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Fractional CTO · Chief AI Officer · Interim CTO
Fractional CTO & Chief AI Officer for AI transformation.
I help engineering teams ship more with AI. Two days a week, next to your CTO or in place of one.
Your teams already pay for AI tools. Most engineering orgs cannot show what those tools changed. I turn that spend into teams that ship more, with one number the board can track.
How it works
- Step 1 · 2 weeks
AI engineering audit
Each team placed on the ELC five-level AI adoption scale, the three blockers named, a 90-day plan.
- Step 2 · 2 days a week
Fractional CTO
I run the plan with your leaders until the number moves.
€1,200 per day. The fractional role runs two days a week, about €10,400 a month. The two-week audit is quoted in days at the same rate.
Three things in one person
Hands-on AI
I build with AI agents myself, and I know where they break.
Talent from ELC
3,300+ engineering leaders in Central Europe, so the next leader you need is one intro away.
Mentoring built in
3,662 sessions since 2019, so your managers grow while the org changes.
Recent AI transformation work
Jablotron
Dr.Max
Eurowag
How I think about AI in engineering teams
Two talks I've given and four posts I wrote. Read one before our call, so we can skip the basics.
Talk
Human Performance in the AI Era
Leaders and engineers use AI and it still doesn't help as expected. Use it to expand leadership capacity without outsourcing human judgement and accountability.
See the talk →
Talk
From Employee to a Person of AI Skills Delivering Value.
Funds: your core craft. ETFs: product sense, decisions, network. Crypto: agentic AI skills. AI just repriced the market. Time to rebalance.
See the talk →
Post
AI Agents Don't Shrink Engineering Teams. They Expose Weak Managers.
What AI coding agents change about the first-line engineering manager job: not headcount first, but feedback loops, spans, and what the role is for.
Read →
Post
AI Engineering Manager: The 2027 Career Fork
The engineering manager job is splitting in two by 2027: AI engineering manager, or staff AI engineer. The dead zone is the shape most EMs hold today.
Read →
Post
Forward Deployed Engineer: The Role Behind the Hype
Searches for forward deployed engineer grew 11x in a year. What the job covers, who is hiring, what it does to your career, and who should stay away.
Read →
Post
I Turned 3,662 1:1 Leadership Sessions Into MCP Tools Your AI Can Call
Why I shipped an MCP server for engineering leadership, what the 8 tools do, and what it changes when your AI assistant can query a mentor's data.
Read →
"I've built teams in DevOps, SRE, platform engineering and product engineering, from new teams inside established companies to scaling orgs across locations and time zones. The technology changed. The fundamentals didn't. If I had to build another engineering organization from zero tomorrow, I'd spend far more time on team design, leadership and mission, and less time obsessing over the perfect org chart."
Background
- VP Engineering at Mews: grew engineering from 8 to 80 teams through Series C.
- Advisor to Manta (acquired by IBM).
- 3 years at Databricks in the Bay Area.
- 35+ fractional CTO engagements, including Jablotron, Eurowag, Košík.cz, Dr.Max and Pure Storage.
- Board adviser at Trinity Bank and Eurowag.
FAQ
Fractional CTO or fractional Chief AI Officer: which do we need?+
If you have a CTO and need someone to own the AI transformation, I work as your fractional Chief AI Officer next to the CTO. If the CTO seat is empty, I work as your fractional CTO and run the AI transformation from that seat. The two-week audit is the same either way. Already a Chief AI Officer and want a mentor? See Chief AI Officer coaching.
Do you replace our CTO?+
Usually not. I work two days a week next to your CTO and lead the AI transition with your leaders. If you have no CTO, I can step in as interim CTO.
What does the two-week audit deliver?+
Each team placed on the ELC five-level AI adoption scale, the three blockers named, and a 90-day plan with one number the board can track.
We have no CTO. Can you be our interim CTO?+
Yes. Two days a week in place of a CTO: I run the 90-day plan with your leaders and help you find and hire the permanent CTO.
Do you help hire?+
Yes. I founded the Engineering Leaders Community, 3,300+ engineering leaders in Central Europe. When your team needs a new leader, I know who is ready.
Do you work outside Czechia?+
Yes. I work across Central Europe, remote and on site.
Recent clients
Three ways I engage
Fractional CTO / VPE
Solve your organisation's specific challenge with top-tier engineering leadership — without a full-time hire.
When: You have a specific problem: delivery, hiring, org design, technical debt. You need a senior brain 1-2 days a week, not a full FTE.
Interim CTO or VPE
3-9 months leading your engineering team while you optimise operations, boost efficiency, and hire the permanent seat.
When: You lost your engineering leader, or you're preparing to hire one. I run the team, ship the roadmap, and help you find and onboard my replacement.
Independent Executive Board Adviser
The bridge between engineering and the board. Technical assessment translated into business language.
When: You're a non-technical board member, CEO, or investor. You need someone who speaks tech to sanity-check what engineering is telling you.
Is your company a fit?
- Company size: 10-499 engineers is my sweet spot. Both ends of that range are workable if the fit is right.
- Industry: Any B2B or B2C software company. I avoid crypto.
- Culture: Companies that treat engineers like resources or cogs won\'t enjoy working with me.
New to the model? Start with the full guide: Fractional CTO for startups: what it is, what it costs, when you need one.
Not sure this fits? For a smaller start, the 3-month productivity audit is the same brain scoped tighter. To put a mentor in front of your whole leadership bench, Mentor in Residence starts at 5,925 EUR per quarter. For leaders (not orgs), 1:1 mentoring covers the same ground for €395/session. To train a whole management team, see the Leadership Academy. Read how mentees describe the work on the testimonials page.
Starting the conversation
Email marian@marian.coach with a paragraph on the current situation and what "success" looks like in the next 12 weeks. I'll come back within 48h with the tightest-fit package and any questions.
From the blog
All posts →
Fractional CTO for Startups: What It Is, What It Costs, When You Need One
What a fractional CTO for a startup does, real market rates, and the 6 signals you need one. Written by a fractional CTO who has run the model since 2023.
· By Marian
Read →
How to Build Trust with Engineering Teams
In engineering management, my vision is to create a productive software delivery environment that developers are proud to work in, with a focus on tangible…
· By Marian
Read →
Team Charter Guide for Software Engineering Teams
How to write a team charter for a software engineering team: 18 Confluence pages, from North Star and customer-area KPIs to Done, each with a worked example.
· By Marian
Read →