I’ve always thought of myself as a product designer or strategist at heart and wound up a CPO almost by accident. Over the last 20 years the world of product development has accelerated rapidly as a discipline. Designers from 20 years ago found themselves taking on research, becoming UX designers, product designers or strategists and product managers broadened their skillset beyond writing user stories and holding sprint ceremonies. In all of this what I’m trying to say is that roles have morphed, changed, expanded, splintered and reinvented themselves in the product space.
I found that whilst I’ve a keen eye for experience design and understanding the world of product development, my stronger suit sometimes lay in working with teams to do all of the ‘stuff’. Over time as you progress into more senior roles you find yourself less hands on and more of a lead. The skills I’d built in my younger years (mainly soft ones) such as resilience, empathy, listening, making decisions and so on ended up becoming an integral part of what I ended up doing – moving from head of, or product lead to VP and CPO.
But what does a Chief Product Officer actually do? And why are they important? If the hiring of a CPO is intimidating from a budget point of view what can organisation benefit from hiring a ‘Fractional CPO’ and what is that anyway?
What Does a Chief Product Officer Actually Do? And Why a Fractional CPO Might Be the Smarter Move
As I eluded to above, Product has become a function no ambitious company can afford to overlook. Yet, despite the rising recognition of its importance, many organisations still struggle to answer a fundamental question: what does a Chief Product Officer (CPO) actually do?
And more importantly, in today’s climate of leaner teams and tighter budgets, is hiring a full-time CPO always the right move—or is a fractional CPO exactly what you need?
Procurement cycles to hire the ‘big’ CPO can take months or even over a year – by understanding what a CPO does and what problem they try to solve you can make better hiring decisions.
So, what does a Chief Product Officer do?
At its core, the role of a CPO is to define and drive a company’s product strategy to meet both customer needs and business goals. It’s a balancing act—understanding where the market is going, identifying the opportunities, and ensuring that the product roadmap is aligned with the company’s overall ambitions.
But that’s the high-level definition. Day to day, a CPO typically:
• Shapes the long-term product vision and strategy.
• Aligns cross-functional teams around that vision.
• Establishes processes for discovery, delivery, and iteration.
• Partners with commercial teams to identify monetisation opportunities.
• Advocates for the user at the leadership table.
But these are simply the things you’ll see in countless boring job descriptions. This applies to any kind of leader in product to be honest in some form or another. If you’re product led you’ll hopefully be listening to your internal feedback loops from the PMs or engineers or test teams.
A CPO is a little bit special. For me, they possess soft skills that are not born from reading the latest product tomes or going through all of the Reforge courses. They are skills honed from years of working with TEAMS, leaders, CEOs and PEOPLE. That is NOT something you can just learn in a few weeks. CPOs are there to not only champion the product vision and do a lot of the product leadership ‘stuff’ but also are the advocates in detail of your product, your mission and can stand in front of the board, investors or new hires and sell it. And I mean sell it well, in detail, often knowing many more touchpoints than the CEO (who might be busy trying to raise the next funding round).
Another massively overlooked skills CPOs possess is that they create clarity. One of the things I’ve found time and again stepping into product leadership roles is that teams often aren’t lacking talent—they’re lacking clear priorities, focus, and momentum. But one thing I’ve also noticed is that companies, squeezed by tighter budgets, think that a senior PM can do the job of a CPO. This isn’t often the case. Being on the C-Suite requires a special blend of hands on practitioner (essential in my view within product) but also a strong people person. Building products is HARD – this means that the teams will often encounter a lot of stress. Who do you want to manage that? Someone who’s a product management rockstar but no idea on how to coach, mentor or look after the team? Often a more seasoned veteran is the right choice.
Full-time CPO vs. Fractional CPO
Traditionally, a full-time CPO is a permanent member of the exec team, deeply embedded in the organisation, with ownership of product management, design, and sometimes even engineering. They lead large teams, work across the business, and are often tasked with building a lasting product culture.
A fractional CPO, on the other hand, operates on a part-time or contract basis, typically anywhere from a few days a month to a couple of days a week. They deliver senior-level strategic guidance without the long-term commitment or cost of a full-time hire.
Having worked in both capacities, I can say there are clear advantages to each. But the fractional model is often overlooked—and, in many cases, it’s exactly what’s needed. Procurement times to hire an expensive CPO are long – months or even up to or longer than a year! What will you do in that time? How much could your time be better spent hitting the ground running with robust leadership from day 1?
Why fractional might be the better choice
1. When you need to become product-led but can’t justify a full-time exec salary
I’ve worked with several companies who knew they needed to be more product-led—perhaps a founder or CEO was still making all the product decisions, or the roadmap was driven purely by client requests. But they weren’t yet at the scale to bring in a full-time CPO at £150-250k a year, plus equity.
A fractional CPO bridges that gap. You get the strategic product leadership needed to establish best practices, set a clear vision, and upskill the team, without the overhead of a permanent hire.
2. When you need momentum, fast
One company I supported was sitting on a solid MVP, but progress had stalled. Internal debates dragged on, priorities shifted weekly, and there was no clear path to launch. As a fractional CPO, I was able to step in, audit the product, reset the roadmap, and guide the team to release in six weeks.
A full-time hire might have taken months to recruit. Sometimes, time is the most expensive resource you have.
3. When founders are still leading product (and probably shouldn’t be)
This is more common than people think. Founders are often brilliant at getting a product to market, but over time, the demands of scaling a business pull them in other directions. Product can start to suffer.
A fractional CPO can gradually take ownership, professionalise the product function, and free founders to focus on fundraising, culture, or operations—all without the disruption of a major leadership shake-up.
4. When you want to test before you invest
Hiring a full-time CPO is a significant commitment. What if you’re not quite sure what you need? A fractional CPO gives you the chance to see the impact of strong product leadership and assess what works before going all in on a permanent hire.
Why it works
In my experience, the fractional model isn’t just about saving money (although that’s often a benefit). It’s about bringing in an experienced operator who can quickly assess what’s happening, identify what’s missing, and create a clear path forward—while building capability within your team.
It works best when there’s a willingness to change. If you sense that your product is underperforming, your team is stuck in delivery mode, or customer feedback is going unheard, these are signs that it might be time to bring in external product leadership.
And sometimes, just a few days a month is all it takes to unlock significant growth.
Final thought
Not every company needs a full-time CPO. But every company that wants to build a truly great product needs strong product leadership. Whether that’s full-time or fractional depends on your stage, scale, and ambition.
In the end, it’s not about the job title—it’s about creating the conditions where your product can thrive AND where your people can thrive!