For companies
The fractional model
An experienced executive, part of your company, for only as long as needed.
What is a fractional executive?
- Time commitment
- One or two days a week, or a few days a month
- Relationship
- Stable over time, with defined objectives
- Form
- Commercial services contract
- Origin
- The fractional CFO in the US and the UK
A professional with a management career who performs leadership duties in one or more companies on a part-time basis. Typically one or two days a week, with defined objectives and responsibilities and a relationship that is stable over time.
This is not a consultant who delivers a report, nor an interim covering an absence: they are part of the management team, with the time commitment the company needs.
The model began in the United States and the United Kingdom with the fractional finance director and now extends to every area: legal, people, communications, sustainability, technology, operations.
When does it make sense?
The company has grown
It needs senior judgement in an area that has been improvised until now: finance, people, compliance.
There is a specific stage
A funding round, a restructuring, a succession in the family business, a regulatory requirement.
A vacancy that cannot wait
Filling a senior post will take months and the company needs leadership now.
The seniority, yes; the full-time role, no
The workload does not justify a full-time executive, but it does justify one or two days a week of someone experienced.
How it compares with other options
| Option | What it offers | Where it falls short |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time hire | Full commitment | High fixed cost; hard to reverse |
| Consultancy | Diagnosis and recommendations | Ends with the report; does not execute |
| Interim management | Full-time leadership for a set period | Designed for crises or transitions, not for continuity |
| Fractional executive | Ongoing, tailored leadership with hands-on involvement | Requires scope and time commitment to be well defined |
How it is formalised and what AEAF does
- The contract
- A commercial services contract between the company and the professional, setting out scope, time commitment, duration and fees. The professional acts independently and bears their own liability.
- AEAF’s role
- It selects the professionals, listens to your need and introduces the right profiles. It can advise on what the contract should make clear, but it is not a party to it.
- What AEAF does not do
- It does not set or recommend fees, does not guarantee results and does not itself provide the services.
Does this fit your situation?
Tell us what you need and we will introduce you to two or three AEAF members. No cost, and no commission on whatever you go on to agree.