CTO – Product and Engineering — Managed-Services Unit

The mandate

The board has concluded that incremental adjustment will not resolve product engineering requiring a step-change in pace without compromising reliability within a listed enterprise technology and digital-products group. The immediate arena is the managed-services unit during a shift from licences to subscriptions. For mandate 141, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The CTO – Product and Engineering operating perimeter covers approximately £2,250 million in annual recurring revenue portfolio, with activity spanning several managed-services unit customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The CTO – Product and Engineering Technology remit carries direct influence over roughly 500 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors want a CTO – Product and Engineering who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the managed-services unit. The CTO – Product and Engineering Technology seat must resolve a shift from licences to subscriptions, while preserving the underlying strengths of the managed-services unit. For mandate 141, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The CTO – Product and Engineering’s first year on the managed-services unit is expected to end with release confidence, architecture health and engineering productivity. In mandate 141, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is an urgent replacement for the CTO – Product and Engineering — Managed-Services Unit seat following an accelerated leadership transition. Interim accountability is in place for the managed-services unit, but the board wants a permanent appointment within 6–8 weeks because a shift from licences to subscriptions cannot remain under split ownership. The predecessor’s outcome is being handled neutrally and professionally. The external search remains confidential until the preferred candidate and transition plan are agreed.

What you will own

• Set the CTO – Product and Engineering value-creation thesis for the managed-services unit, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately £2,250 million in annual recurring revenue portfolio, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the CTO – Product and Engineering Technology organisation of about 500 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the managed-services unit economics and execution constraints created by a shift from licences to subscriptions, with CTO – Product and Engineering-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one CTO – Product and Engineering operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the managed-services unit; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have made consequential architecture and engineering trade-offs while scaling release throughput and reliability in mandate 141.
• Build the CTO – Product and Engineering’s three-year succession and capability plan for the managed-services unit, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Technology organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the managed-services unit baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to product engineering requiring a step-change in pace without compromising reliability, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal CTO – Product and Engineering portfolio and organisation choices for the managed-services unit, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable managed-services unit trend against release confidence, architecture health and engineering productivity, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the CTO – Product and Engineering’s agreed first-year managed-services unit value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A CTO – Product and Engineering forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the managed-services unit’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the CTO – Product and Engineering mandate’s highest-priority managed-services unit risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical managed-services unit talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the CTO – Product and Engineering’s direct reports.
• A quantified CTO – Product and Engineering-owned improvement in the managed-services unit operating constraint behind a shift from licences to subscriptions, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 141: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a CTO, SVP Engineering or Product Technology Head in a listed Technology or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the managed-services unit, your CTO – Product and Engineering track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from software, cloud services, digital platforms, IT services or technology-enabled business services will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this CTO – Product and Engineering brief.

As a CTO – Product and Engineering candidate, you bring 18–22 years of progressive Technology or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 18-22 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of £1,300 million and led an organisation of at least 500 people.

For mandate 141, the board wants two transitions: a difficult managed-services unit portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a shift from licences to subscriptions. As the prospective CTO – Product and Engineering for this managed-services unit, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 141 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The CTO – Product and Engineering must be based in London; international relocation is supported, but this Technology role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of CTO, SVP Engineering or Product Technology Head, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Technology governance forum.
• Proven CTO – Product and Engineering ownership of at least £1,300 million and leadership of no fewer than 500 employees in a comparable managed-services unit context.
• One completed Technology or adjacent-sector example of product engineering requiring a step-change in pace without compromising reliability with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from software, cloud services, digital platforms, IT services or technology-enabled business services; experience that is purely functional and lacks CTO – Product and Engineering-level managed-services unit consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the London location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 141.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated CTO – Product and Engineering package is £290,000–390,000 base + annual incentive and LTI, calibrated to the final managed-services unit scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 141 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The CTO – Product and Engineering appointment in London, centred on the managed-services unit, offers regular exposure to the chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 141.

Confidentiality

The organisation will be identified only after reciprocal interest and a confidentiality undertaking for mandate 141. The market, scale and situation in this brief are intentionally composite and are not a coded description of a named enterprise for mandate 141.