Fractional Chief Data Officer

Fractional CDOs provide senior data leadership to companies unable to justify or attract full-time Chief Data Officers.

You work 1-3 days weekly providing data strategy, leading data teams, overseeing analytics initiatives, advising executives on data decisions, and building data capabilities.

This serves mid-sized growing companies, portfolio companies of private equity firms, companies in transition, and organizations building data functions.

Fractional CDO arrangements typically run $8,000-$20,000 monthly for 1-3 days weekly.

With 2-4 concurrent clients, revenue reaches $200,000-$500,000 annually with 75-90% margins.

Target clients include growth companies (50-500 employees) needing data leadership, private equity portfolio companies, companies between full-time CDOs, startups post-Series B building data teams, and organizations with data teams lacking senior leadership.

Services include data strategy and roadmap development, data team leadership and mentoring, analytics initiative oversight, executive advisory and communication, vendor and technology evaluation, and hiring support for data roles.

Success requires extensive senior data leadership experience, strategic thinking and vision for data, ability to lead and mentor data professionals, executive communication and presence, and efficiency working part-time across multiple organizations.

Leading fractional CDOs often have backgrounds as data executives at larger companies, develop playbooks for common data challenges, build networks of data professionals for hiring referrals, potentially expand to full fractional data executive teams, and maintain multiple long-term client relationships.

The fractional executive model has grown significantly, creating opportunities for experienced leaders.