A Chief AI Officer for your board — {without the full-time hire}.
Alex Goryachev built Cisco's innovation centers across 14 countries and is the WSJ bestselling author of Fearless Innovation, advising Google and Fortune 100 leaders on AI strategy today. As your fractional Chief AI Officer, he takes a named, accountable role on a fixed monthly cadence — setting and governing your AI direction while your team executes.
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When you need a Chief AI Officer, but not a full-time one
Your board is asking for an AI plan, and there is no single owner accountable for it. Someone needs to be able to answer for the strategy in the room.
Pilots are multiplying across departments with no portfolio logic connecting them — no one is deciding which to scale and which to kill.
You are 12 or more months away from being able to justify a $400,000–$600,000 full-time Chief AI Officer hire, but the AI decisions cannot wait that long.
You need a credible, named executive in front of your board and regulators now — not a consultant's deck with no one standing behind it afterward.
If you already have a strong internal AI leader, you likely need advisory, not a fractional CAIO.
Explore Strategic AI Advisory instead →What a fractional Chief AI Officer actually does
What Alex owns
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What Alex doesn't do
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The goal is to make the role unnecessary. Typical arc is 6–12 months to a defined AI operating model and a permanent owner.
Engagement terms
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The track record behind the role
Operating record
Alex Goryachev served as Managing Director of Innovation Strategy and Head of Global Innovation Centers at Cisco for nearly two decades — building innovation centers across 14 countries on 5 continents and running a $1.1B innovation portfolio that generated $400M+ in revenue. He also held enterprise leadership at Dell prior to Cisco.
This is the job Alex did full-time inside Cisco. The fractional model gives you the same function at a fraction of the cost.
Recent advisory engagements
Alex advises the California State University system — 22 campuses, 460,000 students — on AI readiness and governance behind its $17M ChatGPT Edu deployment. He has also assessed AI readiness and advised on innovation strategy for life-sciences leaders including Pfizer and Amgen.
These are advisory engagements, not embedded roles — the same diagnostic and roadmapping work that forms the first 90 days of a fractional CAIO engagement.
Authority markers
WSJ bestselling author of Fearless Innovation. Featured in Inc., Fast Company, and Forbes. 310+ keynotes delivered on 6 continents. 98% of audiences would recommend Alex (582+ verified reviews).
Investment
Fractional CAIO engagements start at $15,000 per month, with a three-month minimum. Most run $15,000–$30,000 per month depending on cadence and board involvement — roughly 25–40% of the loaded cost of a full-time Chief AI Officer, whose salary, equity, and benefits typically total $400,000–$600,000+ per year.
Fractional CAIO vs. AI consultants vs. a full-time hire
Where fractional CAIO support fits
The model works anywhere a board or leadership team needs accountable AI direction without a full-time hire — most often in these settings:
Frequently asked questions
What does a fractional Chief AI Officer do?
A fractional Chief AI Officer is a senior executive who takes on AI strategy, governance, and portfolio accountability for an organization on a part-time basis — typically two to four days a month — instead of as a full-time hire. Alex fills this role personally, bringing the same operating experience he built running Cisco's global innovation portfolio, on a fixed monthly cadence with named accountability to your board.
How much does a fractional Chief AI Officer cost?
Fractional CAIO engagements with Alex start at $15,000 per month, with a three-month minimum, typically running $15,000–$30,000 per month depending on cadence and board involvement. That is roughly 25–40% of the loaded cost of a full-time Chief AI Officer, whose salary, equity, and benefits usually total $400,000–$600,000 or more per year.
Should we hire a fractional CAIO or a full-time Chief AI Officer?
Hire full-time if AI is core to your product, you need daily operational management of an AI team, or headcount is already approved. A fractional CAIO fits when the open question is direction and governance rather than execution volume — setting the strategy and portfolio logic your team then executes.
How is a fractional Chief AI Officer different from an AI consultant?
A fractional CAIO carries standing accountability and board access on an ongoing cadence, not a scoped project deliverable. Alex does this work personally — not a team of analysts — and stays accountable for the direction between engagements, the way an executive does and a consultant does not.
How long does a fractional CAIO engagement last?
Engagements run a minimum of three months, then month-to-month with 30 days' notice. Most last 6–12 months and are explicitly designed to end in a defined AI operating model and a permanent owner — not an indefinite retainer.
Start the conversation
A 30-minute call with Alex directly — no pitch deck, reply within one business day.
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