Fractional CDO and AI Advisory
Hands-on data and AI leadership from someone who has built and led these functions at scale, in environments you will recognize.
Not a framework from a slide deck. Not theoretical advice from someone who has never held the title. Practical, accountable leadership shaped by real executive experience at Valmont Industries, Lamb Weston, Belden, AFL, and across the industrial mid-market.
One person. Personally accountable. No team to hide behind.
Jay Hawkinson — Hawksroost LLC
Credentials and experience
NACD Governance Credentials
NACD Directorship Certified
The premier board director certification program
Board governance credential
NACD Effective AI Oversight
In collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University Heinz College
Responsible AI governance
NACD Cybersecurity Oversight
In collaboration with CERT at Carnegie Mellon University
Risk and threat governance
Industry Recognition
Forbes Technology Council
Invitation-only community of senior technology executives
Active Member
ICON Top 100 D&A
Annual recognition of top data and analytics leaders
Data and Analytics recognition
Informatica Award 2023
Business Acceleration Award recipient
Business Acceleration
Where we engage
Every engagement begins with your situation: your business context, your organizational constraints, and the decisions you are actually accountable for. These three areas reflect where this work most commonly creates clarity and momentum.
Strategy and roadmap
Clarify where data and AI can genuinely move the needle and build a realistic roadmap that aligns ambition with organizational capacity.
- Clarify business outcomes and priorities
- Shape a multi-year data and AI roadmap
- Align stakeholders around a defensible narrative
Platform and architecture
Evaluate what you already have, identify gaps, and make pragmatic platform decisions that support near-term progress without creating long-term drag.
- Assess current platforms and technical constraints
- Define a practical target architecture
- Support vendor and partner decisions
Execution and operating model
Design operating models that connect governance, delivery, and decision-making so strategy actually translates into action.
- Define roles, responsibilities, and ways of working
- Connect governance to actual business decisions
- Coach leaders through early execution challenges
Engagement models
The engagement ladder moves from fast-entry diagnostic offers through ongoing advisory and fractional leadership. Most advisory clients start with a micro-offer or a direct conversation.
Entry offers — fast path to a first paid relationship
Board Sanity Check
$1,000
45-minute structured review of your AI initiatives against three to five governance and value questions. Surfaces what is defensible and what is not before a board meeting or PE review.
One-page Sanity Check Memo, creditable toward a full engagement within 30 days
Book a Sanity Check
82 days to deadline
EU AI Act Countdown Audit
Starting at $3,000
Two-hour remote review of EU AI Act exposure. Identifies which systems require classification, what controls are absent, and what must be in place before August 2, 2026. Converts naturally into the full EU advisory engagement for companies with deeper exposure.
Three-page risk summary and 90-day action list
Book before August 2
AI Governance for Manufacturing Boards
$750 to $1,250 per seat
Two-hour virtual cohort session for board directors, CEOs, and PE principals. Structured around the questions boards are now required to ask. Ten seats maximum per session. NACD Directorship Certified delivery.
Governance framework reference and AI Board Questions Pack included
Inquire at Hawksroost
Mid-value — full advisory engagement
EU AI Act Advisory Engagement
Starting at $25,000
Full combined engagement for manufacturers with EU market exposure. Covers AI Governance Assessment, AI Readiness Assessment, board-ready governance framework, EU AI Act exposure mapping, named accountability structure, and a board summary. Includes direct advisory support through the 90-day implementation window.
- Board-ready compliance roadmap with implementation timeline
- Complete AI system inventory with risk classification
- Named accountability structure and escalation protocols
- 90-day implementation support with direct advisory access
NACD AI Oversight Certified · Remote or on-site · Confidential conversation to start
Start a confidential conversation
High-value — ongoing and fractional leadership
Advisory Retainer
Strategic Advisory Retainer
Starting at $8,000/month
A steady, confidential sounding board for your highest-stakes data and AI decisions. Pressure-test strategies, navigate organizational complexity, and maintain momentum between board cycles.
- Review of plans, roadmaps, and major investment decisions
- Direct access to Jay, no account team, no intermediary
- Support for executive and board-level AI communications
- Natural on-ramp to fractional engagement if needed
Three to six month minimum · Limited availability
Fractional Leadership
Fractional Chief Data and AI Officer
Starting at $20,000/month
Executive ownership without a full-time hire. Operate as your CDO in practice: setting direction, building capability, and establishing governance from the inside out. For organizations that need senior leadership now, without the nine to twelve month executive search.
- Set the data and AI strategy, roadmap, and governance structure
- Build internal team capability from the ground up
- Board-defensible reporting and oversight framework
- Engagement tapers naturally as the function matures
Six to twelve month typical engagement · Scope determined by your needs
Board-level engagement — exclusively through Hawksroost
Board and CEO Advisory
The most senior engagement
Confidential support for leaders accountable when AI investments succeed or fail. Risk framing, governance design, and board-level clarity for directors, CEOs, and PE principals who need an operator perspective at the governance level. Available exclusively through Hawksroost.
Scope and investment determined during initial conversation · Selective engagement
How we work together
Every engagement starts with a conversation, not a proposal.
01
Confidential exploration
A fit check, not a sales call. We discuss your context, goals, and constraints and decide together whether there is a genuine match.
02
Engagement design
We agree on scope, pace, and level of involvement based on your needs and timeline. No standard packages applied without context.
03
Initial 90-day focus
We concentrate on outcomes that build clarity, momentum, and credibility with stakeholders. Progress is measurable, not theoretical.
04
Review and adjust
We reassess what is working and decide whether to extend, shift focus, or taper to lighter advisory support as the function matures.
What leaders who have worked with Jay say
“Jay has a unique ability to break down data and IT topics and make them relatable to the company at large. He shares his knowledge freely and selflessly. I have personally been the beneficiary of his generosity.”
JD
Joshua Dixon
President, CEO and Board Director, Industrial Manufacturing
15-year professional relationship across Belden and Valmont Industries
“Jay is a big picture thinker who can think strategically and then quickly turn around and decompose that strategy all the way down to the smallest technical details. During my career, I have found this to be a very rare and highly valuable quality.”
SF
Stacey Fedorka
Chief Information Officer, Exactech
Former CIO, AFL — managed Jay directly
“I honestly do not think Jay knows the word NO; his response is always ‘I am sure we can find a way.’ No better way to make the business feel empowered than having Jay in the conversation.”
MJ
Michelle Jensen
VP, Global Technology Partner and PMO, Lamb Weston
Colleague at Lamb Weston
“Jay has demonstrated great strategic vision for effective information systems, comprehensive knowledge of IT solutions, operations, and processes, and interpersonal skills at all levels of the organization.”
WS
Warren Stout
Former VP of Finance and Divisional CFO, Belden
Cross-functional finance leadership relationship, SOX compliance and global operations
Not ready for direct engagement?
Start with the Governance Suite
The VTCDO Governance Suite gives operating executives access to instruments, diagnostic tools, and worked examples without committing to an advisory engagement. Most advisory clients started here before moving to direct engagement.
Explore the Governance Suite
Prefer ongoing access?
VTCDO membership
Essentials and Executive Access membership provides structured tool and instrument access at a pace and price point you control. Executive Access includes monthly direct access to Jay.
Explore membership options
Let’s talk about what you are trying to decide
If you are exploring how data and AI can support your business, a direct conversation is available to understand your context and see if there is a genuine fit.
Schedule a confidential conversation
No pitch. No obligation. A direct conversation about what you are trying to solve.
