What does a fractional CTO actually do?

A fractional CTO provides senior technology leadership part-time — typically one to three days a week. The role covers technology and AI strategy, platform and product direction, build/buy/partner decisions, partnerships, technology investment and leadership, while permanent engineers continue to own day-to-day delivery.

When should a company hire a fractional CTO instead of a full-time one?

When the company needs executive judgement rather than more engineering capacity: during growth, transition, fundraising, transformation, or before the technology organisation is large enough to justify a permanent C-level engineering function.

How is this different from a consultant?

A consultant advises and leaves. A fractional executive sits inside the decision, is accountable for the direction taken, and stays long enough to see whether it created value.

Where does Hendrik van Iterson work from?

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, working with companies across Europe and internationally, remotely and on site.

Fractional CTO

A fractional CTO for the decisions, not the ticket queue.

Hendrik van Iterson is a fractional CTO and technology & AI executive based in Amsterdam. He works with founders, CEOs and boards one to three days a week, owning technology and AI strategy, platform direction, build/buy/partner decisions and technology leadership — while the existing engineers keep owning delivery.

Most companies that think they need a CTO need a decision made, a direction set, and someone senior who can hold the line while it is executed. That is a different job from running an engineering team, and it does not require a permanent C-level hire.

When to bring one in

The pattern is consistent. Technology decisions have started to behave like business decisions, the founder or CEO is the de facto technology owner, and the cost of a wrong call has become larger than the cost of senior judgement.

—AI is clearly going to change the business and nobody can say what to actually do first
—Platform, product, data and commercial strategy have drifted apart as the company grew
—A funding round, acquisition or board conversation needs a technology story that survives scrutiny
—Strong specialists are already delivering, but nobody is deciding
—A CTO is leaving, or the first one has not been hired yet

What I own

The decision layer. Technology and AI strategy tied to business outcomes, platform and product direction, build/buy/partner, partnership and vendor strategy, technology investment, and the leadership calls that sit underneath all of it.

What I do not own: sprint planning, code review and line management. Those belong to the people already doing them well, and a fractional executive who takes them over is quietly becoming a very expensive engineering manager.

How the first weeks run

First, the current state: what exists, what it costs, what it is actually for, and where the business advantage is supposed to come from. Then the framework — why, what, build/buy/partner, who, and how value gets measured — applied to the real decisions in front of the company.

The output is not a deck that gets filed. It is a set of decisions with owners, a roadmap the board can read, and enough clarity that the next six months stop being a debate.

Shape of the engagement

Usually one to three days a week, contracted through 10Myth B.V. Amsterdam-based, working across Europe and internationally. Selected mandates only — the work is judgement-dense, and it does not scale by taking more of it.

Questions I get asked

What does a fractional CTO actually do?: A fractional CTO provides senior technology leadership part-time — typically one to three days a week. The role covers technology and AI strategy, platform and product direction, build/buy/partner decisions, partnerships, technology investment and leadership, while permanent engineers continue to own day-to-day delivery.
When should a company hire a fractional CTO instead of a full-time one?: When the company needs executive judgement rather than more engineering capacity: during growth, transition, fundraising, transformation, or before the technology organisation is large enough to justify a permanent C-level engineering function.
How is this different from a consultant?: A consultant advises and leaves. A fractional executive sits inside the decision, is accountable for the direction taken, and stays long enough to see whether it created value.
Where does Hendrik van Iterson work from?: Amsterdam, The Netherlands, working with companies across Europe and internationally, remotely and on site.