Fractional Chief AI Officer for growing non tech companies

The Fractional AI Executive engagement: a fractional chief AI officer who joins your leadership team for six months and owns the AI function the way your CFO owns finance. I built and sold an AI company before ChatGPT existed. If you have searched for a fractional CAIO or a fractional AI officer and found technical people who cannot operate at board level, or business consultants who cannot evaluate a vendor claim, this is the third option: one owner, inside your company, accountable for results.

The problem you are facing

Your board wants an AI strategy. Your competitors are moving. Every vendor has a solution to a problem you may not have. The AI consultants in your inbox fall into two camps: technical people who cannot operate at the C-suite level, or business consultants who cannot evaluate technical claims. Neither can own the function. You need someone you can delegate to.

What you get

I become part of your leadership team for six months. I own the AI function the same way your CFO owns finance.

• A leader you can delegate to. I handle discovery, strategy, vendor management and coordination, then hand responsibilities back with clear processes.
• Strategic clarity. A defensible AI strategy you can present to your board, with priorities, timeline, investment and expected returns.
• Vendor protection. I vet every tool and platform, and I negotiate hard on your behalf. No commissions, no kickbacks.
• Access to expertise. My network of AI specialists in machine learning, computer vision, NLP and implementation, with full cost transparency.
• Organizational change. Leadership alignment, change management, training and adoption, because AI tools mean nothing if people do not use them.
• Results, not reports. Pipeline growth, revenue impact and cost reduction. I stay until we see measurable business outcomes.

How it works

• Phase 1, weeks 1 to 4. Assessment. Interviews with each leader, a review of systems and processes, and a map of decisions, information flow and bottlenecks, delivered as the AI Readiness Assessment Report.
• Phase 2, weeks 5 to 10. Strategy and selection. Priorities, timeline and ROI model, vendor vetting and negotiation, and an AI policy framework your team can follow.
• Phase 3, months 3 to 6. Execution and adoption. Coordination of internal teams and vendors, tiered training, metrics tracking, and transfer of ownership to your team.

What you receive

• AI Readiness Assessment Report on your technology, workflows and organizational capacity.
• A board-ready strategy deck with priorities, timeline, investment requirements and an ROI model.
• An AI policy framework covering data handling, quality standards and human oversight.
• Training materials for leadership, power users and general staff.
• A metrics dashboard tracking adoption, efficiency gains and business impact.
• Weekly leadership feedback, delivered inside your leadership meetings.

Is this right for you?

• A mid-sized company, $10M or more in revenue, where AI is a board-level conversation.
• You want someone to own the function, not just advise.
• You are willing to commit six months.
• Your team is stable enough to absorb change.
• You value directness over comfortable platitudes.

Which one is for you

Three ways to work with Leaders ADAPT on AI. The Executive AI Program builds the systems in your company, the AI Leadership Mastermind builds the strategy your board signs, the Fractional AI Executive engagement means Andreas runs the AI function for you. Not sure which? Book the fit call on this page and bring your board's question.

• Executive AI Program for CEOs and owners who want to run their own AI systems: nine systems live in eight weeks, one two hour session a week.
• AI Leadership Mastermind for CEOs whose board is asking for an AI strategy: decisions with dates and the five board documents, one four hour session a month for six months with five to seven CEOs.

Common questions

What does a fractional chief AI officer cost?

Published US market rates for a fractional chief AI officer run from about $5,000 to $30,000 a month depending on hours, company size and whether the role is advisory or embedded. Leaders ADAPT does not publish a rate card because every engagement is scoped to the company; the figure is set on the intro call. External vendor, subcontractor and AI compute costs are disclosed separately, and if the assessment phase shows no clear path to ROI you owe nothing beyond month one.

Fractional CAIO, AI consultant or a full time hire: which do we need?

A consultant hands you a report and leaves. A full time chief AI officer costs a senior salary plus a six to nine month search, and most $10M to $50M companies do not have a full time workload for one yet. A fractional chief AI officer gives you an owner inside the leadership team for about ten hours a week, for six months, who runs discovery, strategy, vendor selection and adoption and then hands the function back with clear processes. If you want a build team, that is a different purchase; if you want your CEO to learn the tools, that is the Executive AI Program.

What happens in the first 90 days?

Weeks 1 to 4: interviews with each leader, a review of systems and processes, and the AI Readiness Assessment Report. Weeks 5 to 10: priorities, timeline and ROI model, vendor vetting and negotiation, and an AI policy framework. By day 90 the board has a one page strategy, a ranked use case list with an ROI model, a vendor scorecard and a governance policy, and the first implementation is under way.

Who is this not for?

Companies under about $10M in revenue, companies that want a one time assessment or a validation of a decision already made, teams in crisis mode, and anyone looking for a build team rather than an owner. CEOs who want to run their own AI systems belong in the Executive AI Program; CEOs who want board documents with a peer group belong in the AI Leadership Mastermind.

We already have a CTO. Why would we need you?

Your CTO runs your technology. I own the AI function across the whole business: where AI creates real leverage, which vendors and tools to trust, and how your people actually adopt it. I work alongside your CTO and take on the vendor vetting, negotiation, and cross-department coordination that role rarely has time for.

How much time does this take from my leadership team?

The heaviest lift is in the first four weeks: 60-90 minute interviews with each leader, typically 6-10 people, roughly 10-15 hours total across your leadership team. After that I carry the coordination load. Your team's involvement shifts to training and adoption as we execute.

What if we are not ready for AI yet?

That is exactly what the assessment phase answers. Weeks 1-4 map where you are, where AI creates real leverage, and what is realistic for your company. If the honest answer is not yet, I will tell you, and if there is no clear path to ROI we part ways with nothing owed beyond month one.

Who owns the tools and the data you set up?

You do. Licenses and subscriptions are your cost and stay in your name. In the final phase I transfer ownership to your team with clear processes, so everything keeps running when the engagement ends.

What happens after the six months end?

By then the AI tools are live and being used, your team is trained, and ownership has been transferred with clear processes. The goal is a sustainable foundation for continued adoption, not dependence on me.

How does the engagement start?

With a 30 minute intro call from this page. No pitch: you bring the AI question your board is asking, I tell you which of three paths fits (Executive AI Program, AI Leadership Mastermind or the fractional engagement) and, if it is this one, we scope the six months and agree the fee. The engagement itself begins with the four week assessment phase.

By Leaders ADAPT, the leadership and AI advisory practice led by Andreas Pettersson, Canon's youngest CEO.