CTO & Executive Advisor
Considered technical
leadership, when it actually matters.
20+ years leading engineering organizations and building scalable software systems — I help companies make better technical decisions, build stronger engineering teams, and navigate consequential moments of growth.
2023 — Present
Chief Technology Officer
Glazier Software, New York, NY
2023
Engineering Lead
Leaf Advertising, New York, NY
2019 — 2023
Director - Data Engineering & BI
Cresco Labs, New York, NY
How I help
A small number of things, done well.
The situations where I can make a real difference — from AI agents and automation to executive advising and engineering leadership.
AI Agents & Process Automation
Teams with a real manual process to automate — not a vague interest in AI, but a specific workflow that is too slow, too expensive, or too inconsistent to keep running by hand.
02CTO & Executive Advising
Founders and executive teams who need an experienced technical counterpart in the room.
03Technical Strategy
Teams facing a consequential architecture, platform, or build-versus-buy decision.
04Engineering Organization & Leadership
Leaders building or rebuilding an engineering organization through a period of change.
05Career Guidance for Technical Leaders
Engineers and engineering leaders navigating a significant career decision.
Solo Founder Lab
Building a software business alone? There’s a room for that.
A private community for founders with no cofounder and no CTO. Weekly office hours with me, and people building alongside you.
Beyond the work
Outside of engineering, I’m usually in the garden, out fly fishing for trout, or being dragged around by my golden retriever.
I’ll take a rainy weekend on the river over a dry one indoors most days of the week.
Building in public
I’m building an audience from zero, in public — turning AI research and career lessons into practical advice.
Mostly on Instagram at @davecto.
Get in touch
Available for a small number of conversations.
If something here is relevant to a decision you’re facing, I’d like to hear about it.