What is a Fractional Chief Data & Analytics Officer?

A Fractional Chief Data & Analytics Officer (CDAO) is an experienced data leader who works with your business on a part-time or project basis — providing the strategic data leadership of a full-time executive without the full-time cost. They define measurement strategy, govern data quality, guide the analytics roadmap, and mentor internal teams.

What does a Fractional CDAO do day-to-day?

Activities include: defining and maintaining measurement strategy, setting data governance standards, building and prioritizing the analytics roadmap, overseeing implementation projects, reviewing data quality, presenting performance insights to leadership, and mentoring internal analysts and marketing team members.

How is Fractional CDAO different from a consultant?

A consultant delivers a defined project with a fixed scope. A Fractional CDAO is embedded in your business — attending leadership meetings, influencing strategic decisions, owning the data roadmap, and building institutional knowledge over time. The relationship is ongoing rather than transactional.

Strategic Service

Fractional Chief Data & Analytics Officer — Senior Data Leadership, On Demand

Q: Who needs a Fractional CDAO?

Growing brands that have outgrown ad-hoc analytics but aren't yet ready to hire a full-time data executive. Typically companies with $2M–$50M USD revenue, a growing marketing stack, and a need for senior analytics guidance — but not a full-time $200K+ USD CDO salary. Fractional CDAO services give you the expertise without the overhead.

You need data leadership to drive strategic decisions — but a full-time CDO isn't in the budget yet. A Fractional CDAO gives you C-suite analytics expertise embedded in your business, at a fraction of the cost.

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Is This You?

Who Needs a Fractional CDAO?

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Growing Brands ($2M–$50M USD)

You've outgrown ad-hoc analytics but aren't ready to hire a full-time data executive. You need senior guidance without the $200K+ USD overhead.

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Complex Marketing Stacks

Multiple platforms, disconnected data, and no clear owner. You need someone to own the measurement architecture and make it all work together.

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Data-Driven Ambitions

Leadership wants to make better decisions from data but the internal team lacks the strategic experience to build the right foundations.

Service Scope

What a Fractional CDAO Engagement Includes

Measurement Strategy

Define how your business measures success — KPIs, attribution models, measurement frameworks, and the data infrastructure to support them.

Analytics Roadmap & Prioritization

Build and prioritize a 12-month data roadmap — sequencing projects by business impact and aligning them to strategic objectives.

Data Governance

Establish standards for data quality, taxonomy, naming conventions, access controls, and documentation across your analytics stack.

Leadership Reporting & Insight Delivery

Regular data reviews with leadership, translating analytics findings into strategic recommendations and business context.

Analytics Team Mentorship

Guide and upskill your internal analysts, marketers, and data team — building internal capability alongside external support.

Vendor & Tool Evaluation

Evaluate analytics tools, BI platforms, and data vendors on your behalf — making unbiased recommendations based on your actual needs.

Project Oversight

Oversee analytics implementation projects — ensuring they're delivered accurately, on time, and aligned to the broader measurement strategy.

Data Culture Building

Drive adoption of data across your organization — making analytics accessible, trusted, and used by every team, not just data specialists.

Meet Your Fractional CDAO

Brady Hancock — Data Strategist & Analytics Leader

With 7+ years of experience building analytics systems for 150+ businesses, Brady brings both strategic depth and hands-on technical expertise. He's not just a consultant who delivers a deck — he becomes embedded in your business and owns the outcomes.

7+ years building analytics for brands across industries
300+ completed analytics projects
100% Job Success · Top Rated Plus on Upwork
GA4, GTM, BigQuery, Looker Studio specialist
Experience with eCommerce, SaaS, lead gen, and media

Learn More About Brady →

AI Enablement

Turning Your Data Into an AI-Ready Foundation

AI is only as good as the data behind it. As your Fractional CDAO, we build the measurement infrastructure, data pipelines, and governance frameworks that make AI tools actually work — and actually trustworthy.

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AI-Ready Data Infrastructure

Clean, structured, and well-governed data is the prerequisite for any AI initiative. We audit your current state, close gaps, and build pipelines that feed your AI tools with reliable inputs.

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Predictive Analytics & AI Integration

From LTV modeling and churn prediction to AI-powered attribution, we help you identify which AI use cases will move the needle — and connect them to your existing analytics stack.

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AI Governance & Data Ethics

Responsible AI starts with clear policies. We establish the governance frameworks, consent models, and data quality standards your organization needs to deploy AI confidently and compliantly.

"Most companies have the data they need to leverage AI — they just don't have it organized in a way that makes it usable. That's the gap we close."

— Brady Hancock, Fractional CDAO

FAQ

Fractional CDAO — Frequently Asked Questions

A Fractional CDAO is an experienced data and analytics executive who works with your business part-time or on a retained basis. They provide the strategic data leadership of a full-time C-suite hire — measurement strategy, governance, roadmapping, team guidance — without the full-time cost and commitment.

Fractional CDAO services are ideal for growing brands (typically $2M–$50M USD revenue) that have real data challenges but aren't yet ready for a full-time data executive. It's also a great fit for companies launching a major analytics initiative, replatforming their tech stack, or building out a measurement strategy for the first time.

Consultants deliver a defined project. A Fractional CDAO is embedded in your business — attending leadership meetings, owning the data roadmap, influencing strategic decisions, and building institutional knowledge over time. The relationship is ongoing, collaborative, and focused on long-term outcomes rather than a one-time deliverable.

Most engagements start with a measurement audit and strategy session, then move to a monthly retainer covering roadmap prioritization, project oversight, leadership reporting, and ongoing strategic guidance. Scope and hours are defined collaboratively based on your business's needs and stage.

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