Interim CTO for a transition, a raise, or a sale.
An interim CTO covers the seat while you search, raise, or sell. Three to four days a week for a fixed term, typically three to twelve months. At Hook Security, a venture-backed cybersecurity SaaS company I stepped into the full-time CTO seat when the platform build called for it, then stepped back to fractional once the team was built to run without me. Based in Orlando, Florida. Remote across US time zones.
Six moments when an interim CTO is the right call
Each one has a clock on it. The seat can't sit empty, and a placeholder isn't enough.
A CTO transition
Your CTO or VP of Engineering left or is leaving. The team needs a leader now, and the search needs someone technical to help run it.
A raise ahead
Investors will ask about architecture, security, and the team. You want those answers written down and true before the first diligence call.
A sale ahead
A buyer's technical review is coming. A sell-side technical due diligence pass and a CTO in the room change the outcome.
After an acquisition
A PE portfolio company or an acquirer needs the acquired team and systems integrated on schedule. See post-acquisition integration.
A founder stepping back
The technical founder is moving to a new role or out. The function needs a leader who can keep the team and the roadmap intact.
An enterprise deal that needs a security review
The security questionnaire, the pen test, or the SOC 2 report is on the critical path for revenue. Someone has to own it without stopping product work.
What happens before the plan
Every engagement opens with a two-week technical and security assessment and a written plan you keep, whether or not the engagement continues.
Assessment
Code, infrastructure, access, backups, security posture, delivery process, vendor contracts, and one-on-ones with every engineer and the leadership team.
Written plan
Risks ranked, a 90-day roadmap, the hiring plan, and the decisions that can't wait. Reviewed with leadership and the board or investors if they want it.
Run the function
Lead the team, own delivery, handle vendors and security, and take the technology conversations with investors, buyers, and enterprise customers.
Handoff
Help hire the permanent leader, document the decisions, and step back. Many clients keep a fractional cadence afterward.
Choose interim when the clock is running
- The seat is empty and decisions are waiting. Architecture, hiring, vendor renewals, and security questions don't pause for a search.
- A transaction is on the calendar. A raise, a sale, or an acquisition needs a CTO who has sat on both sides of the table.
- You want the search done well. An interim who knows the system writes a better job description and runs a better technical interview.
- You're not sure you need a full-time CTO. Interim answers that question with evidence. Sometimes the answer is a strong VP of Engineering and a fractional CTO.
Not a placeholder. Not a contractor.
A placeholder keeps the seat warm and defers the hard decisions to the next person. An interim CTO makes them, owns them, and hands over a function that's in better shape than it was.
I'll also tell you if the right answer is to promote from inside. At Hook Security the end state was a team built to run without me, and I stepped back to fractional.
Read the case study →Interim CTO questions
What does an interim CTO do?
An interim CTO runs the technology function for a fixed term: the team, the roadmap, architecture, security, vendors, and the board and investor conversations about technology. The goal is to leave with the function in better shape and a permanent leader in place.
How long does an interim CTO engagement last?
Typically three to twelve months. Long enough to run a search properly, get through a raise or a sale, or finish an integration. The term is set in the agreement and can extend if the search takes longer.
How many days a week is an interim CTO?
Three to four days a week, on your calendar. Enough to run the function, not just advise it.
What does an interim CTO cost?
My standard day rate is $2,400, with a reduced rate for a six-month or longer term. Interim engagements run on a monthly retainer or a day rate, settled in the first conversations and written into the agreement.
Interim CTO or a search?
If the seat is empty and decisions are waiting, interim. A search takes months, and the roadmap doesn't pause. I can run the function and help with the search at the same time, then hand off to the person you hire.
Can you stay on after the interim term?
Yes. The usual path is interim to fractional: a smaller cadence after the permanent leader is in place, or after the team is built to run without me. That is how the Hook Security engagement went.
Do you work on-site?
I work remotely across US time zones from Orlando, Florida. On-site for kickoff, board meetings, and the moments that need a room.
Is the seat empty?
A free 30-minute call. You'll leave with a recommendation, interim or otherwise.