EXECUTIVE ADVISORY
An embedded AI leader for your executive team.
Most mid-market companies don't need a full-time Chief AI Officer. They need a senior AI operator embedded with their leadership — running strategy, governance, and the transformation roadmap. That's BuildClub Fractional CAIO.
What makes us different
Most fractional CAIOs hand you a roadmap and disappear. Ours helps set the roadmap and then stays close enough to operate it — through Phase 0 · Assess when the company needs a diagnostic, through Phase 1 · Amplify when teams need adoption and training, and through Phase 2 · Workforce when workflows are ready for digital employees.
Fractional CAIO is not Phase 0. It is a standalone Executive Advisory engagement for companies that need senior AI leadership before, alongside, or instead of a phased implementation.
What the CAIO actually does
Week-to-week operating rhythm
- Meets with the CEO or executive sponsor on strategy, decisions, and blockers
- Runs the AI steering cadence with COO, CFO, CIO/CTO, legal, security, and functional leaders
- Reviews vendor proposals, internal pilots, data-readiness gaps, and near-term deployment candidates
- Translates board-level AI ambition into a prioritized operating roadmap
- Keeps the program honest: what is worth doing now, what should wait, and what should be killed
Monthly executive sessions
Each month includes a structured executive working session. The agenda changes by maturity: readiness, governance, workflow selection, vendor selection, operating-model design, portfolio coordination, or board reporting.
Board and investor support
We prepare the material an executive team needs to explain the AI program: roadmap, investment logic, risk posture, early wins, open decisions, and where the company is not ready yet.
Artifacts produced
- AI strategy and operating roadmap
- Buy / build / assemble recommendations for key AI investments
- Vendor evaluation scorecards and procurement guidance
- Governance model: approved use cases, risk tiers, escalation rules, human approval points
- Board-ready AI program update
- Phase 0 · Assess scope if the company needs a formal diagnostic
- Phase 1 / Phase 2 candidate list when workflows are ready for enablement or automation
How it interacts with Phase 0 / 1 / 2
- Before Phase 0. The CAIO helps the executive team decide whether Phase 0 · Assess is needed and what should be in scope.
- Alongside Phase 0. The CAIO helps interpret the diagnostic, align leadership, and turn findings into decisions.
- Before Phase 1. The CAIO decides which teams are ready for Amplify and which workflows need more cleanup first.
- Before Phase 2. The CAIO sets the governance bar for digital employees: identity, policy, approval thresholds, observability, and kill switches.
Who fills the role
The role is staffed by a senior BuildClub operator with executive AI, systems, and transformation experience. The profile depends on the company: operator-heavy for COO-led transformations, finance-heavy for CFO-led efficiency programs, technical-heavy for data and architecture decisions, or portfolio-heavy for PE-backed companies.
Stephen Forte stays close to the engagement model and board narrative. The day-to-day CAIO seat is filled by the BuildClub operator whose background best matches the client's operating problem.
What we deliver
AI strategy + governance
12-month roadmap, capital allocation, risk framework, board reporting cadence.
Vendor + stack evaluation
Buy / build / assemble decisions across the AI tooling landscape, tailored to your business.
Capability building
Coaching for internal champions. Hiring guidance for the AI roles you may eventually own.
Board-ready reporting
Quarterly board materials on AI program ROI, risk, and trajectory.
Path to Phase 0, Amplify, and Workforce
When the company is ready for the core BuildClub path, the CAIO hands off cleanly into Phase 0 · Assess, Phase 1 · Amplify, or Phase 2 · Workforce — same firm, same operating model.
What our customers tell us when they first call
"Our board wants an AI strategy by next quarter and we don't have someone senior enough to lead it."
"We've evaluated three AI vendors and we don't trust ourselves to make the right buy / build call."
"We need an executive who's been through this before, but we're not ready for a full-time hire."
"We want a single point of accountability for our AI program at the board level."
Fractional CAIO was built around these four problems.
Pricing
$8,000 – $16,000 / month
Monthly retainer: $8,000–$16,000 / month, scope-dependent. Minimum engagement: 3 months. Where you land in the range depends on cadence, number of working sessions per month, and depth of engagement with your team. Includes senior operator time, async support, and board reporting.
Bring senior AI leadership to your exec team — without a full-time hire.
Most engagements start with a discovery call. We'll tell you whether Fractional CAIO is the right fit.
Book a Fractional CAIO discovery call →