FRACTIONAL CTO · SENIOR TECH LEADERSHIP

SENIOR TECH
LEADERSHIP.
WITHOUT THE HIRE.

A full-time CTO costs £100k+/year. A bad technology decision can cost far more. For growing businesses that need senior technical leadership without the full-time overhead — technology strategy, AI roadmap, vendor selection, and managing dev teams.

LET'S TALK → FREE AI AUDIT FIRST

Rolling monthly engagement · No long-term contracts · Based in Harrogate

THE COST OF NOT HAVING ONE
£100k+
FULL-TIME CTO SALARY
Before benefits, NI, recruitment, and equipment
£?
COST OF A BAD TECH DECISION
Wrong platform, wrong vendor, wrong architecture — costs that compound
25+
YEARS COMMERCIAL EXPERIENCE
Finance, sport, media, SMEs — across the full technology spectrum
WHAT A FRACTIONAL CTO DOES

SENIOR EXPERTISE.
APPLIED WHERE
IT MATTERS.

01 account_tree

TECHNOLOGY
STRATEGY & ROADMAP

What technology does your business actually need? What should you build, buy, or avoid? Which platforms are right for where you're going in 12–24 months? Honest answers based on 25 years of commercial experience — not vendor preference.

  • / Technology audit of current stack
  • / Build vs buy decisions
  • / 12-month technology roadmap
  • / AI readiness and opportunity assessment
02 smart_toy

AI STRATEGY
& ADOPTION

Every business is being told to "adopt AI." Most don't know where to start, what to trust, or what will actually move the needle. I help you cut through the hype, identify where AI creates genuine value, and build a practical adoption plan that delivers ROI.

  • / AI opportunity mapping for your business
  • / Tool selection and vendor evaluation
  • / Implementation roadmap and prioritisation
  • / Governance and risk assessment
03 groups

DEV TEAM
MANAGEMENT

Managing developers is a skill most founders don't have and shouldn't have to learn on the job. I bridge the gap — speaking the technical language, setting quality standards, reviewing code, managing sprints, and ensuring your development investment is being spent wisely.

  • / Sprint planning and delivery oversight
  • / Code quality and architecture review
  • / Hiring and contractor assessment
  • / Agency management and accountability
04 corporate_fare

BOARD &
INVESTOR SUPPORT

Technology due diligence for investors. Technical presentation for board meetings. Fundraising documentation. Platform migrations that need sign-off. Having a credible technical voice in the room when it matters — without the full-time cost of putting one on the payroll.

  • / Investor technical due diligence
  • / Board-level technology reporting
  • / Platform migration planning
  • / M&A technical assessment
05 swap_horiz

PLATFORM
MIGRATIONS

Moving off a legacy system, replacing an agency's proprietary build, or migrating to a better infrastructure — done properly with a plan, minimal downtime, and no data loss. I've done this many times and know what goes wrong.

  • / Risk assessment and migration planning
  • / Vendor selection for the new platform
  • / Data migration and integrity checks
  • / Team transition and handover
06 security

VENDOR SELECTION
& PROCUREMENT

Software vendors are very good at selling. I help you evaluate them properly — commercial terms, technical capabilities, lock-in risk, support quality, and whether what they're promising is actually deliverable. Saves money and prevents regret.

  • / RFP design and vendor evaluation
  • / Commercial term negotiation support
  • / Technical capability assessment
  • / Contract red flags and lock-in risk
WHO THIS IS FOR

THE BUSINESSES
THAT NEED THIS MOST.

rocket_launch

SCALING STARTUPS

You're growing fast and the founder is making all the technology decisions. That doesn't scale. A fractional CTO brings strategic oversight without the hiring risk or cost of a full-time exec.

store

ESTABLISHED SMES

You've been using the same systems for years and know you need to modernise — but don't know what to move to, who to trust, or how to manage the transition without disrupting the business.

attach_money

PRE-FUNDRAISE BUSINESSES

Investors do technical due diligence. If your architecture, IP ownership, or vendor contracts don't stand up to scrutiny, you lose the deal. A fractional CTO gets your technical house in order before the room.

WHY NOT A FULL-TIME CTO?

£100K/YEAR
FOR EXPERTISE
YOU NEED
PART-TIME.

Most growing businesses need senior technical thinking 2–4 days a month, not every day. A fractional CTO gives you exactly that — available when decisions need to be made, without the cost, risk, or permanence of a full-time hire.

25 years of commercial experience across finance, sport, media and SMEs means I think business-first. Technology exists to serve the business objective. If a simpler, cheaper solution achieves the same outcome — I'll tell you.

LET'S TALK →
location_on
BASED IN HARROGATE
Available for in-person board meetings, strategy sessions, and site visits across North Yorkshire and the UK.
attach_money
COMMERCIAL FIRST
25 years in finance and commercial roles. Technology decisions are assessed on ROI, risk, and business impact — not technical elegance.
lock_open
ROLLING BASIS
No long-term contracts. Month-to-month engagement. Scale up for a major project, scale back during quieter periods.
build
HANDS-ON WHEN NEEDED
Not just strategy. I can roll up my sleeves and build alongside your team when that's what the project needs.
START THE CONVERSATION

TELL ME
WHAT YOU'RE
TRYING TO BUILD.

No long forms. Tell me where you are, where you're trying to go, and the technical challenges you're facing. I'll come back with honest thoughts and practical next steps — no obligation.

mail
hello@garethshaw.uk
WHATSAPP ME