Your CFO is managing
IT as well as finance.
That's two full-time jobs.
I'm a fractional CTO who works exclusively with mid-market businesses in South West England where technology sits under the Finance Director. I take it off your plate.
THE PROBLEM
IT shouldn't be on your desk
When there's no CTO, IT migrates to whoever is most senior and most trusted — usually the CFO. You didn't ask for it. It arrived.
Now you're signing off on cloud contracts you can't properly evaluate. Your MSP sends reports that don't quite add up. And when the board asks about technology risk, nobody in the room has a clear answer.
The issue isn't the technology. It's that nobody senior enough is owning it.
YOU'RE PROBABLY HERE BECAUSE...
WHAT I DO
Technology leadership, on your terms
Technology Audit
One engagement
A review of your systems, suppliers, and what you're spending on them. You get a plain-English report with clear recommendations. No ongoing commitment.
MOST COMMON
Retained CTO
Ongoing · Equivalent of 2–4 days/month
I join your executive team part-time. That means attending board meetings, managing your IT suppliers, setting the technology direction, and making sure your senior leadership actually understand what's being proposed and why it matters.
Technology Transition
Project-based
Scoped to a specific event — an ERP migration, an MSP tender, an AI business case, or a post-acquisition systems review.
Retained engagements are typically structured to sit within the Finance Director's budget authority. No board sign-off required.
WHO THIS IS FOR
Probably you. Possibly not.
THIS IS FOR YOU IF
- ✓You're based in South West England
- ✓Your business turns over between £10m and £100m
- ✓Technology decisions land on your desk because there's no CTO/CIO on the executive team
- ✓A technology decision is coming that feels bigger than your team can handle
- ✓You use an MSP or outsourced IT but you're not sure you're getting value
THIS IS NOT FOR YOU IF
- ×You're a startup or VC-backed scale-up
- ×You're based outside the South West
- ×You already have a CTO/CIO on your Executive Team
- ×You need a one-off workshop or quick advisory call
- ×You need hands-on software development, not leadership
WRITING
For CFOs managing technology
AI & Technology Spend
95% of AI Projects Fail. Yours Doesn't Have to.
What a CFO should actually ask before approving a six-figure AI proposal.
Read →IT Governance
You Sign Off Millions in IT Spend. Can You Say What You're Getting?
The questions most CFOs aren't asking — and should be.
Read →Cyber Risk
204 Nationally Significant Cyber Attacks in One Year
What the 130% increase in UK cyber incidents means for your board obligations.
Read →I've spent 20 years doing this work. Building technology teams, managing vendors, helping boards make sense of what their IT function is actually doing.
The businesses I work with are established and profitable. They don't need a startup CTO — they need someone who can sit in a board meeting and a server room in the same week and make sense of both.
20 years
technology leadership experience
£10m–£100m
typical client revenue range
SW England
the only geography I serve
COMMON QUESTIONS
Questions CFOs actually ask
What does a fractional CTO actually do?
I join your executive team on a part-time basis — the equivalent of 2 to 4 days per month. I set your technology strategy, manage your IT suppliers, attend board meetings to present on technology, and translate complex IT decisions into language your senior leadership understand. Think of it as having a CTO without the full-time cost.
How is this different from our MSP?
Your MSP keeps the lights on — servers, helpdesk, backups. I sit above that layer. I evaluate whether your MSP is delivering value, challenge their recommendations, set the overall technology direction, and make sure IT decisions align with your business strategy. I'm on your side of the table, not theirs.
How much does a fractional CTO cost?
Retained engagements are structured to sit within the Finance Director's budget authority — no board sign-off required. The investment is a fraction of a full-time CTO salary, typically comparable to what mid-market businesses already spend on ad-hoc IT consultancy without the strategic continuity.
Do I need a fractional CTO if we already outsource IT?
Outsourced IT gives you operational support. It doesn't give you someone at the executive table who can challenge vendor proposals, set a technology roadmap, or explain to your board why a system migration matters. If technology decisions are landing on your desk because there's no one else senior enough to own them, that's the gap I fill.
Why only South West England?
Because I attend board meetings, join leadership discussions, and build relationships with your team in person. That requires proximity. I work across the South West — Bristol, Bath, Swindon, Exeter, Cheltenham, and everywhere in between. Geography focus means I understand the regional business landscape and can be on site when it matters.
What kind of businesses do you work with?
Established, profitable businesses turning over between £10m and £100m where technology reports to the Finance Director or the board rather than a dedicated CTO or CIO. Typically professional services, manufacturing, distribution, or financial services — businesses where IT is essential but not the core product.
CONTACT
Let's talk about your technology
A 30-minute conversation costs nothing. I'll tell you whether the gap you're describing is something I can help with — and if not, I'll point you in the right direction.
Based in Malmesbury, working across South West England.