Fractional CTO · Cloud · AI · Architecture

Most technology decisions are framed wrong before they're answered.

For founders, CTOs and executive teams facing the cloud, AI and architecture bets you can't easily undo — I help you reframe the decision, then make the call.

Experience
Two decades across enterprise, consulting and startups.
Range
Architect-grade depth, executive-level perspective.
Mode
Fractional, advisory or project-based engagements.
Engagements

Selective engagements where deep technical judgment changes the outcome.

I work with a small number of clients at a time, scoped around the decision that matters — not billable hours. And, unlike advisors who stop at the deck, I can stay to help carry the strategy into delivery.

01

Fractional & Interim CTO

Executive technology leadership without a full-time hire — for startups, scale-ups and mid-market companies in transition.

  • Technology vision and roadmap
  • Engineering org design and hiring
  • Board and investor communication
  • Hands-on architecture when the team needs it
02

Architecture Review

A focused diagnosis of where you are, where you should be, and the few moves that compound. Cloud, software architecture, distributed systems.

  • Current-state assessment and risk map
  • Target architecture and migration path
  • Cost, performance and reliability tradeoffs
  • Optional execution support post-review
03

AI Strategy Sprint

A short, intensive engagement to identify where AI actually creates value — and how to ship it without burning a year on POCs.

  • Applied AI opportunity mapping
  • Build vs. buy and vendor strategy
  • LLM and agentic system architecture
  • Implementation oversight if needed
04

Advisory Retainer

Ongoing access to strategic technology judgment. A standing call cadence, async input on hard calls, and a second pair of eyes on the decisions that matter.

  • Monthly cadence and async access
  • Decision support on hard tradeoffs
  • Architecture and hiring sounding board
  • Stakeholder and board navigation

Why a generalist

In the age of AI, judgment is the bottleneck.

AI can generate any answer in seconds. That makes the answer cheap — and the question expensive. The bottleneck has moved upstream: knowing which problem to solve, which tradeoffs are real, and where a decision will compound. That's a judgment problem, not a tooling problem. Generalists who move fluently between architecture, product, strategy and operations are the ones best placed to make those calls — because the right answer rarely lives inside a single domain.

  • Fluent across architecture, product, strategy and org design.
  • Two decades of pattern recognition across enterprise, consulting and startups.
  • Strong opinions on what to do next; weak attachment to any specific stack or vendor.

Approach

How I work.

Most engagements follow the same rhythm — sharp listening before strong opinions.

i.

Diagnose

Context first. I spend time with founders, engineers and stakeholders to understand the real problem — not just the symptoms in the brief.

ii.

Reframe

Most decisions are framed wrong before they're answered. I rewrite them in terms that make tradeoffs visible and the few choices that actually matter obvious.

iii.

Commit

Concrete recommendations and a clear path forward — written down, defensible, tied to your business reality. Then execution support when you need it.


Selected experience

Companies and clients.

SGS JTI BEAI Energy KPMG Maersk Aviva Experian Equifax Siemens PwC
Antonio Elena
About

A polymathic technologist with real depth.

I'm Antonio Elena. I work at the intersection of technology, strategy and systems thinking. Over the past two decades I've worked across enterprise, consulting and startups as an architect, engineering leader and CTO — designing systems, shaping strategy and helping organizations modernize at scale.

My core domains are AI, cloud (with a strong PaaS and serverless bias), software architecture and modern software engineering. But my work increasingly sits one level above: connecting architecture decisions with business strategy, operating models and long-term technology bets.

I'm a generalist by design — combining deep technical expertise with cross-domain transfer, moving between architecture, product, strategy and organizational design. This lets me work both hands-on and at executive level, depending on what the situation requires.

I'm currently CTO of an AI-driven energy startup, and I take on a small number of selective advisory engagements alongside that.

Background

  • Currently CTO at BEAI Energy — AI-driven energy startup
  • Previously Global Head of Architecture & Technology at SGS, reporting to the Group CIO
  • Past clients include KPMG, Aviva, Maersk, Experian, Equifax, Siemens and PwC
  • Digital MBA for Technology Leaders — CTO Academy
  • Business Strategy & Financial Performance — INSEAD
  • Master in Data Engineering — datahack school
  • English · Spanish (native) · Italian (working)


Contact

Let's talk.

The fastest way to reach me is by email. If there's a fit, we'll set up a 30-minute intro call.

Email

antonioelena@gmail.com

Location

Madrid, Spain — working internationally

LinkedIn

linkedin.com/in/aelena

GitHub

github.com/aelena

Have a decision to make? Let's talk.

A 30-minute intro call, no obligation, to see if there's a fit.

Book an intro call