You don’t always need a full-time CIO or CAIO. But there are moments — a growth spurt, an acquisition, a security scare, the arrival of AI on every desk — when you absolutely need someone who has been a CIO, on the ground, this quarter. That’s what a fractional CIO is: senior technology leadership scaled to exactly what your organization needs, without the full-time executive salary.
I’m Gabor Szentivanyi, and I provide fractional CIO and Chief AI Officer services to organizations in Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill, and across the Research Triangle — backed by 25 years of running enterprise IT in the US and Europe. If you’re a Triangle business that has outgrown “the IT guy” but isn’t ready for a permanent C-level hire, this is built for you.
When a fractional CIO is the right move
Most organizations come to me at one of these inflection points:
- Growth has outpaced your IT. Systems that worked with 30 people are breaking at 150, and decisions keep landing on a founder or CFO who shouldn’t be making them.
- You’re acquiring, merging, or being acquired. IT due diligence and post-deal integration are where value quietly leaks. I’ve led twenty-plus M&A integrations/carve-outs and know exactly where the bodies are buried.
- AI showed up, and nobody owns it. Tools are spreading across your teams with no strategy, no governance, and growing risk. You need someone who can lead it, not just talk about it.
- Security keeps you up at night. You suspect you’re exposed, but don’t have the seniority in-house to know how exposed or what to do first.
- You need C-level judgment, part-time. You want a seasoned operator in the room for the big decisions — without adding a $300K+ salary to the books.
If two or more of those sound familiar, a fractional CIO is almost certainly more cost-effective than either struggling on or over-hiring.
Who I work with in the Triangle
The Research Triangle is an unusual market — advanced manufacturing, a dense life-sciences and biotech corridor, a deep startup and scaleup scene around RTP, and major institutions all within an hour’s drive. I work across that range:
- Manufacturers modernizing operations, connecting plants, and tightening security.
- PE-backed and portfolio companies that need IT to support a value-creation thesis — and an integration playbook when deals close.
- Scaleups and RTP startups that need real infrastructure and governance to grow into, not just another tool.
- Institutions and nonprofits that need senior strategy without a senior headcount.
My background spans manufacturing, specialty materials, consumer goods, higher education, and life sciences — so I tend to be useful quickly, in the language of your industry.
What I deliver
- Fractional / interim CIO leadership — strategy, roadmap, budget, vendor and team management, board-ready reporting.
- Chief AI Officer (fractional CAIO) services — AI strategy, adoption, and governance that produces results without creating new risk.
- Cybersecurity and resilience — Zero Trust, SD-WAN, risk reduction, and the practical hardening most mid-sized organizations skip.
- M&A IT due diligence and integration — pre-deal assessment through post-close consolidation.
- IT modernization and transformation — infrastructure redesign, service delivery, and process automation.
Why a local senior operator beats the alternatives
Versus a national consultancy: you get me — a named senior leader who has actually held the CIO seat — not a rotating bench of junior analysts flown in and billed at partner rates. I’m in your time zone and, when it matters, in your building.
Versus a full-time hire: you get genuine C-level experience for a fraction of a full-time executive’s cost, scaled up or down as your needs change, with no long recruiting cycle and no severance risk.
Versus a generalist IT shop or MSP: they keep the lights on; I decide which lights you should have. Fractional CIO work is strategy, architecture, and leadership — not help desk.
The AI dimension — and the risk no one names
Bringing AI into an organization is now part of every CIO’s job, and it’s where I’ve staked out my own thinking. The failure I see most often isn’t a dramatic AI mistake — it’s algorithmic complacency, the quiet erosion of judgment that sets in when capable people stop questioning a machine that’s usually right. Adopting AI well means governing it from day one. Read more about the algorithmic complacency framework.
About me
I’m a transformational CIO and certified AI consultant with 25 years of enterprise IT leadership across the US, Germany, and France. I’ve grown EBITDA through technology, integrated acquisitions, redesigned infrastructure across hundreds of locations, and deployed automation at scale — and I speak four languages, which matters more than you’d think when your suppliers and customers aren’t all down the road. My operating philosophy is simple to say and hard to live: thinking as an engineer, delivering as a senior business leader, and remaining human during the entire process. More about my background.
How engagements work
Most start with a free 30-minute call to understand your situation, followed by a short scoping conversation and a clear proposal — typically a defined monthly engagement or a fixed-scope project, sized to what you actually need. No long-term lock-in to get started.
Frequently asked questions
What does a fractional CIO do? A fractional CIO provides the strategy, leadership, and decision-making of a full-time Chief Information Officer on a part-time or interim basis — setting technology direction, managing budgets and vendors, leading security and AI, and giving leadership a trusted advisor in the room — without the full-time salary.
How much does a fractional CIO cost? Far less than a full-time CIO, whose total compensation typically runs well into the mid-six figures. Fractional engagements are scoped to your needs — a set number of days per month or a defined project — so you pay for the seniority you use. We’ll size it together on the first call.
Do you work on-site in the Raleigh area? Yes. I’m based in the Triangle and work with clients across Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill, and RTP both on-site and remotely, plus clients elsewhere in the US and the EU.
What’s the difference between a fractional CIO and a Chief AI Officer? A fractional CIO owns your overall technology strategy and operations. A Chief AI Officer focuses specifically on adopting and governing AI safely and effectively. I do both — and for most mid-sized organizations, having them in one experienced person is simpler and cheaper than splitting them.
What size organizations do you work with? Typically mid-sized organizations and scaleups — large enough to need real IT leadership, not yet large enough (or not yet ready) to justify a full-time CIO. If you’re unsure whether you’re a fit, the call is free.
Let’s talk
If you’re in the Triangle and any of this resonated, the first conversation costs nothing but 30 minutes. Book a free AI & IT strategy call, and we’ll figure out what your organization actually needs — and whether I’m the right person to help.