Fractional Chief AI Officer
An experienced person owning your AI decisions, without hiring a full time executive.
What is fractional chief AI officer?
A fractional Chief AI Officer is a senior practitioner engaged for an agreed number of days each month to own an organisation AI decisions: which proposals to fund, which supplier claims to believe, when to stop a pilot, and what must be true before a system is allowed near customers.
The decisions this role covers are expensive to get wrong and difficult to delegate. They are commercial judgements informed by technical understanding, rather than technical decisions in themselves.
Most businesses reaching this point face an awkward gap. The AI work is now significant enough to need a senior owner, but nowhere near large enough to justify an executive salary and the recruitment that comes with it.
In practice it means a standing commitment rather than occasional advice: a set number of days each month, spent in the meetings where decisions are actually made rather than reviewing papers afterwards.
The conflict built into this arrangement
Duara provides fractional AI leadership from Nairobi to companies whose AI spending has outgrown ad-hoc advice but not yet reached the scale of a permanent hire.
The awkward part of this arrangement is that we also build systems. Where we advise on selecting a supplier and Duara is one of the candidates, we say so and step out of that decision. Any firm offering this role should tell you how they handle that, and be suspicious if they have not thought about it.
Who this is for
- You have several AI projects and nobody senior owning them
- You are choosing suppliers without in-house expertise to judge them
- Your board wants somebody accountable for AI spending
- Decisions are being made by whoever is loudest
Industries we serve
- Financial services
- Insurance
- Healthcare groups
- Retail and distribution
- Manufacturing
- Professional services firms
Problems this solves
This role is usually created after a decision went badly and somebody asked who had actually approved it.
- No senior owner for AI decisions. Projects are approved by whoever sponsors them, with no single person weighing them against each other or against doing nothing.
- Supplier claims nobody can evaluate. Proposals arrive with technical assertions that your team has no basis to accept or reject, so price becomes the only comparison.
- Pilots that nobody will stop. A trial continues past the point of usefulness because stopping it requires somebody with the standing to say so.
- A board asking who is accountable. Directors want a named person answerable for AI spending and there is currently nobody in that position.
What we deliver
A named senior owner on an agreed monthly commitment, present in the decision meetings, producing written recommendations on proposals and suppliers, and reviewing quarterly whether the programme is earning its cost.
A named senior owner for AI decisions on an agreed monthly commitment
Attendance at the meetings where decisions are actually taken
Written recommendations on suppliers and internal proposals
A quarterly review of whether the programme is worth its cost
Escalation to your board in language directors can act on
Handover notes so the role can transfer to a permanent hire
Features
- A standing monthly commitment. Agreed days each month rather than availability on request, because decisions do not wait for a convenient slot.
- Presence in the decision meeting. The role is exercised in the room where choices are made, not through papers reviewed afterwards.
- Written recommendations. Every significant judgement is recorded with its reasoning, so it can be revisited when circumstances change.
- Declared conflicts. Where Duara could bid for work under discussion, we say so and withdraw from that decision.
- Designed to make itself unnecessary. Handover notes accumulate from the start so a permanent hire can take the role without restarting.
Benefits
- Decisions have an owner. Somebody is accountable for AI spending, which is usually the question the board actually wants answered.
- Supplier claims get tested. Proposals are evaluated on substance rather than on price alone or on whoever presents most confidently.
- Pilots end on time. Someone has the standing to stop work that is no longer earning, which saves more than most projects generate.
- You avoid an early executive hire. The judgement arrives now, at a fraction of the cost, and the role transfers cleanly when scale justifies it.
Technologies we use
- Proposal evaluation frameworks. A consistent basis for comparing internal proposals so the ranking survives scrutiny.
- Supplier due diligence. Structured questioning of technical claims, reference checks and pricing model examination.
- Portfolio tracking. A single view of active AI work, its cost and its status, maintained rather than assembled for meetings.
- Decision logging. A written record of what was decided, why, and what would change the decision.
- Board reporting. Summaries written for directors rather than for engineers, covering spend, progress and risk.
This is a leadership engagement rather than a technical one. Any hands-on work is scoped and quoted separately so the two never blur.
How the process works, step by step
Engagements run monthly on a rolling basis, typically two to four days a month, with a review every quarter.
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Step 1
Free fit call
We establish what decisions are pending, who currently makes them, and whether this role is genuinely needed yet.
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Step 2
Portfolio review
We inventory the AI work already underway or proposed and assess where the immediate risk sits.
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Step 3
Engagement agreed
Days per month, which meetings, what the role decides alone and what it recommends, all written down.
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Step 4
Standing involvement
Attendance in the decision meetings, written recommendations, and supplier evaluation as proposals arrive.
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Step 5
Quarterly review
An assessment of whether the programme is earning its cost, presented to whoever holds the budget.
Quality assurance and how we work
The commitments specific to a leadership engagement.
- We withdraw where we could bid. When Duara is a candidate for work under discussion, we say so and step out of that particular decision.
- Recommendations are written. Verbal advice in a meeting is not a record. Every significant judgement is documented with its reasoning.
- We will recommend stopping. Ending a project is a legitimate outcome and one of the main reasons the role earns its cost.
- Handover starts on day one. Notes accumulate from the beginning so a permanent hire inherits context rather than starting cold.
- We will tell you if you do not need this. Where ad-hoc advice would serve you better, we say so on the fit call rather than selling a retainer.
Frequently asked questions about fractional chief AI officer
What is a fractional Chief AI Officer?
A senior practitioner engaged for agreed days each month to own an organisation AI decisions, including which proposals to fund and when to stop work.
How much time is typically needed?
Commonly two to four days a month. Below that, decisions start being made without you in the room, which defeats the purpose.
Is it a conflict if you also build systems?
It can be, and we say so openly. Where we advise on selecting a supplier and Duara is a candidate, we step out of that decision entirely.
How do we know we need this role?
Usually when several AI projects are running, nobody senior owns them, and the board has started asking who approved what.
Is this the same as consulting?
No. Consulting delivers a piece of work and ends. This is a standing accountability with a seat in the decision meetings.
What decisions does the role actually make?
That is agreed in writing at the start: what it decides alone, what it recommends, and what stays with your board.
Can it be a short engagement?
It runs monthly on a rolling basis. Most engagements last long enough to see a full cycle of decisions, which is usually two quarters or more.
What happens when we hire permanently?
The role transfers. Handover notes accumulate from day one specifically so a permanent hire inherits context rather than starting cold.
Will you attend our board meetings?
Where useful, yes, and reporting is written for directors rather than for engineers.
How is this different from an advisory board seat?
An advisory seat offers opinion periodically. This carries named accountability for decisions and appears in the working meetings.
Do you evaluate suppliers we are considering?
Yes, through structured due diligence on claims, references and pricing model. Where we are a candidate, we withdraw.
Will you tell us to stop a project?
Yes, and it is one of the main reasons the role pays for itself. Stopping work that has stopped earning is rarely done without standing.
What if we disagree with a recommendation?
The decision remains yours. Recommendations are written with reasoning so disagreement can be reasoned rather than positional.
Does this suit a small business?
Sometimes, but often ad-hoc advice serves better at small scale. We will say so on the fit call rather than sell a retainer.
Who does the role report to?
Usually the managing director or the board directly, because the role loses its value if it sits under the department it must assess.
What does a fractional arrangement cost?
It depends on days per month and the scope of decisions. The rate is fixed for the engagement period.
Can the role cover more than one company?
Not simultaneously within the same sector. Where a conflict exists we decline rather than manage it.
What do you produce each month?
Written recommendations on live decisions, an updated portfolio view, and escalations where something needs board attention.
How is success measured?
By the quarterly review: whether the programme is earning its cost and whether decisions are being made faster and better.
Can you start with a single decision?
Yes. Some engagements begin as a one-off evaluation and become standing only if the pattern of decisions justifies it.
Glossary of terms
Terms used around this engagement.
- Fractional executive
- A senior practitioner engaged part time on a standing basis, rather than hired full time or used ad hoc.
- Retainer
- An agreed monthly commitment of time, reserved in advance rather than billed as it is requested.
- Due diligence
- Structured investigation of a supplier claims, references and pricing before committing to them.
- Portfolio
- The full set of AI projects underway or proposed, viewed together rather than individually.
- Decision log
- A written record of what was decided, the reasoning, and what would justify revisiting it.
- Conflict of interest
- A situation where the adviser stands to gain from the advice, which must be declared and managed.
Related services in AI Consulting
Talk to us about fractional chief AI officer
Ask us on the fit call how we handle the conflict between advising and building. If the answer is vague, that is a reason to keep looking.
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