What is a Fractional CMO and could one be right for you?
Kristina Gerdov • June 25, 2025
As businesses seek cost-effective strategies to drive growth, the concept of a Fractional Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is becoming an increasingly popular strategy. If you need senior marketing direction without the overhead of a full-time executive, a Fractional CMO can provide high-impact leadership, minus the long-term commitment.
At iknowho, we’ve seen demand for Fractional CMO’s in Australia rise across both scaling startups and established enterprises looking to sharpen their marketing ROI. So what exactly is a Fractional CMO and how do you know if it’s the right move for your business?
What is a Fractional CMO?
A Fractional CMO is a seasoned marketing leader who works with your business on a part-time or project basis, fulfilling the role of a CMO without the full-time salary. They’re typically brought in to drive strategy, lead teams, and guide growth or scaling initiatives – giving you access to the strategies you need now, without the full-time commitment. Whether it’s a couple of days a week or full time across 3-6 months, the options are flexible based on your business needs.
What Can a Fractional CMO Do for Your Business?
- Develop and implement marketing strategies: Craft comprehensive marketing plans aligned with your business objectives.
- Review existing spend and structures: Drive better ROI for your current spend and make the most of your budgets, auditing current channels, teams and partners.
- Align brand messaging and customer experience: Ensure consistency across all touchpoints.
- Lead and mentor teams: Provide hands-on leadership to internal teams or agency partners. Many fractional CMOs have the benefit of experience across both agency and in-house roles, with contacts in hand to deliver impact from day one.
- Establish KPIs and measurement frameworks: To help you track success and make data-informed decisions.
- Act as interim leadership: Fill leadership gaps during transitions, maintaining momentum in marketing initiatives.
How to hire the right Fractional CMO:
Just as your business is unique, so too is finding the right leader. You need someone that can adapt quickly to your business, team and growth stage.
Here’s what to look for:
- Industry experience: Ideally aligned to your sector or adjacent experience that brings fresh perspective.
- Strategic and hands-on: Able to set the direction and execute. Look for a proven track record of translating plans into tangible results.
- Leadership experience: Your CMO should bring true leadership experience – either having led teams or built them.
- Results driven: Ensure that they’re data driven with measurable impact and have the ability to present business cases to the leadership team.
- Cultural fit: Leadership style matters. Even in an interim capacity, they will likely have a lasting impact on your current team and the culture - so alignment on this is key.
How iknowho can help
Hiring a senior marketing leader, even on a short-term basis - is a big decision. Here’s where, working with a specialist recruitment partner like us can help:
- Tailored approach: Be it your first marketing hire, filling a leadership gap, or undergoing a restructure, we can shape the right solution based on your business needs.
- Expert guidance: We can support you beyond the hire - from advising on structure and salary benchmarks to onboarding and retention.
- Well-established talent pools ready for you to tap into, meaning fast access to high quality candidates, often before they hit the market.
Curious if a fractional CMO is right for your business?
Whether you're scaling, restructuring, or need strategic leadership fast, we can help you find the right fit to drive your business forward.
If you’re considering hiring a Fractional CMO in Australia, working with a specialist marketing recruitment partner ensures you have access to the network to get it right the first time.
Click here to book a complimentary discovery call with one of our talent partners to work through what might be the right solution for you.
In 2025, personal branding isn't just a buzzword – it's important for anyone navigating the job market. The uncomfortable truth is this; you're likely being Googled more often than you're being interviewed. In a digital-first world, your personal brand can potentially boost your career prospects. So how can you leverage it to stand out during your job hunt? 1. Your brand is what people say when you're not in the room Personal branding isn’t just about the polished version of yourself that you post on LinkedIn. It’s what others say about you when you’re not around. Consider how you’re being perceived online and offline. Is your brand consistent, authentic, and aligned with your career aspirations? What would potential employers say about you when they Google you? To start refining your personal brand, think about your values, your goals, and how you want others to perceive you. This means showcasing your strengths, yes, but also acknowledging your struggles and learning moments. Authenticity can give you a competitive edge. 2. Lead with curiosity, not just expertise Publicly asking thoughtful, insightful questions. It positions you as someone who is constantly learning, open to feedback, and not afraid to explore new ideas – a thought provoker and idea leader in your space. In the job hunt, this quality can set you apart from others who might be more focused on offering answers than asking the right questions. So, when you’re engaging with others online or in an interview, try focusing on asking questions that spark deeper discussions. Your curiosity and willingness to learn can make a lasting impression. 3. Your personal brand is about becoming known for the right things Remember, personal branding isn’t about trying to become famous. It’s about being known for the right things – the things that align with your career goals and the value you want to offer to employers. For job seekers, this means ensuring that your online presence and interactions reflect your expertise, passion, and ambition. When crafting your personal brand, be deliberate. Think about the skills, values, and personality traits you want to highlight. 4. Be consistent and intentional The foundation of a strong personal brand is consistency. Your personal brand is built in the small, everyday actions – how you engage with your network. Consistency in your interactions helps shape how people perceive you and helps create a brand that’s memorable. If you're job hunting, it's critical to show up consistently both online and offline. This includes engaging with industry professionals on LinkedIn, contributing to discussions, and demonstrating professionalism in all your interactions. 5. Small steps to narrow the gap So, what's the gap between how you see yourself and how others might perceive you? The goal isn’t perfection, but making small, consistent adjustments that move you closer to aligning your internal brand with how you’re seen externally. It could be tweaking your LinkedIn profile, starting a blog, or sharing your expertise. What’s one small thing you could do this week to move the needle and narrow that gap? Whether it’s posting a thoughtful comment on a relevant post, reaching out to someone in your industry, or sharing a story of a recent challenge, small actions can have a big impact over time. 6. Share struggles, Not just wins When it comes to personal branding, it’s easy to fall into the trap of only sharing successes. However, some of the most credible personal brands are built on transparency – sharing the struggles and lessons learned along the way. It’s interesting to see how you handle setbacks, not just your triumphs. Embracing imperfection in your personal brand helps paint a fuller picture of who you are. Whether it’s sharing a challenging project you worked on or a time when you faced a setback and how you overcame it, these stories can help demonstrate your resilience, problem-solving abilities, and growth mindset – qualities employers are eager to see. In today’s market, personal branding isn’t just a nice-to-have. By being intentional, consistent, and authentic, you can build a personal brand that resonates with potential employers, ultimately setting you up for success in your job hunt. So, there’s no better time to start than now.
Starting a new role is so exciting but can sometimes feel like a whirlwind—there’s so much to take in. That’s why we’ve broken it down into a simple 30-60-90 day plan—to help you settle in, make an impact early, get aligned on your KPIs, and feel a sense of achievement from day one.
I recently had the pleasure of attending the B&T 30 Under 30 awards and had the chance to meet some incredibly talented rising stars in the industry. One standout was Aoife Lehane, a candidate we’ve had the privilege of working with, who was nominated and shortlisted in the Account Management category. Honestly, I wasn’t surprised at all—anyone who meets Aoife can immediately see how ambitious, creatively driven, and sharp she is. Here’s a look at her B&T 30 Under 30 experience and a glimpse into her impressive career: From starting your career in Dublin, to moving to Sydney and landing a fantastic role through iknowho at one of Australia’s top agencies, you’ve had an amazing career to date. Can you tell us a little more about your background? I have learned from some extremely talented people throughout my career to date and count myself very lucky to have had been afforded some amazing opportunities. I started my career at a boutique indie agency in Ireland where I got invaluable hands-on experience running my own accounts and pitching for new business quite early on. From here, I made the move to Droga5 in Dublin working on some of the agency’s largest clients. Whilst at Droga5, I went through a career crossroads moment where I was debating becoming a planner and actually spent 6 months working in the strategy department which I absolutely loved. This stint in strategy taught me invaluable skills that I use in my role everyday. Ultimately, I decided to stay in account management (if you hadn’t guessed!) as I couldn’t shake the curiosity of seeing the whole process come to life and the ability to really influence the work in all phases, beyond just what I touched in strat. It sounds cliché but I’m also a real people person and I thrive off building relationships. In my opinion, account management are the real beating heart of an agency, and I thrive in that role and the exposure it gives you to all areas of the business. When I decided that I was moving to Sydney I reached out to Riza at iknowho whilst still in Ireland. Not knowing the Australian market was extremely daunting but her knowledge and experience put me completely at ease. She really understood me, my ambitions and the type of agency I wanted to work in for the next chapter in my career and I couldn’t be happier with how it worked out. The calibre of talent in the mix was extremely high this year. How did it feel to be a finalist at this years’ B&T 30 under 30? And what inspired you to participate? I feel so incredibly grateful to have been up there with some amazing individuals who have achieved so much in their careers already. Personally, it was such a lovely moment to be recognised amongst such a talented group of people who have come from different backgrounds and corners of the globe. Having diversity in career paths and experience is so important for our industry to bring fresh perspectives and thinking – it only benefits the work, the people who make it and the people who see it. It was actually this time last year, seeing the finalists and the stories from past winners that inspired me to enter - I turn 30 this year so I figured if not now, when! What did you learn throughout the process of applying and what advice would you give to others looking to participate next year? Also, how did your agency help to support you in the process? I really enjoyed the process of applying and the moment of reflection it gave me on my career to date. So often I’m looking ahead to the next thing and don’t take the time to reflect on what I have achieved already. As someone who can be very hard on themselves, it was a really eye-opening and rewarding process to take part in. The 3 pieces of advice I would give to others looking to participate next year would be: 1: Think about the narrative you want to land from the start and how you weave that narrative through your response to the questions and constantly re-enforcing your point. 2: For me, it helped to get everything down on paper and then treat it as a bit of a creative review to condense and tighten (my first draft was 9 minutes long!) 3: Lean on those around you for their advice and point of view, you can get stuck in your own head when it comes to the submission, so it’s good to have those around you to offer that fresh perspective. I work with some very talented people who were extremely generous with their time not only offering me their advice and feedback but also their videography and editing skills to give my submission that final polish – it takes a village! There is no doubt that being a finalist helps elevate your profile, what other benefits do you see from being shortlisted and are there any other awards in your sights for the future? Not being from here it can be a little bit harder to “break into the industry” and make a name for yourself, as an expat I have found it hugely beneficial in that respect. Even this opportunity from the team at iknowho to do this profile piece has been really valuable and a great privilege that I don’t take for granted. In terms of personal awards, there’s nothing specific that I have my sights set on in the immediate, but I am open to whatever opportunities come my way. Forbes 30U30 would be a good one but I would want to get busy! What’s next for you, where do you see yourself in five years? Anyone who knows me has heard me say I want to be on that stage in Cannes.. so hopefully that will have happened. With the world we’re living in right now and the constant conversation around the value of creativity (which I believe is not only monetary, but also the value it provides to society) I’m driven by the opportunity to create something that people really connect with and makes a lasting impression in the world.. whether that’s as simple as just making people smile or changing societal behaviour for good - the pursuit of that is what drives me. I’m energised by working with likeminded people who share my ambition but not always a similar point of view. I love the process of sharing those different points of views and different ways of thinking and what brings to fruition. That to me is what makes the industry we work in so interesting and one I love being a part of. Ultimately, I would love to be in a leadership role in an agency where I have the ability to make a real impact and influence the direction for the future of the industry. -- Thank you so much, Aoife, for sharing your journey, insights, and advice. Your passion and drive are truly inspiring, and we have no doubt you’ll continue to make waves in the industry. We can’t wait to see what’s next for you! If you're looking for your next role within the junior-mid levels across agency or the perfect candidate to add to your team get in touch with Riza today!
