Post-deal technology leadership for a PE portfolio company — value creation and technology risk control, without committing every portfolio company to a full-time technology executive.
A newly acquired portfolio company often needs senior technology leadership immediately post-close — to assess the technology estate inherited at acquisition, to drive the specific technology-enabled value creation levers in the deal thesis, and to give the operating partner credible technology representation at board level. A full-time CTO hire is frequently premature at this stage, or simply not proportionate to the company’s size. What the situation actually calls for is senior technology judgment, sized correctly, available quickly.
That is what this engagement is.
€5,000 to €15,000 per month per portfolio company, on the same three tiers as our standard Fractional CTO engagement — Light, Standard, or Engaged, depending on the intensity the situation demands. Portfolio-wide arrangements across multiple companies are quoted separately.
No equity ask. No commission on third-party recommendations. No relationship with any technology vendor that could compromise independence from the deal’s own commercial interests.
Why sponsors and operating partners commission this
- The deal thesis includes specific technology-enabled value creation levers — a platform migration, an M&A roll-up integration, a genuine digitisation programme — and someone senior needs to own driving them.
- Due diligence surfaced technology risks that need active management post-close, not just a note in a report that no one then acts on.
- The operating partner needs credible technology representation at the portfolio company’s board table without hiring a full-time executive at every company in the portfolio.
- Several portfolio companies could benefit from a consistent technology governance approach across the portfolio, rather than each reinventing it independently.
Who this is for
PE sponsors and operating partners needing senior technology leadership at a portfolio company post-close.
Portfolio companies too early-stage to justify a full-time CTO hire, but genuinely past the point of informal technology decision-making.
Who this is not for
Sponsors still evaluating a target pre-close — that’s Technology Due Diligence, the work that precedes this.
Portfolio companies genuinely at the scale where a full-time technology executive is the right answer. Part of the ongoing conversation is being honest about when that threshold has been reached.
What the engagement covers
Value creation lever ownership. Genuinely driving the specific technology-enabled elements of the deal thesis, not just advising on them from the sidelines.
Due diligence follow-through. Taking the risks and gaps identified during due diligence and actually closing them, with visible progress the sponsor can track.
Board-level representation. Credible technology presence at the portfolio company’s board, reporting in a way both the operating partner and the company’s own leadership can rely on.
Portfolio-consistent governance, where relevant. For sponsors running this across multiple portfolio companies, a consistent technology governance approach that makes cross-portfolio comparison genuinely meaningful.
What this is not
A staffing placement. This is a direct engagement with genuine ownership of outcomes, not an introduction to a contractor.
An equity-for-services arrangement. The engagement is fee-based, keeping the incentives aligned with the operating outcomes the sponsor actually cares about.
Proof
References available on request.
What happens next
Start a ConversationThirty minutes. We confirm which portfolio company, what stage post-close, and which tier of engagement fits.