fractionalcmo.rent

Fractional CMO · Milan · Europe

Rent a fractional CMO.

Senior marketing leadership, embedded part-time in your business. When you need to hire a CMO but a full-time one is the wrong shape, this is how you find and onboard the seniority in weeks, calibrated to the hours and budget you actually need. For founders, CEOs and PE-backed teams where growth has plateaued or the founder is still acting as CMO.

Book an intro call How it works
Niklas Lindahl, fractional CMO based in Milan

€120M

Marketing budget owned as CMO of LeoVegas Group

€50M

Incremental revenue generated in under 12 months

€607M

MGM acquisition of LeoVegas this work helped enable

In short

What is a fractional CMO?

A fractional CMO is a senior marketing leader who runs your marketing function part-time and embedded in the team, typically one to three days a week for six to eighteen months. You get the strategy, the demand engine and the board reporting of a full-time CMO through a fractional engagement, at a fraction of the cost, with someone who has already done the job.

Who it is for

Founders and CEOs who need a real CMO, not another agency.

Scale-ups €2M–€75M

Revenue is real but growth has flattened and the founder is still wearing the CMO hat.

PE-backed mid-market

There is a value-creation clock and marketing has to professionalise fast.

SaaS, consumer, digital

Categories where positioning, demand, brand and martech compound or die.

When you need oneWhat gets builtResults

The operator

Fifteen years building marketing engines that move the number.

Former CMO of LeoVegas Group, where a €120M marketing budget produced €50M of incremental revenue in under twelve months and helped enable the €607M MGM acquisition. Founder of Optimized Group (sold for €1.35M). Italy MD who took a €3M business to €18M in a year. Now embedded, part-time, inside companies that have to grow, often alongside the founder or CEO as the marketing counterpart at the top of the org. Full track record at niklaslindahl.com; interim CEO practice at actionisnow.com.

Read the full background

Questions & answers

Hire, rent or onboard: the direct questions.

Founders and CEOs searching for a fractional CMO ask the same handful of questions before booking a call. Direct answers, no fluff.

How do I hire a fractional CMO for a European SaaS or scale-up?

You book an intro call, we scope the mandate (cadence, scope, timeline) in 30 minutes, and you can typically have a senior fractional CMO embedded in the team within two to three weeks. No search firm, no six-month recruitment cycle, no relocation package.

What is the difference between renting a CMO and hiring a full-time CMO?

Renting a fractional CMO means paying a monthly retainer for one to three days a week of senior marketing leadership, with no headcount, no equity grant and no severance risk. Hiring full-time locks in €250k to €400k of annual cost for a job that most companies under €50M revenue only need part of the week.

How quickly can a fractional CMO be onboarded and start delivering?

Week one is used to read the data, meet the team and pressure-test positioning. A written 90-day plan is signed off by end of week two. By month three the company has a working demand engine, a defensible KPI tree and a board pack the CFO can sign.

Can I find a trilingual fractional CMO who covers Italy, the Nordics and the rest of Europe?

Yes. This practice operates in English, Italian and Swedish out of Milan, with remote coverage across Europe and on-site days where it matters. Past mandates span iGaming, SaaS, consumer digital and PE-backed portfolio companies.