Board Technology Advisor
An experienced, independent technology advisor for the board and the management team.
Technology is now one of the main drivers of a company’s competitiveness, valuation, and risk. Still, many boards and management teams have no one who can give an independent technical view when important decisions are made.
Board Technology Advisor gives you access to an experienced technology leader for a full quarter — when the questions come up, and before the decisions are made.
Not as a project manager. Not as a vendor. Not as a consultant billed by the hour.
As a strategic advisor when the decisions actually matter.
A technical perspective in the boardroom
Technology questions are rarely only technology questions. They affect cost, organisation, growth, risk, and the company’s room to act. My role is to help the board and management understand the options, ask the right questions, and make better decisions.
What you get
For one quarter, the board and management team have access to me for strategic technology questions. You do not need to start a new consulting project, or wonder whether you have hours left, every time a question comes up.
I can join board and management meetings, run workshops, review papers, give a second opinion, or be the external sounding board when a decision needs to be challenged.
Fixed price. One quarter at a time. No automatic renewal.
Questions I can help with
Technology and strategy
- Technology strategy and roadmap
- AI strategy and the use of AI
- Build vs buy
- System modernisation and technical debt
- Product and platform choices
- Cloud strategy and scalability
Business and investment
- Technical due diligence
- A technical view on investments and acquisitions
- Vendor evaluations and outsourcing
- Assessment of larger technology investments
- An independent second opinion on decision papers
Organisation and people
- Hiring a CTO, a head of engineering, and other key technical people
- Assessment of the technology organisation and the skills it needs
- Roles, responsibilities, and dependencies
- Support for the CTO or head of engineering on strategic questions
Risk
- Cybersecurity from a board and management perspective
- Vendor and platform dependencies
- Key-person risk
- Technical risk ahead of growth, investment, or change
When does Board Technology Advisor fit?
The offer is especially relevant when technology has become critical to the business, but the board or management team lacks an independent technical perspective of its own.
- You are facing a major technology investment or a fork in the road.
- The company is growing and the technology organisation needs to develop.
- AI is affecting the business, but it is unclear what is actually relevant.
- You are hiring a CTO or another key technical person.
- You are considering a new vendor, platform, outsourcing, or a larger system change.
- You are about to invest in or acquire a company and need to understand the technical risk.
- You have become dependent on individual developers, consultants, or vendors.
- The CTO or head of engineering needs an experienced, independent sounding board.
How we work
Set the quarter
We start with a kickoff where we go through the decisions, projects, risks, and questions waiting during the quarter. We also identify the board and management meetings where a technical perspective can be especially useful.
Use me when it is needed
During the quarter I am available when strategic technology questions come up. That can be planned workshops and meetings, or just as easily a short call, a review of a decision paper, or a second opinion before a decision is made.
Summarise and choose the next step
When the quarter ends we summarise what has changed, which risks or decisions remain, and what is worth watching ahead. Then you choose whether the collaboration continues for another quarter.
What the offer is not
Board Technology Advisor is strategic advice for the board and management. It is not an operational CTO, project-management, or development engagement.
Operational technology leadership, people management, sprint and project management, ongoing delivery ownership, or delivery of larger technology projects are handled separately, for example within a fractional CTO engagement.
Why me?
I have more than two decades of experience in software development, entrepreneurship, and technology leadership. I have worked both close to the technology and in roles where technology has to be translated into business, organisation, risk, and decisions.
That combination means I can discuss architecture with a developer in the morning and the same question from a business and risk perspective with a board in the afternoon.
I represent no vendors and have no platforms or products to sell. My role is to give you an independent perspective and help you make better decisions.
Practicalities
- Fixed price per quarter.
- One quarter at a time.
- No lock-in and no automatic renewal.
- For the board and the management team.
- Meetings remote by default.
- Workshops and meetings on-site by agreement.