A fractional Chief AI Officer for companies that aren't ready to hire one
Senior AI leadership, scoped to what you actually need, not a full-time headcount you're not ready to justify.
Most companies in the $10M to $100M range don’t need a full-time Chief AI Officer. They need someone senior enough to own the AI strategy, evaluate vendors without being sold to, set governance before something goes wrong, and keep the leadership team from moving too slowly or backing the wrong platform.
The fractional CAIO engagement covers that: a few days a month of senior AI leadership, structured so the work accumulates. I own the AI strategy, chair the vendor reviews, run the governance process, and work directly with the leadership team on sequencing and priorities.
The engagement scales up when a major initiative is in flight and back to light-touch during steady-state. It ends when you’re ready to hire full-time or when you’ve concluded you don’t need to.
What you get
A functioning AI strategy
Not a document. An operating AI strategy your organization is executing against, with someone accountable for keeping it current as the technology and competitive landscape shift.
Governance before it becomes a problem
AI governance policies, decision rights, and accountability structures set up before an incident forces you to build them in a hurry.
Vendor selection without the sales fog
I run the vendor evaluation process. After seven years of commercial diligence at Kearney and three companies where I've been on the buy side, the vendor pitches are easier to read than they look.
Leadership team alignment
Your C-suite on the same page on AI: what to fund, what to defer, and how to make the case to the board. Less circular debate, faster decisions.
A clear path to a full-time hire
When you're ready to hire a full-time CAIO, I can help scope the role, define what you actually need, and run the evaluation. The engagement ends when you don't need it anymore.
How it works
Onboarding sprint
Two weeks to understand your current AI state, existing initiatives, vendor relationships, and organizational dynamics. I come in fast.
Strategy and governance baseline
A first-pass AI strategy and governance framework within the first month. Not a polished document, a working one your organization can execute against while we refine it.
Ongoing cadence
A regular rhythm: leadership team check-ins, vendor review sessions, and governance updates. Scales up when a major initiative is in flight, back to light-touch during steady-state.
Proof, not promises
All client stories →AI Employee Assistance Chatbot
Designed and built a chatbot for a 40,000-employee organization to address questions about policies, asset tracking, and other internal tasks. Integrated with an updated knowledge base with an admin panel and the ticketing interface to create and track support tickets.
Leading financial institution in India
AI Vision for Fraud Prevention
Built a semantic image search interface to detect and present potential fraudulent gold loan applications to auditors for real-time fraud prevention.
Leading gold loan provider
Auto-scaling ML Inference
Designed and deployed a dynamically auto-scaling application for low-cost inference of ML jobs on geospatial data using GCP Cloud Run.
Public markets investor in MENA
Go deeper
- AI Governance: The Operating System for Responsible AI
- Audit Trails for AI Decisions: What to Log, What to Skip
- Why "Responsible AI" Is a P&L Issue, Not an Ethics Issue
- Sectoral AI Regulation and Your Roadmap
- The AI Ethics Board That Actually Works (and Why Most Don't)
- The EU AI Act for Non-EU Companies: When It Applies to You
Questions
What is a fractional Chief AI Officer? +
A senior AI leader who works with your organization a few days a month rather than full-time. They own the AI strategy, run governance, evaluate vendors, and keep your leadership team aligned, without the headcount cost or the ramp-up time of a permanent hire.
How much time do you commit? +
Typically two to four days a month, scaling up during initiative launches or major vendor decisions. We establish a baseline cadence at the start and adjust as the work demands it.
How is this priced? +
Scoped per engagement based on the scope of work and time commitment. Book a call and we'll work out what makes sense for your situation.
When does this make sense vs a full-time hire? +
When you need senior AI leadership but aren't at the stage where a full-time CAIO hire makes sense: typically $10M to $100M revenue, or earlier-stage companies with enough AI initiative underway to need governance and strategy ownership without the capacity for a C-level headcount. It also works as a bridge: bring in fractional leadership now, build the organization's AI capability, and hire full-time when the role is big enough to justify it.
What do you own? +
The AI strategy, the governance framework, the vendor evaluation process, and leadership alignment on AI investment priorities. I chair the AI steering committee or equivalent, own the relationship with AI vendors, and sit in on board-level AI conversations when needed. Engineering execution stays with your team.
Let's talk
30 minutes, no slides. We'll work the specific decision you're facing.