Fractional CTO · UK and Gibraltar
Strategy, architecture, board meetings, hiring and AI direction, owned by one senior lead who knows your business. Only pay for what you need, when you need it.
01 The short answer
A fractional CTO from Artimus is a senior technology leader who works with your business a few days a month. They own the strategy and roadmap, make the architecture calls, sit in board meetings, shape hiring and hold suppliers to account. A bench of specialists sits behind them, and you only pay for the time you use.
Growing businesses need senior technology leadership. Not always five days a week. A fractional CTO gives you the judgement and the seat at the table, without the salary, the equity or the months of searching.
02 What your fractional CTO does
Your lead takes ownership of the technology agenda and stays accountable for it, month after month.
A clear view of what to build, buy, fix and stop, tied to the business plan and written down so everyone can see it.
The calls that are expensive to reverse: platforms, cloud, integrations, build or buy. Made deliberately, with the trade-offs explained.
A senior voice for technology at the table. Board papers, investor questions and due diligence handled by someone who knows the detail.
The right roles in the right order. Job specs, technical interviews and a team shape that fits where you are going.
Someone senior on your side of the table. Quotes challenged, contracts read, delivery checked against what was promised.
The basics done properly, the real risks understood, and a credible answer when a customer, insurer or auditor asks.
Where AI earns its place in your business and where it does not, from a team that has been building with AI since 2017.
When a priority needs specialist hands, your CTO brings in senior architects, engineers and data people from the same team.
Engineering bench03 Who it is for
Different starting points, same underlying need: someone senior to own technology, so the business can get on with growing.
01The founder
You built the early product with a freelancer and a lot of late nights. Now customers, staff and investors depend on it, and every technical decision still lands on your desk.
How we help
We take the technology agenda off your plate, put structure around it, and give you someone senior to think out loud with.
02The modernising business
Ageing systems, manual workarounds and a board asking what you are doing about AI. Everyone agrees something has to change. Nobody owns the plan.
How we help
We separate what needs replacing from what needs attention, sequence the work, and start the AI conversation with the problem rather than the tool.
03The stalled programme
The project is late, the budget has gone, and the agency says it is nearly done. It has been nearly done for months.
How we help
We find out what is really happening, reset the plan and get delivery moving again.
Programme rescue →04The missing CTO
They left, and much of the context left with them. The team needs direction this week, not at the end of a long search.
How we help
We provide senior cover fast, steady the team, capture what is known, and help you decide what kind of CTO to hire next.
04 A typical month
This is an illustrative month. Yours follows your priorities, and your lead plans it with you before it starts.
A working session with the CEO or founder. What has changed, what is at risk, and what this month’s senior time is for.
Design and delivery reviews with your developers or agency. The stuck decisions get made, and written down.
A technical interview, a team conversation, a supplier quote challenged, a security question closed off.
The technology section of the board pack, the board meeting itself, and a review of outcomes before next month’s plan is set.
A launch, a fundraise or an incident means more senior days and more of the bench.
Back to the essentials with your lead, and less senior time that month.
05 Fractional or full-time?
A fractional CTO is not right for everyone. Here is how the two compare, including where full-time wins.
| Full-time CTO | Artimus fractional CTO | |
|---|---|---|
| Time to start | Months of searching, interviewing and onboarding. | As soon as we have agreed priorities together. No recruitment process. |
| How you pay | Salary, equity, benefits and recruitment fees, in a busy month or a quiet one. | Only the senior time you use. More in a busy month, less in a quiet one. |
| Breadth | One person’s experience, however good, stretched across strategy, architecture, security, AI and delivery. | A senior lead plus specialists in architecture, cloud, security, data, AI and engineering. |
| Resilience | When they are away or move on, much of the knowledge goes with them. | Decisions written down and a team behind your lead. No single point of failure. |
| Day to day | In the building every day, shaping culture alongside the team. | A few days a month, more when it matters. Not a daily presence. |
| Right for you when | Technology is the product and you lead a sizeable engineering team every day. | You need senior technology leadership, but not five days a week. |
If technology is your product, you lead a sizeable in-house engineering team day to day, or investors expect a permanent technical executive, hire a full-time CTO. We will tell you when you reach that point.
When the time comes, we shape the role, help you assess candidates, run the technical interviews and hand over properly. Your new CTO starts with a clear picture of the technology, the team and the decisions already made.
06 The office advantage
A solo fractional CTO gives you one person’s experience, and one person’s blind spots.
An Artimus fractional CTO is backed by a bench of senior specialists. When the question is a cloud bill, a security review, a data platform or an AI build, your lead brings in a senior specialist in that area, under the same contract.
100+ years of combined senior technology experience across the team. Senior people, no exceptions.
Toby White AI strategy, fractional CTO, Gibraltar 
Byron Jones Architecture, secure cloud infrastructure 
Tom Cooksey Commercial leadership, scaling software businesses 
Paul Henning Banking, finance, fintech 
Emanuel Schleussinger eCommerce platforms, architecture, data 
Alexander Dolphin Full-stack engineering, web platforms 
Dave Heward Platforms, DevOps, AI-augmented engineering 
Nathan Hughes Data engineering, machine learning 07 What clients say
“Structural Surveys UK have been supported by Artimus for approximately 3 years during which time they have been instrumental in developing industry leading property survey software working collaboratively with our structural engineers to transform our business operations.”
“Artimus’s expertise, particularly embodied by Toby and Byron, played a pivotal role in empowering Medi2Data to overcome challenges, make informed decisions, and enhance its technology stack’s scalability and efficiency.”
It depends on what is happening in the business. A launch, a fundraise or a rebuild needs more; a steady quarter can need just a few days a month. We agree the right amount with you once the priorities are clear, and your lead adjusts it as things change.
Quickly, because there is no recruitment process. After an initial conversation we agree priorities together and your lead starts from there. If you have lost a CTO and need cover urgently, tell us and we will prioritise getting senior help in front of your team.
Yes. Most clients already have a team, freelancers or an agency. We work alongside them: setting direction, reviewing architecture and code, and holding suppliers to what they promised. We are not there to replace good people.
Yes. Your fractional CTO can join board meetings, write the technology section of the board pack, and answer investor and due diligence questions directly. For many businesses it is the most valuable part of the role.
It depends on how much senior time you need. You pay for the senior time you use, rather than a full-time salary, equity, benefits and recruitment fees. Tell us what you need and we will give you a clear figure for it.
We help you hire one. We shape the role, help you assess candidates, run the technical interviews and hand over properly, with the key decisions written down. You can keep the bench on for specialist work, or keep some senior time to support your new CTO as they settle in.
We reply by email
Tell us where you are and where you want to get to, and we will tell you honestly whether we are the right fit, and what you actually need.
Thank you. We will be in touch.
Your message is with us. A senior member of the team will reply by email.
