A fractional CIO, sourced and governed by Lightbridge.
An accountable IT executive, sourced and vetted by Lightbridge, fills the CIO seat on an ongoing, part-time basis, owning the platform portfolio, infrastructure, and the vendors delivering each system. Lightbridge governs the placement for the length of the engagement, matching the client's requirements before naming a candidate.
What a Lightbridge fractional CIO owns
Platform portfolio oversight
Ownership of the ERP, cloud, and business-application portfolio as a single accountable executive.
Vendor and implementation-partner governance
Holds every platform vendor and implementation partner to architecture, timeline, and outcome.
IT infrastructure and operations
Accountability for the infrastructure and operations the platform portfolio runs on.
Budget and cost governance
Ownership of the IT budget across every platform and vendor relationship it touches.
Risk and business continuity
Business-continuity and risk posture across the platform estate, reported to leadership and the board.
Data governance
Governance over how data moves and is controlled across the platform portfolio.
A fractional CIO alongside Lightbridge platform practices
A fractional CIO owns the platform estate and its vendors as the accountable executive. That estate frequently draws directly on Lightbridge ERP selection and program management and Lightbridge Cloud platform practices for the underlying selection and delivery work, coordinated from inside the seat rather than handed off.
Sourced and vetted fresh for each engagement
No standing pool of IT executives sits idle awaiting placement. Lightbridge sources each candidate against that engagement's mandate, platform landscape, and time commitment, drawing on relationships built through its IT-leadership network. As with ERP and Cloud platform selection, no referral arrangement or placement incentive shapes who gets recommended, only fit against the mandate.
Frequently asked questions
What does a fractional CIO do?
As the accountable executive for the ERP and cloud platform portfolio, infrastructure, IT budget, and every vendor delivering a system, a fractional CIO works part-time and on an ongoing basis rather than a one-off project. Lightbridge matches the candidate to the platform landscape and reporting line the client defines, then stays on to govern the placement once it starts.
How is a fractional CIO different from a fractional CTO?
A fractional CTO typically owns product and engineering direction. A fractional CIO typically owns the internal IT estate: ERP, cloud infrastructure, business systems, and the vendors running them, along with the budget and risk posture behind that estate. Some clients need both; Lightbridge scopes each mandate separately rather than assuming one role covers both.
Who is placed as a fractional CIO?
There is no single CIO on a roster who gets sent to every client. Each placement is matched against the platform landscape, vendor relationships, and budget of that specific engagement, which keeps the process consistent even though the person in the seat changes.
Does a fractional CIO oversee ERP and cloud vendors directly?
Yes. Vendor governance across the platform portfolio, whether ERP, cloud infrastructure, or business applications, sits inside the seat. Lightbridge program governance carries over from the placement itself: the fractional CIO holds vendors to architecture and outcomes, the same standard Lightbridge already applies on its own ERP and Cloud engagements.
When should a company engage a fractional CIO?
The trigger is usually scale: the platform portfolio, vendor count, or IT budget has outgrown informal oversight, or a major ERP or cloud migration decision is coming and needs an accountable owner. It also covers the gap during a permanent CIO search. Either way, Lightbridge names the mandate up front, and says plainly if a full-time hire would actually serve the client better.
Scope a fractional CIO placement.
Tell Lightbridge about the platform landscape and how much time the seat needs. Requirements come first, the candidate search follows.