I’m a Partner at TechCXO and an Interim & Fractional CTO for a number of companies. I enjoy helping my clients leverage technology effectively and manage the change inherent in the technology world. It’s rewarding to see companies transform through the thoughtful application of solutions.
I’ve been in the technology world since the early 80’s. I started as a software engineer, eventually becoming an architect and CTO for several product and consulting companies. For over 30 years, I’ve worked with companies in financial services, consumer goods, media & entertainment, retail and other industries developing solutions that help businesses run more efficiently and interact more effectively with their customers.
Working with teams and helping them perform at their best is one of the ways that I’ve helped my clients transform their business. Many times, I’ve worked with clients to help discover how to improve their technology delivery, and the solution has been more involved with people and process. All three are inter-dependent and have to be approached in a holistic manner.
I still love writing code and prototyping solutions to gain a full understanding of how things work and how technology can create maximum business value. It’s a lot of fun to get in the trenches with software engineers and slog through making a system more performant or find an elusive bug.
I write this blog to share what I’ve learned and, hopefully, to help you communicate more effectively with business leaders on technical topics. I welcome comments and questions. You can contact me at kevin.carlson@techcxo.com or send me a message on LinkedIn.
Here’s what others say about working with me…
Seldom does one find a person who so artfully balances an in-depth knowledge of technology with a strong business acumen and understanding of/ability to manage people. Kevin is as comfortable designing an award winning system architecture as he is presenting to corporate execs.
Dave T. | President
Kevin is a rare breed of CTO -- not just incredibly knowledgeable and strategic, but a collaborator. Our business team had full confidence that our voices were heard, and our requires were built into the solution. He also used these listening and consensus-building skills within the IT team itself. He successfully turned around a dysfunctional SDLC process and a culture of mistrust into one of clarity, dialog and teamwork. This yielded measurable results not only to our IT development efforts, but to larger strategic initiatives. Kevin is simply the best.
Michelle C. | SVP Strategy
Kevin was consistently thinking about appropriate directions the company should be moving in technically. His technical insight was without question exceptional. He is very much a team player and works for the good of the organization in all that he does.
Ross B. | President
Kevin and I first worked together when consulting companies were discovering that their clients wanted cross-discipline teams and he was one of the few who intuitively grasped that. He is still the best in the bunch. From healthcare to publishing to eCommerce, in the States and Europe, Kevin has grown offices, maintained and grown long-term client relationships, and balanced delivery teams to increase value for the client and the team.
Bill R. | VP User Experience
Kevin is one of the most gifted leaders I've worked with. He is always focused on creating meaningful outcomes and tackling the most challenging problems with incredible "can-do" spirit and a sense of strength and composure under pressure. He has coached and developed countless rising stars -- bottom line, Kevin cares.
Amy R. | Strategic Advisor & Chief People Officer
Kevin is an incredible talent and a person I respect immensely for his calm demeanor, entertaining style and incredible people and client management skills.
Noel H. | VP Global Services
Kevin is everything you want at the CTO level. For example, he helped with business and technical details around European Security & Privacy Laws, using emerging architectures for large-scale real-world clients. Endless wealth of knowledge and always ready to help.
Bill T. | Commerce Leader & Innovator
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