Common questions

A CTO usually owns the product: the platform, the engineering team, the thing the company sells. A fractional CTO may own the IT function too, but it is rarely the focus, and it usually depends on a strong IT leader underneath them.

I work as a fractional CIO. The focus is the technology the business runs on internally: identity, devices, infrastructure, vendors, security, and the people and providers who look after them, and how all of that supports where the business is going.

An MSP's vCIO is part of the MSP's service, so the roadmap tends to run through what the MSP sells. They also usually sit outside the conversations where the business plans its next few years. That makes them a facilitator: useful for keeping the environment planned and maintained.

I work inside those business conversations and answer to you, which includes holding the MSP to account when that's needed.

An IT manager runs the function: systems, team, tickets, projects. What's usually missing is the executive layer above that. That means setting direction with the leadership team, owning the budget conversation, making the case for IT when decisions are made, and having someone senior to test ideas against.

That's the part I bring, either as an advisor to your IT manager or as the leader they report to. Good IT managers tend to get stronger with that support, not sidelined by it.

Growing companies, usually somewhere between 100 and 500 people, though I've also led IT in organizations of several thousand that grew faster than their IT function did.

Much of my background is PE-backed: technology due diligence before a deal, integrating add-on acquisitions after close, and reporting to an operating partner or board alongside management. I also work with founder-led and family-owned businesses. The common thread is growth, an acquisition, or a decision that will shape the next few years.

If what you need is day-to-day support, a good MSP will serve you better, and I'm happy to point you toward one.

With a conversation about what is going on and what is driving the timing. If it looks like a fit, I write a short proposal that scopes the work to the problem and sets out what is included. Nothing starts until that is agreed.

Engagements are scoped to a minimum term, so there's room to plan and deliver properly. Many continue well beyond that, some for several years.

Yes. A mutual NDA is usually one of the first things I put in place, because early conversations often involve things that aren't public yet.

I'm based in Dallas-Fort Worth and work with clients across the US, mostly remotely. On-site time can be arranged for the moments that need it, such as a kickoff or a leadership offsite, and is agreed as part of the scope.

Two engagements rarely look the same, so most are scoped and priced individually: a monthly retainer for ongoing leadership, or a fixed fee for defined work such as due diligence or an assessment. Either way, you have the number and the terms in writing before anything starts.

No. I don't carry a product line or a sales quota, and recommendations start from what the business needs. Where it makes sense, I can deliver implementation myself or arrange it through partners I trust. In some cases that may earn Layered Grey a referral fee, and if it does, I'll tell you.