Private equity firms are all about growing value fast, and that means marketing has to work just as hard as the numbers. But hiring a full-time Chief Marketing Officer isn’t always the smartest move, especially when you need someone who can step in quickly, bring strategy, and get results without the long-term cost. That’s where a fractional CMO comes in. In this guide, we’ll break down what to look for, why it matters, and how the right fractional CMO can make all the difference for your portfolio companies.
What Is a Fractional CMO?
A fractional CMO is a senior-level marketing expert who works with a company part-time or on a contract basis. They bring the same level of strategic insight and leadership as a full-time Chief Marketing Officer but without the cost or long-term commitment. It’s a flexible solution for companies that need experienced marketing guidance but aren’t ready to hire someone full-time.
For private equity firms, a fractional CMO can step in quickly to lead marketing efforts for portfolio companies, helping to shape brand strategy, boost lead generation, and drive growth. They’re especially useful during key moments like post-acquisition transitions, product launches, or scaling phases when fast, smart marketing decisions are crucial.
NUOPTIMA: High-Impact Fractional CMOs for Founder-Led Growth
NUOPTIMA connects fast-growing, product-led brands with elite fractional CMOs through its C-Suite Connect platform. Each marketing leader in our network is selected through a rigorous evaluation process personally overseen by founder Alexej Pikovsky. This ensures alignment not just on expertise, but on business goals, leadership style, and operational fit.
Our Vetting Process: Built for Results
To join our fractional CMO bench, candidates must demonstrate a history of scaling businesses to 7–9 figures and complete a five-step assessment process:
- Track Record Verification: A deep audit of historical performance, wins, and growth metrics
- Strategic Modelling Exam: A live exercise that tests analytical thinking and decision-making
- Reference Calls: Direct feedback from past CEOs, investors, and executive peers
- Culture Fit Interview: Assessment of leadership approach, values, and team alignment
- Paid Sprint Trial: A short engagement designed to validate execution in real conditions
Only those who demonstrate excellence across every stage are invited to join the CMO roster.
What Sets NUOPTIMA Apart
We focus on providing not just strategic leadership, but results-focused execution tailored to founder-led and investor-backed companies. Our approach includes:
- Strategy Meets Execution: Our CMOs actively lead and implement, not just advise
- Private Equity Focus: Every CMO brings deep experience supporting private equity-backed businesses
- Fast Matching Timeline: Get connected with the right leader within 7 to 10 days
- Founder-Led Oversight: Each placement is personally reviewed by Alexej for optimal fit
Through C-Suite Connect, companies gain a proven marketing operator who can move fast, deliver impact, and scale intelligently, without the delay or overhead of a full-time hire.
Top Fractional CMO for Private Equity
1. Craig A. Oldham
Craig A. Oldham is a seasoned fractional CMO and the founder of Mahdlo Executive Advisors, where he partners with private equity firms and CEOs to accelerate growth across portfolio companies. With over two decades of experience, Craig has held top marketing leadership roles at companies such as Tessco Technologies and Chief Outsiders, and currently serves as interim CMO at Independence Pet Group. His expertise lies in building marketing strategies that drive measurable business outcomes across a range of industries.
Career Highlights & Industry Experience
Craig’s background blends deep B2B and B2C marketing knowledge with a sharp focus on revenue growth. Key areas of his experience include:
- Pet Insurance & DTC Marketing: As Interim CMO at Independence Pet Group, Craig leads strategic marketing initiatives for a growing national pet insurance provider. He focuses on direct-to-consumer growth, customer engagement, and scalable campaign execution in a remote-first environment.
- Fractional Executive Leadership: Through Mahdlo Executive Advisors, Craig partners with CEOs and private equity firms to deliver fast-growth marketing strategies. His model centers around quick wins within four-month engagements, often leading to extended partnerships and long-term transformation across SaaS, finance, and tech-enabled services.
- Telecom & Distribution: At Tessco Technologies, Craig rebranded the company from a distributor to a value-added technology partner. He managed a $30M budget and a 50-person team, launched a digital lead-gen platform, and drove $6M in top-line growth during a market downturn.
- Nonprofit & Digital Innovation: At the American Red Cross, Craig oversaw a $25M digital platform rebuild, consolidating over 700 local chapters into a national web and donation system. His team broke online fundraising records during Hurricane Sandy, bringing in $23M in two hours and pioneering mobile donation via SMS.
- Insurance & B2B Marketing: At Zurich North America, Craig built the company’s first integrated B2B marketing function. His work on value propositions, email marketing, and digital campaigns resulted in double-digit revenue growth and a 20% increase in close rates.
He’s especially known for launching high-impact, short-term engagements that generate quick wins, often within just four months. Over 90% of his clients go on to extend their relationship with Mahdlo, which reflects both results and trust.
Education and Thought Leadership
Craig earned a BA in Telecommunications Management from Indiana University Bloomington and an MBA in Marketing from the University of Illinois Chicago. His thought leadership spans topics like digital transformation, sales-marketing alignment, and customer growth strategy. He’s contributed to eCommerce-focused publications and even holds a patent related to digital insurance quoting, highlighting his innovative mindset.
Professional Approach
At Mahdlo, Craig leads with a results-first mentality, balancing strategy and execution from day one. His approach includes:
- Conducting fast and effective business assessments
- Aligning sales and marketing teams around shared KPIs and revenue targets
- Finding hidden opportunities in underperforming markets or customer segments
- Enhancing customer experience and lifetime value through digital and brand initiatives
Craig’s style is fast-moving, collaborative, and deeply ROI-focused. For private equity firms seeking a marketing leader who can deliver impact without the overhead of a full-time hire, Craig brings the strategic depth and executional speed to move portfolio companies forward.
Contacts
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/craigoldham
- Location: Washington DC-Baltimore Area
2. Jean Thibaudeau
Jean Thibaudeau is a fractional CMO and digital marketing consultant with more than 15 years of experience helping small to mid-sized businesses accelerate growth without relying on big-budget agencies. As the founder of HaCOEUR, Jean works hands-on with companies across Canada and beyond, using startup-inspired tactics, collaborative strategy, and data-driven execution to deliver results.
Career Highlights & Industry Experience
- Fractional Marketing Leadership: As President of HaCOEUR, Jean provides part-time CMO services for companies that need strategic marketing direction but aren’t ready for a full-time hire. He acts as a hands-on architect, helping entrepreneurs and sales leaders focus on what matters while building scalable marketing foundations. His model enables lean teams to grow quickly and confidently.
- Agency Collaboration: While maintaining his own consultancy, Jean also served as a strategic consultant with Parkour3, a HubSpot-certified digital agency. There, he provided marketing strategy and digital support to clients needing more firepower during high-growth periods.
- E-commerce & Tech Growth: At FixMeStick, a direct-to-consumer technology company, Jean led digital customer acquisition and retention strategies. His efforts directly contributed to a 50% increase in online sales during his tenure.
- Finance & Cooperative Banking: During his time with Desjardins, Jean managed large-scale digital marketing projects, aligning business goals with multichannel campaigns. He developed the organization’s SEO strategy, managed major online campaigns, and introduced startup-inspired co-creation and growth tactics to traditional financial teams.
- Wealth Management & Trading: As a senior marketer at Disnat, Jean used multichannel strategies, SEO, PPC, email, social media, and CRM, to drive both client acquisition and retention. His campaigns increased traffic by over 40% and helped expand the brand’s digital reach.
Education and Thought Leadership
Jean holds an MBA in Management from Concordia University and a Master’s in Marketing from the University of Lille 1. His professional development includes HubSpot certifications in Sales Enablement and Frictionless Sales, reflecting his commitment to performance-based marketing systems.
He’s also the founder of Collecte.ca, a side project aimed at solving everyday problems with smart digital tools. Jean regularly shares insights on LinkedIn, where he emphasizes simplicity, client collaboration, and sustainable growth over flashy campaigns.
Professional Approach
Jean brings the mindset of a startup founder to every engagement: agile, focused, and results-oriented. His approach includes:
- Strategic planning and hands-on execution from day one
- Collaboration-first mindset, working closely with CEOs, founders, and sales teams
- Creative facilitation, helping large or mixed teams generate and prioritize ideas
- Data-informed decision making, with a bias toward testing and iteration
- Lean, scalable systems designed to grow with the business
Jean’s model is ideal for companies that need more than a freelancer but aren’t ready for an agency or a full-time CMO. He steps in as a trusted partner, builds the right marketing foundation, and helps businesses transition from chaos to clarity, while staying in control of their voice, budget, and goals.
Contacts
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jeanthibaudeau
- Location: Saint-Bruno, Quebec, Canada
3. Lewis Goldstein
Lewis Goldstein is a seasoned fractional CMO and marketing advisor who helps 7- and 8-figure businesses unlock consistent growth using a proven, repeatable framework. As the founder of Blue Wind Marketing, Lewis partners with CEOs who want marketing clarity, strategic leadership, and real business results, without adding unnecessary complexity or overhead.
Career Highlights & Industry Experience
- Marketing Strategy & Execution for Growth-Stage Businesses: As founder of Blue Wind Marketing, Lewis helps companies scale their revenue by transforming marketing from a scattered set of tactics into a unified, performance-driven engine. His clients span a wide range of industries, including tech, professional services, healthcare, and creative sectors.
- Fractional CMO Services: Lewis works directly with founders and leadership teams to design and lead quarterly marketing sprints built around clarity, accountability, and momentum. His proprietary five-part marketing framework covers assets, team, customer journey, KPIs, and campaigns, ensuring alignment between growth goals and daily execution.
- Team Leadership & Strategic Oversight: From brand positioning to campaign oversight, Lewis brings deep leadership experience in aligning internal marketing talent with measurable outcomes. He frequently supports clients in hiring or guiding in-house teams, ensuring that every role is filled with the right person in the right seat.
- Brand Strategy & Pipeline Generation: Lewis has helped clients redesign their brands and messaging, overhaul digital presence, and launch high-impact campaigns that build mindshare and long-term demand. His focus is not just on immediate returns but on building category leaders who are remembered before they’re needed.
Education and Thought Leadership
Lewis earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, a foundation that supports his ability to connect consumer behavior with strategic marketing insight.
A prolific thought leader on LinkedIn, Lewis shares high-quality marketing breakdowns, from the turnaround strategy of Chipotle to lessons from Warren Buffett and Fender, often earning thousands of reactions and deep engagement from business leaders.
He regularly writes about how to:
- Bridge the gap between brand and performance marketing
- Build mental real estate before customers are ready to buy
- Shift from reactive tactics to strategic momentum
- Turn marketing from a cost center into a key lever for growth
Professional Approach
Lewis offers a structured yet flexible engagement style that brings both strategic clarity and operational momentum. His approach includes:
- Quarterly planning in six two-week sprints to stay agile and focused
- Team alignment through shared KPIs and role clarity
- Marketing architecture that makes brand and performance work together
- Customer journey mapping to align the business with real buyer behavior
- Campaign prioritization based on ROI and long-term brand equity
Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed, underwhelmed by results, or just unclear on next steps, Lewis brings the strategic leadership to simplify complexity and the focus to scale with intention. His clients value him not only for his results but for his dependability, collaboration, and ability to elevate internal teams while unlocking growth.
Contacts
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lewisgoldstein
- Location: United States
4. Jadis Tillery FCIM
Jadis Tillery is an award-winning fractional CMO and strategic advisor with more than 25 years of cross-sector expertise. She empowers private equity, venture capital, and founder-led businesses to achieve sustainable marketing transformation, especially at high-growth inflection points from Series A through D. As founder of ikwe, Jadis is known for aligning marketing with investment goals, elevating brand performance, and unlocking scalable growth across diverse verticals.
Career Highlights & Industry Experience
- Private Equity & Venture-Backed Growth: Jadis has supported over 100 businesses in navigating investment stages and scaling post-deal. She advises PE and VC firms on marketing due diligence and leads post-acquisition integration, bringing a practical and results-driven mindset to investor-backed growth. Notably, she’s worked with Oakley Capital, Octopus Ventures, and Endava across their portfolio.
- Tech, Media & SaaS Innovation: Jadis brings deep experience in B2B SaaS, EdTech, HealthTech, and SpaceTech, helping tech-first companies bridge marketing and product strategy. At Endava and Intuitus, she led due diligence and strategic marketing assessments for digital-native and disruptive brands.
- Consumer & Lifestyle Leadership: From launching branded content innovations in UK retail to orchestrating experiential events for 65,000 attendees in London, Jadis has led large-scale campaigns that blend digital, media, and experience. Her work spans luxury retail, skincare, health and wellness, and premium FMCG.
Education and Thought Leadership
Jadis holds an MA with Distinction in Digital Culture and Technology from King’s College London, where her thesis on digital natives and social media earned top marks. She also earned a BA (Hons) in Communication and Culture from the University of Calgary, graduating with Dean’s List honors and multiple academic awards.
She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (FCIM) and a frequent contributor to thought leadership around marketing strategy, digital transformation, and investor-focused growth. Her newsletter Think Like a CMO reaches a global audience of C-Suite and investment leaders.
Professional Approach
Jadis operates with precision, clarity, and agility. She works across short-term projects, fractional roles, and advisory mandates, offering:
- Strategic marketing due diligence pre-investment
- Post-deal transformation and integration support
- Fractional and interim CMO services to build growth engines
- Sector-specific expertise in both B2C and B2B models
- Hands-on leadership that balances innovation with accountability
She thrives in dynamic, complex environments and is equally adept at working with early-stage disruptors or scaling global brands. Whether building go-to-market strategies, reshaping brand identity, or coaching founders through scale, Jadis brings insight, empathy, and executive-level impact to every engagement.
Contacts
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jadistillery
- Location: London, England, United Kingdom
5. Alan Gonsenhauser
Alan Gonsenhauser is a highly respected fractional and interim CMO, executive coach, and marketing transformation expert. As founder of Demand Revenue, LLC, Alan has become the trusted advisor for CMOs and PE-backed companies navigating critical inflection points. With 11 CMO roles and a track record across over 150 CMO coaching engagements, he brings deep operational and strategic expertise across SaaS, enterprise software, healthcare IT, and B2B technology.
Career Highlights & Industry Experience
- Private Equity Portfolio Growth: Alan is the CMO private equity firms consistently turn to when they need to fix or build marketing infrastructure. He’s served as interim or fractional CMO across 10 PE-backed portfolio companies, including engagements with Clearlake Capital, KKR, Thoma Bravo, Insight Partners, and Blackstone. He has driven performance at brands like FinThrive, Quest Software, Precisely, and Brightly (Siemens).
- CMO Coaching & Mentorship: With more than 150 senior marketers coached, Alan has a unique grasp of what separates top-performing CMOs from the rest. He offers strategic advisory and hands-on mentorship to CMOs at leading tech firms like Koerber Supply Chain Software, Tungsten Automation, and Paysafe.
- Cross-Functional Business Leadership: Before launching Demand Revenue, Alan led P&Ls and cross-functional initiatives across marketing, sales, operations, and finance. At Forrester and SiriusDecisions, he trained and advised hundreds of marketing leaders using world-class operational models.
Education and Thought Leadership
Alan holds both a BS and an MS in Finance and Investment Management from Drexel University, graduating with honors and serving as a graduate teaching assistant in finance and statistics.
He is a published expert and regular contributor to strategic marketing thought leadership, including articles on transforming marketing in sales-led organizations, using NPS 3.0 for real-time customer experience improvement, and building audience-centric go-to-market strategies. Alan also publishes “The Private Equity CMO Advisor”, a newsletter for C-Suite leaders focused on scaling portfolio company marketing and driving investor outcomes.
Professional Approach
Alan brings calm confidence, strategic clarity, and proven systems to high-pressure growth environments. His approach is based on removing friction, realigning departments, and turning marketing into a predictable, ROI-generating machine.
He helps PE-backed companies:
- Align marketing, sales, product, and finance around shared outcomes
- Replace “random acts of marketing” with data-backed plans
- Implement NPS 3.0, customer journey insights, and scalable marketing infrastructure
- Coach CMOs to become indispensable business partners
With Demand Revenue, Alan helps portfolio companies unlock sustainable, customer-led growth, backed by strategy, operational discipline, and boardroom-level results.
Contacts
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/alangonsenhauser
- Location: Greater Boston
6. Christine Song
Christine Song is a fractional CMO, strategic marketing consultant, and global brand leader with experience across Fortune 500 companies and PE-backed startups. Known for combining classic marketing discipline with an entrepreneurial mindset, she builds brands that resonate, scale, and drive sustainable growth. Her work spans luxury, mass, and direct-to-consumer channels, helping founder-led and investor-backed businesses move from complexity to clarity.
Career Highlights & Industry Experience
- Beauty & Skincare Innovation: As VP at Keys Soulcare (part of e.l.f. Beauty), Christine oversees strategy and execution across brand, DTC, and integrated marketing. She has launched soulful, purpose-led campaigns with cultural resonance, working closely with Alicia Keys and her team. Previously, she helped launch Ourself, a biotech-driven skincare startup, leading brand creation, product, paid media, and influencer strategy to generate $1M revenue in the first two months.
- PE-Backed Growth Strategy: Christine supports PE firms and startup founders through fractional CMO services, strategic advisory, and brand transformation. Her consulting clients include DevaCurl (Henkel), Amway, skyn ICELAND, and early-stage ventures in stealth mode. She’s known for:
- Digital-First Brand Building: At e.l.f. Cosmetics (interim VP, Brand), Christine built and scaled TikTok-first campaigns including #elfmagicact and “Eyes. Lips. Famous.”, generating over 3B views and contributing to +32% sales growth. Under her leadership, e.l.f. became the #2 preferred beauty brand among teens during a down market.
- Lifestyle & Consumer Goods: Christine’s broader experience includes working across luxury and mass categories, from brand equity work to cross-channel performance marketing. Her efforts consistently align brand values with measurable business results.
Education and Thought Leadership
Christine holds a BA in History of Art from Cornell University, where she developed a foundation in aesthetics, storytelling, and strategic thinking.
She is a founding member of WE ARE THE BOARD, a collective of elite consultants and executives solving complex brand and business challenges. Christine regularly speaks on digital brand strategy, product storytelling, and inclusive marketing that drives loyalty and community growth.
Professional Approach
Christine leads with empathy, curiosity, and an unwavering drive to challenge the status quo. Her approach combines:
- Agile go-to-market strategies for early-stage and scaling brands
- Full-funnel digital transformation, from DTC to retail
- A focus on team empowerment, diverse talent, and high-integrity leadership
Whether launching a new brand, fixing a struggling DTC engine, or repositioning a legacy business for modern growth, Christine brings both strategic insight and hands-on execution. Her mix of big-brand polish and startup scrappiness makes her a trusted partner for investors, founders, and marketing teams ready for their next phase.
Contacts
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/christinehsong
- Location: New York, New York, United States
7. Kizaan Knapp
Kizaan Knapp is a fractional CMO and B2B SaaS marketing leader with a strong track record of scaling enterprise marketing functions for private equity-backed companies. As founder of Strategic SaaS Marketing, Kizaan partners with executive teams to simplify complexity, optimize go-to-market strategies, and build data-informed engines for sustainable demand generation. She brings a rare blend of strategic vision and tactical expertise, infusing brand authority with revenue performance.
Career Highlights & Industry Experience
- Private Equity-Backed SaaS Growth: Kizaan leads fractional CMO engagements for multiple PE-owned B2B SaaS firms, including companies backed by Battery Ventures and Bow River Capital. She has helped brands reposition in crowded markets, launch ABM programs, and implement Product-Led Growth models alongside enterprise sales teams. Her GTM strategies are designed to scale and rooted in measurable impact.
- Enterprise Software & MarTech Innovation: At Xyleme, Kizaan served as VP of Marketing through its acquisition by MadCap Software. She built the modern marketing function from scratch, delivering a 5x return on marketing spend, developing a performance-focused content strategy, and implementing a full-funnel marketing automation infrastructure using HubSpot.
- AI, Analytics & Funnel Optimization: Across her roles, Kizaan has implemented AI tools to personalize engagement, built detailed MQL scoring frameworks, and pioneered funnel attribution modeling to guide smarter decisions. She thrives at the intersection of data, messaging, and technology, enabling high-performing marketing teams to act with clarity and speed.
Education and Thought Leadership
Kizaan earned a BA in Design and Visual Communications from George Mason University, a foundation that shapes her user-centric, creative approach to marketing. She is a frequent contributor to B2B SaaS marketing conversations online, where she shares her perspective on integrating AI into go-to-market operations, developing hybrid Product-Led and Sales-Led growth models, and driving demand generation across long, complex buyer journeys.
Kizaan also speaks about elevating marketing’s role at the executive level, offering grounded advice drawn from her time leading both early-stage and mature SaaS teams. Known for her hands-on leadership and data-first mindset, she regularly shares insights on LinkedIn about building agile marketing teams and steering clear of the common pitfalls that stall growth in scaleup environments.
Professional Approach
Kizaan is the kind of CMO who can zoom out to reimagine strategy, then roll up her sleeves to execute it. Her approach is grounded, collaborative, and results-focused. She works closely with PE sponsors, CROs, and internal teams to create:
- Clear, integrated GTM plans that blend PLG and enterprise selling
- Brand positioning frameworks built for real-world buyer behavior
- High-performing marketing teams that operate with agility and ownership
- Funnel optimization using clean data, smart attribution, and real-time feedback loops
- Customer-first growth models that balance acquisition and retention
Whether advising founders, leading transformation inside a portfolio company, or stepping in as interim CMO, Kizaan consistently brings structure, momentum, and marketing clarity to growth-stage businesses.
Contacts
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kizaan-knapp
- Location: Denver, Colorado, United States
8. Ross Kernez
Ross Kernez is an author, mentor, and fractional CMO who has spent 15 years turning digital marketing into a catalyst for sustainable growth. From guiding VC- and PE-backed startups through the 0-to-1 phase to modernizing demand engines inside global enterprises, Ross pairs deep technical SEO expertise with pragmatic, revenue-oriented thinking. As founder of the 3,000-member SEO Meetup community and organizer of a leading NYC SEO conference, he’s built a reputation for translating cutting-edge tactics into clear competitive advantage.
Career Highlights & Industry Experience
- Private-Equity & Venture-Backed Acceleration: Advises and coaches portfolio companies on search visibility, growth marketing, and data-driven experimentation, helping founders de-risk acquisition funnels and unlock profitable channels early.
- 0-to-1 Startup Builder: Has launched multiple stealth-mode ventures, architecting full-stack marketing operations, analytics infrastructure, and GTM playbooks that scale with funding rounds.
- Enterprise SEO & Digital Transformation: Led high-impact engagements for large B2B and consumer brands, optimizing processes, implementing GEO/AI search strategies, and delivering measurable uplifts in organic traffic and pipeline.
- Community & Ecosystem Leadership: Founded SEO Meetup and oversees an annual conference that convenes global experts, fostering collaboration and advancing best practices across the industry.
- Mentorship & Advisory Roles: Serves as a mentor for Techstars and Starta VC, and advises early-stage SaaS and health-tech companies on GTM strategy, product–market fit, and growth levers.
Education and Thought Leadership
Ross holds a B.S. in Computer Science from New Jersey Institute of Technology and is pursuing an Executive MBA at Rutgers University. His technical foundation informs a data-centric approach to marketing, while his ongoing studies sharpen his strategic and financial lens. Through Forbes contributions, conference keynotes, and active LinkedIn commentary, Ross explores topics such as Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), AI-driven content workflows, and the future of search, equipping founders and marketers alike with actionable insight.
Professional Approach
- Aligns marketing with core business objectives, prioritizing initiatives that directly influence revenue, retention, and valuation.
- Diagnoses growth bottlenecks quickly, then designs lean, test-driven roadmaps that show traction within weeks, not quarters.
- Builds self-sufficient teams by pairing modern marketing tech stacks with up-skilling programs and process rigor.
- Champions transparency and clean data workflows, ensuring every tactic is measurable and every decision evidence-based.
- Collaborates seamlessly with C-suite, investors, and cross-functional leaders to translate technical detail into board-level clarity and momentum.
Whether stepping in as a fractional CMO, advising during diligence, or coaching an in-house team, Ross Kernez brings a rare blend of technical depth, entrepreneurial grit, and growth discipline to any organization ready for its next stage of expansion.
Contacts
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ross-kernez
- Location: Edgewater, New Jersey, United States
Why a Fractional CMO Is a Smart Move for Private Equity
Private equity moves fast, and portfolio companies are expected to grow even faster. But many struggle with underpowered marketing, either because the team lacks senior leadership or the full-time CMO hire is still months away. A fractional CMO brings high-level strategy and execution experience without the long-term commitment. Here’s why they matter in the PE world:
1. They Create a Growth Strategy That Ties to the Exit
A fractional CMO doesn’t just “do marketing”, they build a real go-to-market strategy with exit value in mind. They align growth goals with how the business will be valued in 3-5 years. That might mean shifting positioning, expanding into new channels, or tightening up CAC and LTV. The strategy is clear, focused, and built for where the business is going, not just where it is today.
2. They Drive Results in 90 Days, Not 9 Months
Speed is everything in private equity. Fractional CMOs know how to deliver impact quickly. Whether it’s increasing lead flow, improving conversion, or identifying a broken funnel, they bring playbooks that are already proven and ready to execute. Their focus is on showing traction fast and setting a strong foundation for growth.
3. They Bring Calm and Clarity to Messy Marketing
Most portcos inherit messy, inconsistent marketing efforts. The fractional CMO steps in and brings structure. They cut through noise, simplify tools and messaging, and show the team what actually matters. This gives leadership confidence and helps teams work with more focus and less guesswork.
4. They Align Sales and Marketing Around Shared Metrics
Fractional CMOs don’t operate in a vacuum. They bring sales and marketing together under shared KPIs, so everyone is aligned on how pipeline gets built and closed. That’s especially valuable in B2B companies where siloed teams can slow down growth.
5. They Help Prepare for the Next Stage: Funding or Exit
Fractional CMOs know how to work backward from a target multiple or due diligence checklist. They help polish brand perception, tighten marketing operations, and prove the scalability of customer acquisition. All of that matters when the next buyer or investor takes a closer look.
How to Choose the Right Fractional CMO for Private Equity
Not every CMO is built for the pace and pressure of private equity. You need someone who understands the space, works well with investment teams, and can create change fast. Here’s how to find the right one:
Look for Private Equity or VC Experience
They should understand the dynamics of private equity: from value creation plans and reporting cycles to exit strategies and compressed timelines. Bonus points if they’ve worked inside portfolio companies before and know how to manage founder transitions or leadership gaps.
Make Sure They’ve Scaled in Your Industry
If your portco is in SaaS, healthcare, or DTC, your fractional CMO should know that playbook. They should have clear examples of growing similar businesses, repositioning brands, and building revenue-driving marketing systems in those sectors.
Choose Someone Who Balances Strategy and Execution
Some CMOs only talk high-level. Others are stuck in the weeds. You want someone who can zoom out to see the big picture, and then roll up their sleeves to help your team execute. They should be comfortable switching between boardroom conversations and funnel audits.
Ask for a 90-Day Plan
The best fractional CMOs will already have a system. Ask them what their first 30, 60, and 90 days look like. They should be able to walk you through how they diagnose, prioritize, and start delivering impact, without needing months of onboarding.
Make Sure They Fit with the Leadership Team
This is someone who will be collaborating with your CEO, CRO, and possibly the board. Personality fit and communication style matter. You need someone who adds value fast, earns trust, and makes your leadership team better, not just your marketing team.
Choose Metrics-First Thinkers
Finally, great fractional CMOs speak the language of the CFO. They track the right numbers, ask smart questions, and focus on measurable results. They won’t just say “we got more clicks”, they’ll show how those clicks turned into pipeline, revenue, and growth.
Conclusion
In private equity, time is money, and growth is the name of the game. A fractional CMO gives you the rare opportunity to inject experienced marketing leadership into a portfolio company without the full-time commitment or long recruitment process.
Whether you’re navigating a post-acquisition transition, preparing for the next funding round, or simply trying to scale smarter, the right fractional CMO brings structure, momentum, and real business outcomes. They align marketing with exit strategy, fix what’s broken, and elevate what’s working.
The key? Choose someone who’s done it before, in your space, at your pace, and with results that speak for themselves.
FAQ
Most engagements start with a 3 to 6-month scope, with many extending to 12+ months based on impact. Some also offer project-based work or advisory retainers.
Rates vary by experience and scope, but you can expect $8K to $25K per month, depending on whether they’re working part-time, running full strategic initiatives, or operating as interim CMO.
Yes. Most fractional CMOs embed themselves into existing teams, mentoring junior talent, aligning departments, and supporting cross-functional collaboration with sales, product, and finance.
Absolutely. Many fractional CMOs help shape investor decks, due diligence materials, and GTM narratives that support valuation, funding rounds, or strategic exits.
Top-tier platforms or direct referrals can usually place a fractional CMO in 7–14 days. Fast onboarding is a core benefit of this model, especially compared to hiring full-time.
A fractional CMO complements your existing structure. They bring leadership, clarity, and focus to a team that may be strong but lacks senior guidance or a unified strategy.