A fractional CTO or COO seat, on a monthly retainer.
Embedded, async-first leadership across revenue, operations, and data. You take a swimlane or a number. I own it with you.
When this engagement makes sense
A senior leader departed and the role does not need a full-time hire yet.
The CEO is wearing the operations or technology hat and it is costing the rest of the business.
A specific outcome is on the line (a turnaround, a scale-up, an integration) and the org needs senior horsepower for 6 to 12 months.
An existing advisor is giving advice, not driving outcomes.
A sponsor wants senior operating capacity in the portfolio without the full-time cost.
You need senior judgment in the room. You do not need another full-time hire, another retainer with juniors, or another deck. The gap is execution, not advice; a part-time operator who owns an outcome with you, not a consultant who books a slot on Thursdays.
The deliverables
Embedded leadership
In the leadership meetings, on the operating reviews, in the Slack. Treated as a member of the team, not a vendor on the calendar.
Owned outcome
A swimlane or a number. Not a workshop schedule. The retainer is structured so I am accountable to the same scorecard the team is.
Operating cadence
Weekly review, monthly board update, quarterly thesis check. Installed in week one.
Decision rights, explicit
A one-page charter at the start of the engagement: what I decide, what I escalate, where management owns the call. No ambiguity. No fractional governance theater.
Capacity behind me
When the work needs hands, the DevriX team can be brought in under me at retainer or per-project scope. One relationship, full execution depth.
The engagement
Land
Listen to the team. Read the numbers. Draft the charter. Install the weekly review if it is not already running.
Own
Take the swimlane. First decisions made. Scorecard live. Key hires scoped if relevant.
Run
Operate the cadence. Drive the outcome. Surface what management needs to see before the sponsor does.
Decide
Joint review with the CEO and sponsor. Continue, change tier, or hand off. The minimum is three months; most engagements run 9 to 12.
How this is priced
Advisory
Strategic direction and senior judgment for the leadership team. Best when the team is capable and needs a sounding board with skin in the game.
Operating
Direct ownership of a P&L line or a function. Goals, scorecards, execution. The most common tier.
Intensive
Deep, multi-workstream involvement during a scale-up, turnaround, or first 100 days post-close.
A good fit if
- Mid-market CEOs running ahead of their leadership bench.
- PE portfolio companies in the first year of the hold.
- Independent sponsors who closed without an embedded operating team.
- Family offices with direct holdings that need senior operating capacity.
Probably not if
- —Roles that are actually a full-time CTO or COO seat — at that scope, you should hire.
- —Sponsors looking for a name on the deck with no real ownership.
- —Companies wanting advice without a number to deliver against.
Operating tier for ten months. Then handed to the permanent CFO and CRO.
A PE-backed services company needed senior operating capacity after a CRO departure and a finance leader who was managing accounting more than operations. The Operating tier ran for ten months: weekly revenue review installed, forecast accuracy moved from 60% to 82%, CRO and CFO searches scoped and closed. Handed off on month eleven. The cadence continued without me.
Three-month minimum. When the team churns or growth spikes, DevriX and Growth Shuttle can step in behind me.
What buyers ask
Ready to move?
Three tiers · $10,000 / $15,000 / $20,000 per month · 3-month minimum