Fractional engineering leadership and operating help for companies at a growth or transition point
I spent seven years at Duo Security / Cisco growing an engineering organization from 4 to 40+ people inside a company that had just been acquired. Before that, I built software for ship design and real-time shop-floor monitoring. Today I spend most of my time evaluating businesses to buy, which means reading a lot of financials and asking a lot of hard questions. Alongside the search, I take on a small number of advisory engagements where that experience is directly useful.
Where I can help
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For software companies with 10 to 40 engineers that need senior leadership one or two days a week: hiring, structure, delivery, and keeping the team you have while you grow it.
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I’ve been on the acquired side. I help acquirers and newly acquired teams get through the first year without losing the people and the product that made the deal worth doing.
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For investors, search funds, and independent sponsors evaluating software or industrial businesses. Clear findings, plain language, no 80-page deck.
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Distributors and manufacturers that need help with systems, processes, pricing, or preparing for an ownership transition.
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For new managers and first-time VPs who are good engineers and haven’t led people before.
How I work
Retainers of one to two days a week, or scoped projects with a defined end. Remote or on-site in Michigan. I keep the client list short so each one gets real attention.
Background
Duo Security / Cisco, seven years. Grew an engineering organization from 4 to 40+ people: hiring, structure, management layers, and culture, inside a company that had just been acquired. The group built the identity product from the ground up and owned scale and resiliency for the entire MFA product as traffic grew to 2B authentications/day.
Fraud remediation. Led a cross-functional team that built a telephony fraud solution, cutting fraud losses by 95% and saving millions.
Engineering productivity. Drove a 25% improvement in developer productivity by modernizing tech stacks and streamlining workflows across global teams.
Industrial software. Built real-time shop-floor monitoring systems for manufacturing and ship design and monitoring software before moving into leadership. [If you remember the plant or customer type, name it.]
Cross-functional leadership across engineering, design, manufacturing, and services.
Michigan Ross MBA with a focus on Entrepreneurship
Diplomat Degree in Electronics Engineering and Computer Science.
Founder, Rocks Strategy. Currently evaluating industrial and B2B businesses for acquisition, which keeps me close to financial statements, operations, and what owners actually deal with.
Let’s talk
If you’re facing one of these problems, email me, and we’ll set up a short call to see whether I can help.