case study

FCP Euro

De-Risking the CTO Search

Scott Drozd, CEO of FCP Euro, runs a rapidly growing, $300 million direct-to-consumer online retailer of European automotive parts. As the business matured, Scott recognized a gap in the senior leadership team: a Chief Technology Officer. Hiring at the leadership level is time-consuming and expensive, and mistakes are costly, especially when the entire organization is looking to the top for confidence.

They needed a solution that offered flexibility and minimized permanent fixed costs while gaining a technology expert quickly. Referred to Go Fractional by their Head of Customer Experience, FCP Euro explored fractional leadership for the first time and it paid off.

Website

What we did

Go Fractional provided a strategic, low-risk talent solution that accelerated FCP Euro's technology roadmap.
Secured a Fractional Technology Leader (Steve Cooke): We brought in a highly experienced executive to immediately assess the technology organization and build a transformation plan.
Facilitated a Direct Full-Time Hire: We also leveraged our network to source candidates for a Director of Customer Service who were open to both fractional and permanent roles.

How we did it

Our process focused on quality, speed, and deep operational understanding, providing a seamless experience that conserved the CEO's time.

Operator-Level Understanding: Our team took the time to understand FCP Euro’s specific needs as experienced operators, unlike traditional recruiters who often cast a wide net.
Vetted and Curated Candidates: We handled the heavy lifting of sourcing and vetting, presenting Scott with a curated pool of candidates that fit the precise deliverables.
Real-Time Strategy Adjustment: We maintained real-time feedback loops, debriefing after each candidate and immediately adjusting the search strategy based on Scott's input.

The Result: Transformation and Advisory

The fractional engagement with Steve Cooke immediately paid dividends, becoming a pivotal success story. Scott tasked Steve with assessing the technology organization's current and future state, identifying gaps across data engineering, software engineering, and IT infrastructure.

Within six months, Steve delivered a technology transformation plan, a comprehensive blueprint outlining a sizable investment and organizational structure needed for future growth. This plan became the foundation for future hiring. With Steve's guidance, FCP Euro identified and sourced a full-time CTO, a Head of IT Infrastructure, a Head of Security, and other key technology roles. Steve never left. FCP Euro converted him from a fractional leader to a long-term advisor for the business, ensuring continuity and expertise.

Dual Success: The Full-Time Customer Service Director

The success wasn't limited to the fractional model. FCP Euro reached out to Go Fractional for a Director of Customer Service role, giving us permission to search for both fractional and permanent candidates. Leveraging our network, we quickly provided a large selection of high-quality candidates, and FCP Euro found a candidate who was interested in a direct full-time hire. This demonstrated Go Fractional’s ability to use its expertise to solve both permanent leadership needs and critical search requirements.

The Strategic Advantage

Scott summed up the core benefit perfectly, noting the partnership created a "can't lose" scenario. “You either get the learnings from the subject matter expert, or you get the... full-time capability. [It provided] a ton of flexibility, much faster speed of market, conservation of time and resources".

The fractional model allowed FCP Euro to bring in a subject matter expert to shape their vision and build out the new organization from an informed view, proving to be the most flexible, cost-effective, and strategic way to make high-stakes leadership decisions.