Tobias Russell

Services

Every engagement starts from the same question: what will make a measurable difference to your business? Strategy, delivery and adoption — shaped to fit, priced to earn their keep.

Fractional CTO

Senior technology leadership, part-time. The judgement and experience of a career CTO, scaled to what your business actually needs.

  • Technology strategy and roadmap aligned to commercial goals
  • Architecture direction, build-vs-buy decisions and vendor selection
  • Board-level technology KPIs, governance and investment cases
  • Hands-on oversight of delivery — I stay close enough to the code to keep everyone honest

AI Adoption & Automation

AI that survives contact with your business. I have led enterprise rollouts of Claude, OpenAI and Cursor across multiple companies — engineering teams and business users alike.

  • AI strategy and use-case selection with a hard-nosed view of ROI
  • Enterprise LLM rollout: tooling, portals, policy, training and enablement
  • Agentic automation and RAG over your own knowledge and systems
  • Transforming development teams into AI-powered delivery functions

Technology Strategy & Architecture

Translating business requirements into efficient, scalable and affordable solutions — my core craft for three decades.

  • Enterprise and integration architecture: API and middleware design across business systems
  • Cloud migration and modernisation (AWS, Azure, GCP) with real cost discipline
  • Event-driven and data platform architecture for high-throughput products
  • Cybersecurity governance, including Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation

Operational Platform Modernisation

The systems that run logistics, manufacturing, retail and ecommerce businesses — ERP, WMS, WCS, MES, PIM, DAM and the storefronts on top of them.

  • ERP integration (Infor M3) with manufacturing, distribution and customer-facing systems
  • Warehouse control and management systems, stock traceability and goods-in automation
  • Industry 4.0: automated production data capture, quality processes and reporting
  • Shopify DTC ecommerce integrated with ERP and logistics backends

Teams & Delivery Transformation

Technology is delivered by people. I build engineering functions that are resilient, engaged and commercially minded.

  • Restructuring teams and removing single-person dependencies
  • Pragmatic Kanban-based agile delivery that fits the business, not the textbook
  • Recruitment, apprenticeships and talent strategy
  • Making the technology function a commercial business partner, not a cost centre

Non-Executive Director & Board Advisory

A technology voice at board level — for businesses where technology is now the growth constraint or the biggest risk on the register.

  • Technology governance, risk and cybersecurity oversight
  • Technical due diligence for investment, acquisition and divestiture
  • Vendor negotiation, tendering and SLA management
  • Independent challenge and support for your CTO and leadership team

Who I work with

  • Businesses in logistics, manufacturing, retail or ecommerce where operations and technology meet
  • Leadership teams who want AI adoption with measurable returns, not experiments that stall
  • Companies scaling beyond the technology foundations they started with
  • Owners and boards who need senior technology judgement without a full-time CTO
  • Investors needing technical due diligence or a safe pair of hands post-acquisition

Let's work together

Whether you need a fractional CTO, a pragmatic AI adoption plan, or a technology voice on your board — the first conversation is free.

Get in touch