Interim CIO Services

When a technology leadership gap threatens momentum, Stonehill steps in as your Interim CIO, providing immediate, senior-level IT and digital leadership without the delay or risk of a rushed permanent hire. Technology decisions don't pause while a search firm runs its process, and every week without clear leadership adds risk to budgets, timelines, and team morale.

Whether you're navigating a CIO departure, preparing for a merger or carve-out, or need experienced oversight during a critical growth phase, Stonehill's interim CIO services keep your technology strategy on track from day one. We embed quickly, assess what matters most, and give your organization a steady hand while the right long-term solution takes shape.

Why Companies Choose Stonehill for Interim CIO Leadership

A leadership vacuum at the CIO level creates real business risk: stalled projects, vendor uncertainty, security gaps, and teams without direction. Stonehill's interim CIOs bring the operational maturity to stabilize the function immediately, along with the strategic perspective to set technology up for long-term success, not just maintain the status quo.

Our consultants have led technology functions through mergers, acquisitions, carve-outs, and periods of rapid scaling, giving portfolio companies and mid-market businesses confidence that critical initiatives won't lose momentum during a transition. We come in with a bias toward action: assessing the current state honestly, making decisions the organization has been waiting on, and communicating clearly with boards, investors, and staff throughout the engagement.

Unlike a traditional consulting engagement, an interim CIO sits inside the organization as a true operating leader, accountable for outcomes, not just recommendations. That distinction matters most during periods of change, when technology decisions need to be made quickly and with full context of the business.

What Stonehill's Interim CIO Services Cover

• Immediate stabilization of the IT organization and leadership team

• Technology roadmap assessment and prioritization

• Vendor and contract management, including renegotiation where needed

• IT budget oversight and cost optimization

• Cybersecurity posture review and risk mitigation

• M&A technology diligence and integration planning

• ERP, systems, and infrastructure evaluation

• Team development and knowledge transfer to a permanent successor

• Board and executive-level reporting on technology performance

Built for Private Equity-Backed Portfolio Companies

Stonehill understands the pace, reporting expectations, and value-creation priorities that come with PE ownership, and we bring that discipline to every interim engagement, helping portfolio companies maintain technology momentum through ownership transitions, add-on acquisitions, and operational improvement initiatives.

We know that technology is often central to the investment thesis itself, whether that means enabling a roll-up strategy, supporting due diligence for an add-on acquisition, or preparing systems for an eventual exit. An interim CIO from Stonehill ensures technology stays aligned with the value-creation plan rather than becoming a bottleneck to it, and provides the reporting rigor that boards and investment committees expect.

When to Bring in an Interim CIO

• Your CIO has departed and a permanent search is underway

• You're integrating or carving out a business and need dedicated technology leadership

• Your technology function needs stabilization before a sale process or audit

• Leadership needs an objective assessment of the current IT organization

• You need experienced oversight during a system implementation or migration

If your organization is facing a technology leadership gap, Stonehill can help you bridge it without slowing down the business. Our interim CIOs are ready to step in quickly, assess what's working and what isn't, and give your team the clarity and direction it needs during a period of transition.

Schedule a 20-minute call to discuss your situation and how an interim CIO engagement could work for your organization. There's no obligation, just a straightforward conversation about where you stand and how we can help.