Executive AI Leadership. Without the Full-Time Hire.
Your board and CEO know AI is now a leadership issue, not an IT project. A fractional Chief AI Officer (CAIO) gives you C-suite-level AI strategy, governance, and compliance, plus hands-on adoption, on a retainer you can actually justify.
Your fractional CAIO owns:
- Enterprise AI strategy & roadmap
- AI governance & risk management
- Corporate AI compliance training
- Vendor evaluation & oversight
- Board & leadership reporting
Why Boards Are Asking for an AI Officer
- Employees are pasting sensitive data into public AI tools with zero governance or oversight.
- Leadership is approving AI vendors and budgets with no one qualified to vet the claims.
- There is no AI policy, no compliance training, and no audit trail if a regulator or client asks.
- AI experiments are scattered across departments with no strategy connecting them to outcomes.
- A full-time Chief AI Officer costs $250K+ and is impossible to hire in this market.
You do not need a $250K executive on day one. You need accountable AI leadership in the room now. That is a fractional CAIO.
What a Fractional CAIO Delivers
Executive ownership of AI across strategy, risk, and adoption, embedded in your leadership rhythm.
Enterprise AI Strategy & Roadmap
A prioritized, board-ready AI roadmap tied to revenue, cost, and risk, not generic "AI transformation" language. We decide which use cases, which departments, what sequence, and what success looks like.
AI Governance Framework
Acceptable-use policy, data classification and handling rules, a vendor evaluation rubric, model and tool inventory, and an AI risk register your leadership team and auditors can rely on.
Corporate AI Compliance Training
Role-based training that makes your AI policy real. Every employee learns what is allowed, how to protect company and customer data, and how to use approved tools confidently and safely.
Enterprise AI Adoption Strategy
A staged adoption plan with pilots, champions, and measurable milestones so AI actually lands in daily workflows, instead of stalling after the kickoff meeting.
Vendor & Tool Oversight
Independent evaluation of AI vendors and copilots, contract and security review support, and a clear build-vs-buy point of view so you stop paying for shelfware.
Board & Leadership Reporting
Quarterly reporting on AI ROI, risk posture, and adoption maturity, written for executives and directors, so AI is governed like every other strategic priority.
AI Governance, Done Properly
Most companies adopt AI tools months before they adopt any rules for them. That gap is where the real risk lives: confidential data leaking into public models, biased or inaccurate output going to customers, and shadow AI tools no one approved. As your AI governance consultant, my job is to close that gap without smothering the productivity that made AI attractive in the first place.
What governance actually includes
A practical AI governance program is not a binder no one reads. It is a living acceptable-use policy, a simple data classification scheme so people know what is safe to share, an approved-tools list, a vendor and model inventory, and a lightweight review process for new use cases. We document who is accountable, how incidents are handled, and how decisions get logged, so when a client, insurer, or regulator asks how you manage AI, you have a clear answer.
Built for your industry
Governance for a manufacturer protecting process IP looks different from governance for a firm handling client financial data. I tailor the framework to your obligations, whether that is customer privacy, contractual confidentiality, or emerging AI regulation, and keep it proportional to your size so it is something your team will follow rather than route around.
Corporate AI Compliance Training
A policy nobody understands is a policy nobody follows. Training is how governance becomes behavior.
- What your AI acceptable-use policy means in plain language
- Which tools are approved and how to access them securely
- How to classify and protect company and customer data
- Recognizing hallucinations and verifying AI output
- Safe prompting habits that keep sensitive data out of public models
- When a human must review before anything ships
- Role-specific scenarios for your actual workflows
- A short knowledge check and refresh cadence for new hires
Fractional CAIO Engagements
Executive AI leadership on retainer. Every engagement starts with a free 30-minute discovery call. Minimum engagement: 3 months.
Fractional CAIO
- Bi-weekly executive strategy sessions
- Enterprise AI roadmap & prioritization
- Core AI governance & acceptable-use policy
- Vendor & tool evaluation
- Monthly team enablement
- Quarterly board-ready reporting
Enterprise CAIO + Governance
- Everything in Fractional CAIO
- Full AI governance framework & risk register
- Company-wide AI compliance training rollout
- Direct access via email, text, and phone
- Vendor contract & security review support
- Priority scheduling and async support
Need the small-business version first? See Fractional AI Leadership for our core mid-market retainer.
"Working with Tim felt like adding three new team members, without the payroll."
Mallory Soulliere, Marketing Director, FED Design/Builders
Why Tim as Your Fractional CAIO
Most AI officers come from strategy decks. I come from building, governing, and training, every week.
Practitioner First
I write production AI code, run local LLMs, and ship real systems. When I set policy or evaluate a vendor, I have already used the technology myself.
Governance That Ships
I build AI policy and compliance programs people actually follow, proportional to your risk and your size, not a 90-page binder that collects dust.
Cross-Industry
Manufacturing, professional services, construction, marketing, and nonprofit. I understand operational workflows, not just the technology.
19 Years Training
Strategy is worthless if your team cannot execute. I make complex technology practical for real people in real roles.
Zero Hype
No AGI promises, no fear selling. I tell you what works, what does not, and where to spend, in plain language your board will trust.
Embedded, Not Remote-Only
Based in Michigan's Great Lakes Bay Region, available on-site across Michigan and the Midwest. A real partner in the room.
Fractional CAIO FAQ
A fractional Chief AI Officer is an experienced AI executive who leads your AI strategy, governance, and adoption on a part-time, retained basis. You get C-suite-level AI leadership, vendor oversight, risk management, and team enablement without the cost or commitment of a full-time executive hire.
A consultant typically delivers a strategy document and leaves. A fractional CAIO is embedded in your leadership team, owns the AI roadmap, builds governance and compliance, leads vendor decisions, and is accountable for adoption and measurable outcomes over time.
Yes. As your fractional CAIO I build acceptable-use policies, data handling and privacy guidelines, a vendor evaluation framework, and a risk register. I then deliver corporate AI compliance training so every employee understands what is allowed, what is not, and how to use AI safely with company data.
Most clients are mid-market companies of roughly 50 to 1,000 employees that need executive AI guidance but cannot justify a full-time Chief AI Officer. Boards, CEOs, and operations leaders use a fractional CAIO to manage AI risk and accelerate enterprise AI adoption.
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Talk to a Fractional CAIO
No pitch, no pressure. Tell me where you are with AI and I will tell you honestly whether a fractional CAIO is the right move, or if a lighter engagement fits better.
Prefer to assess first? Take the free AI Readiness Assessment.
⚡ I typically respond within 1 business day.