Fractional CDO · Head of Data · UK
Senior Data Leadership
Without the Full-Time Cost
You Have Data. You Don't Have Anyone Leading It.
Most growing organisations reach a point where data is producing reports but not decisions — tools are in place but nobody owns the strategy. If any of these sound familiar, fractional data leadership is almost certainly the right answer.
You have Power BI, SQL Server, or a data warehouse — but no clear strategy for how they connect or what they should deliver
Data sits in silos across departments — finance has their numbers, operations have theirs, and nobody agrees on the single source of truth
You can't justify a £150k+ CDO salary, but you need more than a project consultant who delivers a report and disappears
Your board keeps asking data questions nobody in the organisation can confidently answer — decisions are made on gut feel or late-arriving spreadsheets
Microsoft Copilot licences are live but adoption is low — nobody is driving an AI readiness or data quality programme to support it
GDPR compliance and data governance are handled reactively — there's no framework, no data owner register, no policy that people actually follow
You have a small data team but nobody senior enough to mentor them, set standards, or translate business needs into a coherent technical direction
You're planning a Microsoft Fabric or Azure migration and need strategic oversight — not just implementation, but someone to ensure it actually lands in the business
Six Areas of Data Leadership Coverage
Every engagement is scoped to your organisation's specific needs and maturity level. These are the six core areas a data leadership engagement with Gethyn Ellis can cover.
Data Strategy & Roadmap
A structured data and insights roadmap aligned to your business goals — not a generic framework. Covers what to collect, how to govern it, and how to turn it into decisions that move the business forward. Built around your Microsoft platform investment.
Data Governance & Compliance
GDPR compliance, data quality frameworks, data ownership registers, and policy design. Governance that people actually follow — not a 40-page document that sits in SharePoint. Includes preparation for the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025.
AI Readiness & Copilot Adoption
Assessing your data estate's readiness for AI workloads, developing a responsible AI framework, and driving Microsoft Copilot adoption across your organisation. Your data foundation has to be right before AI can deliver value — this is the work that makes it possible.
Analytics & BI Oversight
Strategic oversight of your Power BI environment, reporting standards, and self-service analytics capability. Includes semantic model governance, KPI framework design, and ensuring your reporting estate is fit for purpose as your data maturity grows.
Platform Advisory — Fabric & Azure
Strategic guidance on Microsoft Fabric adoption, Azure data platform architecture, and the migration path from SQL Server or legacy systems. As an MCT with hands-on Fabric delivery experience, this is strategic advice grounded in technical reality — not just PowerPoint.
Team Development & Mentoring
Building your internal data capability through mentoring, structured development plans, hiring guidance, and knowledge transfer. The goal is to reduce dependence on external support over time — not to create it. Includes training delivery across Power BI, Fabric, and SQL Server.
Three Engagement Models
Engagements are structured to match your organisation's data maturity and budget. All start with a Data Maturity Assessment. All scale up or down as your needs evolve.
Advisory
1–2 days per month
- Data Maturity Assessment
- Strategic data roadmap
- Monthly oversight calls
- Board-level reporting support
- GDPR and governance guidance
- Email and async support
Most popular
Embedded
3–5 days per month
- Everything in Advisory
- Bi-weekly leadership sessions
- Data governance framework
- Power BI and Fabric oversight
- AI readiness programme
- Team mentoring and development
- Stakeholder and vendor management
Interim
Project or fixed-term basis
- Full data leadership cover
- Platform migration oversight
- Data team leadership
- Vendor and procurement support
- Permanent hire support and handover
- Knowledge transfer programme
Data Leadership Grounded in the Microsoft Platform
Most fractional CDOs are pure strategists. They design frameworks but can't tell you whether Microsoft Fabric is the right call for your workload, or why your Power BI semantic model is undermining trust in the data. Gethyn Ellis combines board-level data leadership with hands-on platform expertise — so your strategy is grounded in the technology your organisation actually runs on.
Gethyn Ellis is a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) — qualified to deliver DP-603 (Microsoft Fabric Real-Time Analytics), PL-300 (Power BI), DP-900, and AI-900. Data leadership advice is backed by the ability to deliver at the platform level.
From Discovery to Ongoing Leadership in Four Steps
Every engagement starts the same way — with an honest conversation and a structured assessment. What follows is shaped entirely by what your organisation actually needs.
Discovery Call — Free, 30 Minutes
A direct conversation with Gethyn about your organisation's data challenges, current platform, team structure, and what good looks like for you. No account manager. No pre-prepared pitch. Just an honest conversation. Book a slot here.
Data Maturity Assessment
A structured review of your current data landscape — platforms, governance, team capability, reporting quality, and AI readiness. Produces a maturity score across five dimensions and a prioritised action plan. This is the foundation everything else builds on.
Roadmap & Engagement Scoping
Based on the assessment, we agree a data and insights roadmap and the right engagement model — Advisory, Embedded, or Interim. Scope, days per month, and commercial terms are agreed before any ongoing work begins.
Ongoing Data Leadership
The engagement begins. Typically this means regular leadership sessions, governance oversight, platform advisory, team mentoring, and board-level reporting support — all scaled to the agreed model. Engagements can be extended, scaled up, or concluded at any point. The goal is always to build your internal capability, not to create permanent dependency.
What You Get That Generic Fractional CDOs Don't Provide
The fractional CDO market is growing. Most providers are strong on strategy and frameworks. Here is where the Gethyn Ellis engagement differs.
| What matters to you | Generic fractional CDO | Gethyn Ellis |
|---|---|---|
| Platform expertise | Strategy only — limited hands-on Microsoft platform knowledge | MCT-qualified across Fabric, Power BI, Azure, SQL Server, and Copilot |
| Who you work with | An account team — the named CDO may delegate to colleagues | Gethyn Ellis directly — every session, every deliverable |
| Training and team capability | Advisory only — no ability to deliver training to your team | MCT-qualified — can deliver accredited training as part of the engagement |
| AI readiness | High-level Copilot awareness — no data platform depth | End-to-end: data quality, governance, Copilot configuration, and adoption |
| Flexibility | Minimum terms, fixed day counts, limited scaling | Retainer or project-based, scalable, no lock-in |
| Cost transparency | Variable day rates, scope creep, complex invoicing | Agreed monthly scope — no surprises |
Data Leadership Delivered Across UK Organisations
Not every organisation needs a full-time Head of Data. But most need experienced data leadership more often than they expect. As platforms mature, decisions become harder and priorities compete. Data Leadership as a Service gives you ongoing access to senior, pragmatic data leadership — without the cost or commitment of a permanent hire.
— Gethyn Ellis · Data Leadership Framework
The Data Platform Accelerator gave us the clarity and direction we had been missing. We went from a fragmented set of tools to a coherent platform strategy with clear ownership and a roadmap we could actually execute against.
— IT Director · UK Public Sector Organisation
Frequently Asked Questions
Gethyn Ellis — Fractional CDO & Microsoft Certified Trainer
Gethyn Ellis combines senior data leadership experience with hands-on Microsoft platform expertise — the only fractional CDO provider who is also an MCT. Every engagement is delivered by Gethyn directly, not delegated to a team. Clients get strategic data leadership, platform advisory, and team development from a single, accountable point of contact.
- Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT)
- Microsoft Fabric — DP-603 qualified
- Power BI — PL-300 qualified
- Azure Data Platform experience
- SQL Server 2008–2022
- AI-900 and Copilot delivery
- Financial services, public sector, housing
- UK-based, remote and on-site delivery
Ready to Put Senior Data Leadership Into Your Organisation?
Start with a free 30-minute discovery call. A direct conversation about your data challenges, your Microsoft platform, and whether fractional data leadership is the right fit.
No lock-in · Scales with your needs · Remote & on-site UK