Fractional CMOs & CSOs for Private Equity Portfolio Companies | Chief Outsiders

Our Methodology

Our Growth Gears framework is a proven methodology – validated by research and thousands of client engagements - to grow mid-market businesses.

Our proprietary, AI-powered operating system, GrowthGears OS, brings this methodology to life, harnessing the learnings and best practices from hundreds of CMOs and CSOs and thousands of engagements to accelerate impact and reduce risk.

INSIGHT	STRATEGY		EXECUTION
Market	Company	Offering	Marketing	Sales
Market Assessment & Opportunity Analysis	Market Alignment Strategy	Product / Service Branding	Organization Audit, Planning & Development	Sales Audit & Process
SWOT & Gap Analysis	Brand Assessment	Product / Service Planning	Marketing Mix Optimization	Funnel Conversion Analysis, Metrics & Reporting
Customer Experience	Value Proposition	Product / Service Positioning	Digital Marketing & Social Media	Partner & Channel Strategy
Profitability Analysis	Positioning & Messaging	Packaging & Delivery	Technology Systems & Process	Demand/Lead Generation
Sales & Marketing Alignment	Market Segmentation	Pricing	Key Account Strategies	Sales Ops & Compensation
Competitive Analysis	Go-To-Market Strategy	Launch Planning	Communications & PR	Sales Enablement
Company Perspective		Innovation Process	Marketing Metrics, Reporting & ROI	Marketing Sales Alignment

Chief Outsiders has been a great asset to Threefold and our portfolio of brands over the past 12 months. Our Chief Outsiders’ CMO is a great strategic thinker, insightful, and builds momentum towards new initiatives. As he began to work with our portfolio, he built trust quickly with our leaders and has been able to meet them where they are currently while building a road map towards our desired future state. Chief Outsiders’ vast experience and expertise has made this not only an eﬀective relationship, but they are also great to work with."

Charlie Meyer

Founding Partner, Threefold,
Indianapolis-based PE firm

Case Study

Education Advanced

Learn how an Education SaaS company built a high performing marketing function to drive to 2X revenue growth and 10X value creation.

“Our CMO was a great resource to scale our department and position us for the next phase.”

Jessica Johnston

VP of Marketing, Education Advanced

Case Study

Altacrest Capital

Read how Chief Outsiders helped grow their Barton Watch Bands portco more profitably.

“We really appreciate what Chief Outsiders has done for our Barton Watch investment.”

Brien Davis

Partner, Altacrest Capital

Case Study

AML RightSource

Learn how an anti-money laundering firm generates phenomenal growth.

“We’ve grown this company from 450 to 1,000 FTE — couldn’t have achieved that without Chief Outsiders.”

Frank Ewing

CEO, AML RightSource

The Chief Outsiders Difference

Making big things happen for your portfolio companies

A track record serving 300+ PE firms and 500+ portfolio companies (and more than 2000 total companies)
Expertise in all 4 deal stages
Immediate access to insourced strategic and execution resources, matched to your portfolio companies needs and challenges
Proven GrowthGears™ methodology, operationalized with the GrowthGears(SM) OS platform
A fresh perspective – backed by the collective expertise of 120+ business executives who understand the needs of both portfolio executives and investors to drive outsized performance for all stakeholders

Fractional Chief Marketing Officers for Private Equity Firms

A Fractional and Interim Chief Marketing Officer from Chief Outsiders brings experienced growth leadership to portfolio companies that need strategic marketing direction, improved go-to-market execution, or accelerated demand generation. Our CMOs work alongside operating partners and executive teams to build scalable growth strategies, strengthen market positioning, and implement marketing systems that drive measurable revenue and EBITDA growth.

Fractional CMOs are typically deployed during key phases of the investment lifecycle, including post-acquisition growth planning, marketing transformation initiatives, and pre-exit positioning. By providing experienced leadership without the cost or delay of a full-time hire, private equity firms gain immediate access to proven marketing leaders who can build and execute a growth roadmap.

Fractional Chief Sales Officers for Private Equity Portfolio Companies

A Fractional and Interim Chief Sales Officer from Chief Outsiders provides experienced revenue leadership to portfolio companies that need to improve sales performance, strengthen pipeline development, or build scalable sales organizations. Our CSOs work alongside operating partners and executive teams to diagnose sales challenges, implement proven revenue frameworks, and drive measurable growth.

Chief Outsiders’ battle-tested sales leaders help portfolio companies align sales strategy, process, and accountability to improve conversion rates, increase pipeline velocity, and accelerate revenue and EBITDA growth.

Fractional CSOs are often deployed during key stages of the investment lifecycle, including post-acquisition growth planning, sales transformation initiatives, and pre-exit revenue acceleration. By providing experienced leadership without the cost or delay of a full-time hire, private equity firms gain immediate access to proven operators who can stabilize sales performance and build a scalable revenue engine.

Fractional CSOs commonly support portfolio companies by:

Diagnosing pipeline and revenue performance gaps
Building scalable sales processes and forecasting discipline
Aligning sales teams around clear performance metrics and accountability
Strengthening go-to-market execution to accelerate revenue growth

When Should Private Equity Firms Deploy Our Fractional CMOs and CSOs?

Post-Acquisition Growth Strategy	Go-To-Market Transformation	Marketing Leadership Gaps	Sales Execution Challenges	Pre-Exit Growth Acceleration
Establishing a clear growth roadmap, market positioning, and demand generation strategy for newly acquired portfolio companies.	Aligning marketing and sales organizations to improve pipeline generation, conversion rates, and revenue predictability.	Providing experienced marketing leadership when portfolio companies lack a strategic CMO capable of driving growth initiatives.	Deploying fractional CSOs to improve sales process discipline, pipeline management, and revenue accountability.	Strengthening market positioning and revenue momentum in preparation for exit.

PE Marketing Consulting

Chief Outsiders also provides specialized marketing consulting services for private equity firms and their portfolio companies. Our experienced PE marketing consultants help operating partners and executive teams diagnose growth challenges, refine market positioning, and develop actionable strategies to accelerate revenue and EBITDA growth.

These consulting engagements often focus on high-impact initiatives such as go-to-market strategy development, demand generation planning, marketing organization design, and customer segmentation. By combining strategic insight with operator-level experience, Chief Outsiders helps portfolio companies quickly move from strategy to execution.

Learn more about our marketing consulting services

PE Sales Consulting

Chief Outsiders also provides specialized sales consulting services to help private equity portfolio companies strengthen revenue performance and build scalable sales organizations. Our experienced operators work with operating partners and executive teams to diagnose sales challenges, improve pipeline development, and implement proven revenue frameworks.

These engagements often focus on strengthening sales processes, improving forecasting discipline, aligning go-to-market strategy, and establishing performance accountability across the sales organization. By combining strategic insight with the deep experience of our CSOs, Chief Outsiders helps portfolio companies accelerate revenue growth and build sustainable sales performance.

Learn more about our sales consulting services