Chris Colebourn
Providing Guidance, Direction, and Strategy to achieve growth, accelerate your velocity and exceed your business goals.
20+
Years Experience
200+
Engineers Developed / Led
30%
Revenue Growth Delivered
Experience With Industry Leaders
For CTO's
Many CTO's are buried in the day-to-day. I act as a force multiplier, providing the additional throughput needed to tackle high-stakes architectural shifts, AI strategy, a strategic POC, or team-wide velocity improvements.
For CEO's
You have talented engineers but lack a strategic technical leader. You don't need a full-time CTO yet, but do need a seasoned hand to ensure your team isn't building tomorrow's technical debt. I bridge the gap between your business vision and a well architected product.
My Approach
I don’t sell textbook advice. I deliver real-world execution. I actively build, code, and deploy technology with a single focus to accelerate revenue and operational efficiency. My mandate is simple: to leave your team more capable, faster, and self-sufficient.
Scalability Veteran
I’ve supported growth from a 90-person startup to a global organization, aligning people, products, and execution. I know what "good" looks like at every stage.
Hands-on Pragmatism
I understand the nuances of modern AI stacks, event-driven architectures, and cloud-native development. I stay hands-on to ensure solutions are practical and effective.
Business-First Mindset
I view technology as a tool to drive revenue and efficiency. My goal isn't just "cool tech", it's to build a more valuable, scalable business.
Track Record
I have spent over 20 years building and scaling software at the highest levels. My experience spans the entire lifecycle of a company—from scrappy startups to managing teams of 200+ and multi-million dollar budgets.
Collette
Pioneered the company's AI journey, accelerating AI adoption 10x by establishing governance and an AI growth mindset. Built a 110+ person team in 12 months and raised Tier 1 uptime from 95% to 99.9%.
TripAdvisor
Joined at 90 employees and scaled the platform to 1 billion requests per day. Delivered four consecutive years of 20%+ revenue growth by optimizing UI and driving SEO strategy.
Wayfair
Led the transformation of the Pricing team, modernizing legacy systems into a real-time platform that saved $4.2M (40%) in annual Opex.
High-Impact Engagements
AI Strategy
Your board is asking for an AI strategy, but your leadership team is overwhelmed by the hype and unsure where the real ROI lies. Your leadership doesn't know exactly where to start or how to lead the change.
I move your organization along the path from curious to competent. I conduct an AI Assessment to understand your team's current state and identify exactly where AI can cut costs today vs. where it's just a distraction.
Outcome
A prioritized roadmap of 2–3 validated AI use cases that deliver on current business goals. Governance and "Champions" groups to ensure AI becomes a cultural pillar rather than a brief shiny object.
AI Proof of Concept
Your team is stuck in "R&D loops" or debating build vs buy while your competitors are already shipping AI features.
I don't just hand over a strategy document; I get into the code with your team to guide them as they build the first version of a POC leveraging AI to deliver on a business goal.
Outcome
A production-ready prototype that proves value to customers or investors without burning six months of runway. Working knowledge that ensures your team can repeat the process.
Engineering Audit - Unlock Velocity
Product delivery has slowed to a crawl, technical debt is mounting, and you don't have a clear data-driven view of why the team is struggling. What got you to $10M is now holding you back from getting to $50M.
I perform a deep-dive assessment to find the limitations in your architecture, team or processes.
Outcome
A Technology Roadmap that provides guidance to restore engineering speed and predictability. Move from "guessing" why things are slow to "measuring" and fixing the root causes.
Ready to Break Through Your Technical Ceiling?
Let's discuss how I can help accelerate your team's velocity and achieve your business goals.
Get in Touch