‘From the boardroom to the breakroom’: The rise of fractional execs

This article was first published by WorkLife sibling Digiday

What do streaming services, investment firms, content agencies, and a few ad tech start-ups have in common? They’re all turning to fractional execs. It turns out these part-time pros aren’t just for CMOs anymore — they’re taking over all corners of the corporate world, from the boardroom to the breakroom.

In case this movement has flown under your radar, fractional roles are essentially high-level executive positions filled on a part-time or contract basis, offering companies flexibility and expertise without the long-term commitment.

What started as a solution for companies needing a CMO – because, let’s face it, not every exec slot screams “full-time” – has now spread to every corner of the organization.

The evidence is everywhere: fractional CFOs, CIOs, even commercial leads are becoming the norm, across industries from streaming services to investment firms. But perhaps the clearest indicator of this shift is the booming industry that has rapidly grown around fractional roles since the pandemic – a trend that crept up slowly, then took off all at once.

As demand increased, so did formalization. Today, a whole cottage industry surrounds these roles: agencies, consultancies, and more, all ready to help CEOs make shrewder, more precise hiring decisions. It’s a world apart from the days when these hires were based on a CEO knowing someone who knew someone with a halfway decent marketing resume.

Take it from Kaveh Vahdat, founder and president of RiseOpp, a company specializing in fractional CMO services. He’s on the front lines of the fractional hiring boom and has witnessed firsthand how searches have trickled down from chief marketers to roles like marketing director and more. 

“In many cases, especially for companies with less than nine-figure annual revenues, fractional leaders are sufficient for what they need,” said Vahdat.

He’s talking about managing risk. After all, no matter how stellar someone looks on paper, the true test of their worth is how they perform on the job – and that kind of trust only builds over time. And while this risk is particularly acute for smaller businesses and start-ups, it’s not something that even larger companies can afford to ignore.

“People are realizing they need that senior level expertise but they aren’t ready for a host of reasons to jump into it fully,” said Chris Ross, a Gartner analyst working with CMOs. “They’re doing this at the same time as the on-demand talent marketplace has evolved. 

Look at Tubi, for instance. It recently brought on ad tech veteran Paul Gubbins as vp of strategic partnerships – a fractional gig where the ex-Publica exec will help the ad-supported streaming service establish its presence in the U.K.

What’s the alternative? A costly roll of the dice on full-timers and all the overhead, when you’re just testing the waters in a tough new market. No, companies like Tubi see the smarter play: save cash, bring in a pro who can hit the ground running, and skip the headache of a permanent hire.

Finding this kind of peace of mind has always been tricky. But it’s arguably even harder now, between the broader shift in workforce dynamics and the proliferation of AI. Think about it: the on-demand economy, led by services like Uber and Airbnb, has already reshaped how we view work. That mindset is now bleeding into the corporate world. 

Fractional roles, for better or worse, are the natural evolution of this shift.

Just ask Christina Garnett, who spent a year leading customer advocacy at HubSpot before transitioning into a fractional chief customer officer role at the start of the year. She’s part of the growing wave of professionals embracing the flexibility and focus that fractional work offers.

“As a working mom, fractional leadership positions offer me the opportunity to drive impact for multiple companies while not having the same constraints that a full-time position would entail,” said Garnett, who’s been the chief customer officer for for video content production house neuemotion since January. “I’m able to work with incredibly brilliant teams, while still being able to manage my clients and time in a way that gives me the chance to always go to my son’s football games or my daughter’s softball games.”

In other words, she doesn’t have to choose between her personal life and her career.

Tim Peters feels the same. The reason he’s clocked 25 years juggling both full-time and fractional senior marketing roles is because the work can be “exhilarating”. He gets to dive into a wide range of new and interesting projects, and from the outside, it often looks glamorous.

Emphasis on the “looks”. Even Peters would admit that fractional roles can feel like spinning plates while riding a unicycle at times. Lucrative? Perhaps. Stress-free? Not exactly.

“On average, the rate for a fractional CMO can be 1.5 to 2 times higher than the equivalent full-time salary, reflecting the need for quick, high-impact results,” said Peters.

But it’s hard to enjoy that money when you’ve had to say goodbye to cozy benefits packages and the comforting hum of job security. In a booming economy, you’re a highly sought-after mercenary; in a downturn, you’re just one invoice away from joining the gig-economy grind. So it’s exhilarating, yes – but only for those execs who don’t mind occasionally holding their breath between contracts.

And, as it turns out, there are quite a lot of them these days. 

At least that’s how it feels to both Garnett and Peters, who have noticed more full-time execs pivoting to fractional roles. RiseOpp’s Vahdat agrees, pointing to a noticeable uptick in searches for fractional positions he tracks. Then there’s Jeevan Balani, a fractional marketer, who’s observed a growing trend of professionals opting for fractional gigs while they wait for the “right” full-time role to come along.

The data backs this up:

Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows a significant rise in temporary business management roles, increasing by 18% from 2021 to 2022 and by 57% since 2020. This surge reflects the growing demand for flexible leadership models, especially in small and medium-sized enterprises. Catalant’s 2024 Mid-Year Trends Report highlights that finance roles – especially CFOs – now account for over 30% of all fractional positions.

Speaking of fractional CFOs, Eric W. Neumann, a fractional CFO at New Life CFO Services, is seeing this shift play out in real time. His firm provides financial and accounting leadership to help businesses grow and thrive, and Neumann notes that the demand for fractional financial expertise has surged as companies seek more agile leadership to guide them through uncertain markets. While convincing businesses of the value of fractional roles still takes some effort, Neumann adds, “The willingness is there now – something we didn’t have before”. 

What also wasn’t there before? The complications. With more demand comes more competition — and with it, new challenges.

One major issue is spam. As the pool of fractional talent expands, it’s becoming harder to sift through candidates and separate true experts from those just jumping on the bandwagon. Worse, there’s little standardization — what one company calls a fractional CMO might be another’s fractional sales director. And even when they successfully hire someone, the challenges don’t end there. Internally, many companies aren’t set up to accommodate these roles, leaving fractional execs with a steep uphill battle as they integrate.

These issues have come into sharper focus for Adam Brotman, CEO of AI lab Forum3. As he helps businesses find fractional AI officers to adapt to the technology, he’s seeing firsthand the challenges companies face in integrating these roles effectively.

“It’s really hard to find people who are able to affect transformational consulting capabilities but are also smart enough to be able to personalize the advice they’re giving the company they’re working for,” said Brotman. “Whether its a chief AI officer or another fractional role entirely, these execs are essentially facilitating work; they’re not just bolting on a strategy onto the organization, particularly AI.