Fractional CTO / CIO

The product is in production and the company is growing, but technology decisions keep landing on the desk of someone not equipped to own them. An investor is asking who is accountable for technology before the next round closes. Or the engineering team is delivering, and no one is translating between what they are building and what the board needs to decide.

These are not engineering problems. They are leadership gaps — and they do not require a full-time executive to close.

One to three days a week, in a regular monthly rhythm. A presence on the leadership team, not a contractor at the edge of it. Owning the decisions a CTO owns — architecture, vendors, risk posture, the shape and hiring of the engineering team — and reporting to the board in language the board can act on.

A named senior leader accountable for technology. A technology strategy the executive team can own and communicate. Board reporting that says what is true, what it costs, and what is being decided. Decisions made and documented — not deferred until a permanent hire arrives. And when the time comes for that hire, a process run by someone who has held the role.

The board stops asking who owns technology. The CEO stops translating. The cost is a fraction of a full-time executive, and what the organisation can show for it is specific: direction set, risks named, decisions made.

Thirty-seven years in technology across 20+ sectors, from computer operator to Group CTO. Programme leadership to £1.5bn. A former CISO. Currently holding fractional and advisory appointments across PE-backed, scale-up, and public sector organisations.

Neil sits on the Attending Panel for CTO Grand Rounds — a live session where founders bring a real technical problem to a panel of independent fractional CTOs for review. See the sessions.