Senior leadership, part-time
Fractional AI Lead
You do not need a full-time Head of AI. You need someone who safeguards the agenda, asks the right questions in steering committees, and keeps good initiatives from quietly dying in the daily grind.
experience, impact ↓
20+ years experience
AI in Europe
European brands already running AI in production.
Not my clients. Examples of what happens once AI moves past the pilot stage.
- Klarna
Sweden
AI customer service assistant
- Zalando
Germany
Fashion assistant for product advice
- Financial services
Investment firm
AI strategy and use-case portfolio
- Booking.com
Netherlands
AI Trip Planner for travel planning
- Siemens
Germany
Industrial Copilot for engineering
- Retail
Enterprise retailer
AI-driven vendor selection
- Spotify
Sweden
AI DJ and personalized playlists
- Mercedes-Benz
Germany
Generative voice assistant in the car
- Industrial / B2B
International manufacturer
AI roadmap and leadership
- ING
Netherlands
Generative chatbot for customer queries
- L'Oréal
France
Beauty Genius: personalized advice
- Financial services
Financial services firm
KYC accelerated with AI document analysis
- SAP
Germany
Joule: copilot in business software
- Carrefour
France
Hopla: grocery shopping assistant
- Strategy & AI
SaaS scale-up
AI readiness assessment
- Adyen
Netherlands
AI-driven payment optimization
- Philips
Netherlands
AI in medical imaging
- Proces & productivity
Professional services firm
Internal AI assistant for knowledge workers
Advice (2 days), Lead (4 days) or Lead+ (8 days) per month, for 2, 4 or 8 days per month in total. Minimum 3 months, then cancellable monthly. Amounts exclude VAT and travel expenses.
What does a Fractional AI Lead cost and who is the role for?
Fractional AI Lead from Dave Willemstein gives organizations with running AI initiatives but no clear owner senior AI leadership on a part-time basis. The role costs €2,600 - €10,400 per month, for 2, 4 or 8 days per month, at the Advice, Lead or Lead+ level. The minimum term is 3 months and the role is cancellable monthly after that; the amounts are excluding VAT and travel expenses.
When can a Fractional AI Lead be cancelled?
Fractional AI Lead runs for a minimum of 3 months and is cancellable monthly after that.
Is the Fractional AI Lead a full-time role?
Fractional AI Lead is senior leadership on a part-time basis, for 2, 4 or 8 days per month, not a full-time role. It fits teams that need direction and capacity but cannot yet carry a full-time role.
Source: Dave Willemstein's rates and typical timelines. Updated: .
Why this comes up
The gap this fills
- A full-time Head of AI costs a heavy salary package and months of hiring, for a role whose scope is not even fixed yet.
- Without an owner, the AI agenda disappears between IT priorities and quarterly targets.
- Your internal candidate is good, but needs someone who has done this before.
- Decisions have to be made that nobody in the organization has the mandate or experience for.
How it works
Fixed rhythm, fixed role, shrinking dependency.
Month 1
Taking over the running agenda, a stakeholder round, and an honest picture of what is actually happening versus what is on the roadmap.
Month 2-3
Setting up governance and cadence: steering committee, metrics, decision framework. First initiatives let through the gate, or deliberately stopped.
Month 4-6
Safeguarding execution, testing business cases against delivery, and preparing your internal successor.
After that
Scaling down to one day a month as a sparring partner, or handing over to the permanent AI lead now in place.
What you get
Concrete. Clear.
Immediately usable.
- Ownership of the AI portfolio and the decision framework around it
- Chairing or joining the steering committee and architecture board
- Testing business cases before commitment, not after
- Vendor conversations and contract review from your side of the table
- Coaching of the internal AI lead, product owners and data team
- Monthly reporting you forward one-to-one to the board
- An explicit handover plan, from day one
Best fit for
Organizations that:
- Organizations with running AI initiatives but no clear owner
- Teams that need direction and capacity but cannot yet carry a full-time role
- Situations where an internal candidate is growing into the role and needs guidance
- Companies that just set a strategy and now need to safeguard execution
Less suitable if
- If you are looking for someone available five days a week
- If the role is mainly operational project management
The rhythm underneath
From insight
to impact.
Every engagement runs through the same four decision points. Only the depth per step differs.
More on my approach →Diagnose
What are we actually trying to solve?
Prioritize
Which use cases earn money, time and attention?
Decide
Build, buy or partner, and why?
Ship & govern
How do we make sure it actually lands?
At an international manufacturing organization, seven pilots were running across four countries with no connection between them. In nine months that became one approved roadmap, three applications scaled, and an internal lead who took it over.
Frequently asked questions
Answers to what you are thinking now.
How many days do I need?
Two days a month works if a strategy is in place and execution mainly needs safeguarding. Four days is more realistic if governance still needs to be built, or if multiple business units are involved.
Are you available between the fixed days?
Yes, for escalations and short questions. That is included in the rate. What is not included is unlimited attendance at meetings: nobody benefits from that.
What happens if we hire someone internally?
Then my work has succeeded. I help with the job profile and selection, and scale down to a sparring role. We build the handover plan in month one, not month six.
Do you work with multiple clients at once?
Yes, a maximum of three fractional roles in parallel. Never two direct competitors, and I check that before accepting an assignment.
More questions about working together, rates or procurement? See all frequently asked questions →
Ready for impact?
Book a call.
30 minutes. No pitch deck. Just a good conversation about your situation.