Fractional Chief AI Officer

Strategic AI Leadership for Growth-Stage Companies

We provide executive-level AI governance, portfolio management, and transformation leadership without the full-time commitment. Make your AI strategy governance-ready and profitable.

Our Value Proposition

We make your AI strategy governance-ready and profitable. We ensure your AI initiatives deliver a demonstrable return on investment (ROI), are audit-ready, and are ethically sound. We help you move beyond "AI theater" and ad-hoc projects to build a mature, scalable AI practice.

Strategic Custodian

We become an embedded part of your leadership team, providing strategic oversight and operational accountability for your AI initiatives.

  • Portfolio Management
  • Strategic Planning
  • Executive Leadership

Governance & Risk Management

We provide leadership for your AI governance board, defining policies for data provenance, bias testing, and regulatory compliance.

  • Ethics & Compliance
  • Risk Mitigation
  • Audit Readiness

Capital Efficiency

We manage the financial operations of your AI practice, including cost-per-token guardrails and vendor negotiations for optimal ROI.

  • FinOps Management
  • Cost Optimization
  • ROI Tracking

Core Responsibilities & Deliverables

Our Fractional CAIO service covers the full lifecycle of an AI initiative, from strategic vision to operational execution.

Strategic Vision & Portfolio Management

We craft a multi-horizon AI portfolio, prioritizing initiatives for maximum impact and aligning all AI efforts with your business objectives.

Multi-horizon AI portfolio development
Build vs. buy strategy recommendations
Resource allocation for quick wins and moonshots
Business objective alignment

Key Deliverables

AI Portfolio Roadmap

Multi-year strategic roadmap with prioritized initiatives

Resource Allocation Plan

Budget and team allocation recommendations

ROI Projections

Financial impact forecasts for each initiative

Governance, Ethics, & Risk Management

We provide leadership for your AI governance board, defining policies for data provenance, bias testing, and human-in-the-loop approval gates.

AI governance board leadership
Data provenance and bias testing policies
Regulatory audit readiness
Ethical compliance frameworks

Key Deliverables

AI Governance Framework

Comprehensive policies and procedures documentation

Risk Assessment Reports

Detailed risk analysis and mitigation strategies

Compliance Checklists

Audit-ready compliance verification tools

Architectural & Financial Oversight (FinOps)

We manage the financial operations of your AI practice, including cost-per-token guardrails and GPU reservation negotiations.

Cost-per-token guardrails
GPU reservation negotiations
Live vendor scorecard management
Capital efficiency optimization

Key Deliverables

Cost Optimization Reports

Monthly financial performance and cost reduction analysis

Vendor Scorecards

Live tracking of vendor performance and pricing

FinOps Playbooks

Operational procedures for cost management

Team Leadership & Cultural Integration

We mentor your existing data science and engineering teams, helping to build internal capabilities and foster a culture of innovation.

Data science team mentorship
Engineering team guidance
Cross-functional collaboration promotion
Innovation culture development

Key Deliverables

Team Development Plans

Individual and team capability enhancement roadmaps

Performance Metrics

Team productivity and innovation tracking

Cultural Assessment

AI-readiness and collaboration culture evaluation

Core Service Offerings

Our Fractional CAIO service is delivered through four core offerings, each designed to address specific aspects of your AI transformation journey.

AI Readiness and ROI Sprint

Two weeksFixed fee

Map 6–10 high-ROI use cases, quantify savings, produce a 90-day plan with a budget and a risk register.

Key Deliverable:

12–15 page executive brief and a 1-page roadmap

  • High-ROI use case identification
  • Quantified savings analysis
  • 90-day implementation plan
  • Budget allocation framework
  • Risk register development

Fractional CAIO Retainer

One to two days per weekMonthly retainer

You own AI strategy, governance, and the outcomes pipeline. You chair a monthly AI Steering session and you publish a simple scorecard.

Key Deliverable:

Monthly AI Steering sessions and scorecard reports

  • AI strategy ownership
  • Governance framework leadership
  • Outcomes pipeline management
  • Monthly steering committee sessions
  • Executive scorecard reporting

Build Sprints

90-day cyclesProject-based

Ship 2–3 governed automations or an agent. Each sprint has success metrics, cost guardrails, and a go-live review.

Key Deliverable:

2-3 production-ready automations or agents per cycle

  • Governed automation development
  • AI agent implementation
  • Success metrics definition
  • Cost guardrail implementation
  • Go-live review process

Enablement and Controls

OngoingIncluded in retainer

Copilot and tool adoption playbooks, policy and controls mapped to NIST AI RMF and OWASP LLM Top 10, plus vendor review and model routing guidance.

Key Deliverable:

Comprehensive governance playbooks and controls

  • Copilot adoption playbooks
  • Tool adoption strategies
  • NIST AI RMF compliance
  • OWASP LLM Top 10 controls
  • Vendor evaluation frameworks
  • Model routing guidance

Flexible Service Combinations

These services can be combined and customized based on your specific needs. Many clients start with an AI Readiness Sprint and transition to a Fractional CAIO Retainer, with Build Sprints added as needed for implementation.

Discuss Your Service Needs

Executive Development Pathway

Our Fractional CAIO service is the culmination of a strategic development pathway. Many of our long-term partnerships begin with our Executive Programs, creating a natural progression from initial engagement to comprehensive AI leadership.

Executive Programs

Start with our multi-tiered executive development programs

  • Micro-Summits
  • Executive Intensives
  • Coaching Ecosystems
Explore Programs

Strategic Discovery

Build relationships and discover specific business challenges

  • Relationship Building
  • Challenge Discovery
  • Trust Establishment
Schedule Discovery

Fractional CAIO Partnership

Transition to comprehensive AI leadership and governance

  • Strategic Leadership
  • Governance & Risk
  • Portfolio Management
Learn More

Ready to Begin Your AI Leadership Journey?

Whether you're starting with our Executive Programs or ready for comprehensive Fractional CAIO leadership, we're here to guide your transformation.

Bundled Services: "Feet in the Door" Strategy

Experience our value firsthand through our integrated workshop offerings. These serve as low-risk, high-value entry points to our services.

AI Strategic Blueprint Workshop

A standalone deep-dive session into your business, culminating in a clear, actionable roadmap. This initial engagement allows you to test our expertise and see the value we can provide.

  • Fixed price engagement
  • Comprehensive business analysis
  • Actionable roadmap delivery

Executive AI Literacy Workshop

For Tier 2 and Tier 3 clients, we bundle quarterly workshops at no additional cost. These focus on strategic, governance, and cultural aspects of AI.

  • Quarterly workshops included
  • Strategic AI education
  • Cultural transformation support

Ready to Transform Your AI Strategy?

Let's discuss how our Fractional CAIO service can provide the strategic AI leadership your company needs to succeed in the AI era.

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