A fractional Chief AI Officer who has actually shipped the agents
A Chief AI Officer owns one question for the business: where AI creates value, what it's allowed to touch, and whether it's working. I take that seat part-time — AI strategy and portfolio, governance and policy, build-vs-buy and model selection, data readiness, team upskilling and board reporting — and back it with hands-on delivery. I led engineering for Etera AI's federated-MCP multi-agent platform and shipped six AI-era products in 2026.
This is for you if…
- Your board or leadership wants an AI strategy and a named owner for it, but not a full-time C-suite hire yet
- Teams are already using AI tools and you have no policy for data, risk or vendors
- You're weighing AI vendors and models and want an independent technical opinion
- You have a CTO focused on the core product and need someone to own the AI portfolio alongside them
AI is now a portfolio decision — and most companies have no one owning it
Pilots start in five departments, three vendors get signed, staff paste customer data into chat tools, and nobody can tell the board what any of it returns. In Dubai the direction is clear: the government appointed 22 Chief AI Officers across its entities in 2024, and companies across the Gulf are being asked the same question by their own boards. A fractional CAIO gives you that ownership now, sized to your stage.
Everything in the engagement
AI strategy & portfolio
A ranked portfolio of AI initiatives tied to business outcomes — what to start, scale, pause or stop, reviewed every month.
Governance, risk & policy
An AI usage policy, data-handling rules, model risk review and approval paths — informed by DPIA / ISO work I ran for Saudi Aramco and Jumeirah Group at Searchie AI.
Build-vs-buy decisions
Clear calls on where to build agents in-house, where to buy a product and where to wait — with the cost and lock-in trade-offs written down.
Vendor & model selection
Independent evaluation of AI vendors and LLMs (OpenAI, Anthropic, open models via OpenRouter) on quality, cost, latency and data residency.
Data readiness
What data you have, what's usable, and what has to change before an AI system can rely on it.
Team upskilling & board reporting
AI tooling with guardrails for your teams, and a board-ready report on what's live, what it costs and what it returns.
The process
Assess
Two weeks mapping AI use, data, vendors, risks and opportunities across the business.
Set direction
An AI strategy, a ranked portfolio and a first governance policy, agreed with leadership.
Run the portfolio
Monthly cadence: initiative reviews, vendor and model calls, hands-on help where a build stalls.
Report & hand off
Quarterly board reporting, and a plan to hand the seat to a full-time leader when the scale justifies one.
Outcomes
- One named owner for AI across the business, accountable to the board
- An AI policy your staff can actually follow
- A ranked AI portfolio with costs and returns you can report on
- Vendor and model decisions made on evidence, not sales decks
“Moeid has been a savior in our time of need. His technical expertise and leadership transformed our platform architecture.”
Harvey BennetCTO, SearchieCommon questions
What is a fractional chief AI officer?
A senior executive who owns AI strategy, governance and delivery for your company on a part-time basis — typically a few days a month up to about two days a week — instead of a full-time C-suite hire. You get the same ownership: an AI portfolio, a policy, vendor decisions and board reporting.
CAIO vs CTO — which do I need?
A CTO owns your technology and engineering team: the product's architecture, hiring and delivery. A CAIO owns AI across the whole business: which AI initiatives to fund, what data and risks they touch, which vendors and models to use, and whether they pay off. Early-stage startups usually need a CTO who is strong on AI; companies with several departments adopting AI usually need a CAIO. I do both — see the fractional CTO service if the engineering seat is the gap.
Do UAE companies need a Chief AI Officer?
Not every company needs the title, but most now need the job done. Dubai's government appointed 22 Chief AI Officers across its entities in 2024, and boards across the Gulf are asking who owns AI. If AI is touching customer data, spend or strategic decisions in your company, someone should own it — a fractional CAIO is the lightest way to do that properly.
How much does a fractional CAIO cost?
I work on a fixed monthly fee scoped to the days involved, agreed after a free call — no hourly meter. For public third-party market ranges, see the fractional CTO and CAIO rates guide at /fractional-cto-rates.
Can you work with our existing CTO?
Yes — that's a common setup. Your CTO keeps ownership of the product and engineering team; I own the AI portfolio, governance and vendor decisions, and work with them on architecture where AI touches the product. I've been a CTO and a Head of Engineering, so I know where the line sits.
Are you hands-on, or strategy only?
Hands-on when it matters. I led engineering for a multi-agent LLM platform (LangGraph, MCP), managed a team of 32 across Europe, MENA and India, and shipped six products in 2026. When an AI initiative stalls, I can get into the architecture and fix it.
Let's figure out if this is the right fit.
A free 30-minute strategy call — no pitch, just a straight read on your situation.
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