Fractional product leadership

Senior product leadership, one to three days a week

Not every company needs a full-time CPO. Many need senior product direction they can actually afford — someone who sets strategy, builds the operating rhythm, and makes the team better, without the executive price tag.

What a fractional product leader does

A fractional product manager or CPO is a senior product person who works with your company on a structured part-time basis — typically 1 to 3 days a week. You get experienced leadership where it matters: direction, prioritisation, and decisions that hold under pressure.

Product strategy & direction

Turning fuzzy ambitions into clear product bets. A strategy the whole company can explain — and that survives contact with reality.

AI transformation with judgment

Identifying where AI creates genuine business value versus where it's noise. I build production products with AI myself, so the advice comes from practice, not slideware.

Growth, acquisition & conversion

Connecting acquisition, conversion, and SEO into one compounding system — rooted in how people actually find and choose products.

Team & operating rhythm

Discovery that answers real questions, experiments that reduce risk, and decision-making cadences that stop things from stalling.

Who it's for

  • SMEs and scale-ups with a real product but no senior product leadership
  • Founder-led companies where product decisions bottleneck on the CEO
  • Teams starting an AI initiative who need someone who has actually shipped with it
  • Companies between product leaders who need continuity, not a gap

How an engagement works

1

Diagnosis first

We start with a short assessment: where the product stands, what's blocking the team, where the leverage is. No generic playbooks.

2

A defined cadence

One to three days a week, on-site or remote, with clear responsibilities — strategy, roadmap, team coaching, or all three.

3

Built to make myself unnecessary

The goal is a team that holds direction without me. I build capability, not dependency.

Background

I'm a senior product consultant at SeventyOne Consulting in Stockholm and Industry Leader in Product Management at Hyper Island. My experience spans subscription (Nextory), B2B e-commerce (Ahlsell), employer branding (Universum), and grocery delivery (MatHem) — from strategy and AI transformation to acquisition, conversion, and growth. Alongside client work, I ship real products with AI, solo, from idea to production.

See case studies

Common questions

What's the difference between a fractional CPO and a consultant?

A consultant typically delivers a project and leaves. A fractional product leader takes ongoing ownership — joining leadership discussions, owning the product direction, and being accountable for outcomes over months, at a fraction of a full-time executive cost.

How many days a week does it take?

Most engagements run 1–3 days per week. The right level depends on team size and how much is in motion — we define it during the initial assessment and adjust as the team grows.

Do you work remotely or on-site?

Both. I'm based in Stockholm and work across Europe — remote-first with regular on-site time where it adds value. I work in English, Italian, and Swedish contexts.

How do engagements run contractually?

Engagements run through SeventyOne Consulting, a Stockholm-based firm working across product, design, and leadership. That means proper contracts, continuity, and a network of senior peers behind the work.

Wondering if fractional is the right model for you?

A 30-minute conversation is usually enough to tell. No pitch — just an honest read on whether this would help.

Product Rhythm logo

Every product has a rhythm. I make it my practice to find it.

© 2025–2026 Stefania Tardito · Product Rhythm (portfolio & product thinking)