinois, working with organizations anywhere in the world. Engagements can be remote, on site, or a mix.
Need a technology leader now?
Tell me what's going on. The first conversation costs nothing and usually clarifies whether you need a fractional executive, an interim one, or neither.