Fractional CTO Advisory
Fractional CTO and senior technology advisory for mid-market retailers, manufacturers, and private equity backed companies in Canada and the United States. Operator-led, vendor independent, and built for boards that need technology decisions made without waiting for a full-time hire.
What this engagement delivers
A fractional CTO is the senior technology voice your business needs without the cost or runway of a full-time executive hire. Stern Technology Advisory provides fractional CTO services to mid-market retailers, manufacturers, and private equity backed businesses in Canada and the United States. The engagement is built around three responsibilities a senior technology executive owns: setting the technology direction, governing the major programs that decide whether the business gets the platform it paid for, and giving the CEO, board, and operating partners a credible technical view they can act on. The work is grounded in 15+ years inside ERP, POS, ecommerce, and platform programs across 300+ store estates and roughly $3B in revenue operations. It is the senior judgment a CIO would bring, applied at fractional cost and on the cadence the business actually needs.
Book a fractional CTO callKey deliverables
- Technology roadmap and operating model aligned to business strategy
- Senior governance for ERP, POS, ecommerce, integration, and platform programs
- Vendor and systems integrator oversight without referral relationships
- Architecture and integration direction for ERP, POS, PIM, and ecommerce systems
- Board-ready and operating-partner-ready technology reporting
- Hiring and retention plans for the internal technology team
Frequently asked questions
- What does a fractional CTO do for a mid-market retailer?
- A fractional CTO sets the technology direction, governs the major programs, and gives the CEO and board a credible technical view they can act on. For a mid-market retailer, that usually covers ERP, POS, ecommerce, store systems, integration architecture, and the technology team itself. The engagement is structured around the decisions that need to be made in the next 90 days, not a generic CTO checklist.
- When should a company hire a fractional CTO instead of a full-time CIO?
- When the technology decisions are too senior to delegate to a project manager but the business does not need or cannot yet afford a full-time CIO. Common triggers are an ERP or POS replacement on the table, an active modernization program that is drifting, a private equity sponsor asking for a credible technology view, or a CIO transition that needs senior coverage for six to twelve months.
- How is fractional CTO advisory different from a systems integrator?
- A systems integrator implements software. A fractional CTO advises on which software to buy, how to govern the implementation, and whether the integrator is delivering what was promised. The engagement is independent. There are no software resale arrangements, no referral fees, and no implementation partner relationships shaping the recommendation.
- What size of company hires a fractional CTO from Stern Technology Advisory?
- Mid-market retailers, manufacturers, and private equity backed businesses, typically between $50M and $2B in revenue. The pattern that fits best is a business with one or more major technology decisions in flight that cannot afford to be wrong, and a leadership team that wants senior technology judgment without a full-time hire.
- What is the typical engagement model?
- Most engagements run as a monthly retainer, scoped against a defined set of programs and decisions. Cadence is usually weekly with executive leadership, plus working sessions with the technology team and vendors. A fractional CTO engagement is normally 6 to 12 months, with the option to extend, taper, or transition to a full-time hire that the engagement helps recruit.
- Does a fractional CTO engagement include the technology team?
- Yes. The engagement includes structuring the technology team, hiring senior roles, mentoring existing leaders, and building the operating cadence the team will keep after the engagement ends. Building internal capability is the goal. The work should not create dependency on the fractional CTO.
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