Fractional CTO, security and AI consultant in Malta
Technology that ships, stays secure and earns its budget.
I'm Chris Bartolo. For 15 years I've run engineering, product and security in fintech, iGaming and SaaS. I step in where technology is holding the business back, and fix it with your team.
Previously CTO of Run It Once, acquired by Rush Street Interactive. Group CTO at Red Acre, 100+ engineers.
- 09:12Payouts now need two approvers
- 10:40Release 14 of the day is live
- 11:556 dormant admin accounts removed
- 13:05Architecture decision written up
- 15:30Support agent: 212 conversations resolved
- 17:00Monthly report sent to the board
years leading engineering and product
engineers led in a single organisation
production releases a day, up from zero
exits, including an acquisition by Rush Street Interactive
Pick the one that sounds like this week.
Most companies call me for one of five reasons. Choose yours and see what the first month looks like.
Decisions get made by whoever shouts loudest, or not at all. Agencies and developers are guessing at priorities.
- Week 1
Assess the team, code and costs in two weeks
- Week 2
Set one roadmap and one way of working
- Week 3-4
Hire or replace where it is needed
The team is busy but nothing ships
Usually too much work started at once, releases that are manual and scary, and priorities that change every week.
- Map the flow from idea to production
- Automate the release pipeline
- Stop starting, start finishing
We had a security scare
Most incidents come through old accounts, shared passwords and payment access nobody reviewed.
- Contain: keys, sessions, 2FA, payout approvals
- Build a full access register
- Put devices, SSO and passwords under management
We want AI doing real work
Pilots stall because nobody measured the starting point or owned the workflow end to end.
- Baseline the work as it is today
- Run one workflow end to end with AI
- Keep what moves the number
We are buying, selling or raising
The tech story in the deck rarely matches the code. Better to find out before signing than after.
- Hands-on review of code, infra and team
- Risks ranked and priced
- Integration or remediation plan
Four ways I take work off your plate.
One senior person across all four, so security, AI and delivery decisions get made together, by someone who can see all of it.
Technology gets an owner. Your team gets direction. You get straight answers.
Someone senior who owns technology, without a full-time executive hire.
20+ a dayProduction releases at Red Acre, from none in the previous nine months
What changes- One roadmap the business and the engineers both agree on
- Releases that ship weekly, then daily, instead of piling up
- Hiring done properly, including the full-time CTO when it is time
- Board and investor questions answered without guesswork
Know who has access to what, close the gaps, and have a plan for the day something goes wrong.
Lock down accounts, devices and payments, and keep them locked down.
UKGC + MGASecurity and compliance audits passed as CTO of a licensed operator
What changes- Every account, laptop and admin key accounted for in one register
- Two-step approvals on payouts and anything that moves money
- SSO, password management and device management that people actually use
- Joiner and leaver checklists so access ends on the last day
- A path towards ISO 27001 when a licence or a partner asks for it
Put AI where it pays: in support, in operations and in how your engineers ship.
AI that does real work in your product and your team, with the results measured.
80%+Of support conversations handled by an AI agent I built and launched
What changes- AI support that resolves conversations end to end
- Engineers running coding agents with review and tests around them
- Tickets refined with real context from code, logs and analytics
- A baseline first, so you can see what changed and what it cost
Know what you are buying, fix what you inherited, and keep things running while you hire.
Technical due diligence for deals, and interim leadership when someone has to step in.
2 exitsLed tech due diligence for Rush Street Interactive's acquisition of Run It Once
What changes- A plain-language report on code, team, security and scalability
- Red flags found and priced in before you sign
- Interim cover that keeps releases and people steady
- A clean hand-over to the permanent hire
From first call to first report in under a month.
No long sales process. One call, a one-page proposal, and work starts the week you sign.
Call.
You tell me what is going on. I tell you honestly whether I can help, and what it would take.
Proposal.
A one-page proposal: the problem, the first 30 days and the price.
Diagnose.
I get access, meet the people and read the code. You get a written assessment and a ranked list of fixes.
Run.
A weekly session and a one-page report each month: what shipped, what is at risk, what is next.
Three ways to work together.Retainer, hourly or equity.
Most work runs on a monthly retainer or by the hour. For the right company I am open to equity or shares as part of the deal. It is all in the one-page proposal, agreed before work starts.
You have a team. You need a senior person to make the big calls with.
- Weekly session with you
- Async access on Slack or email
- Decisions written down
- Monthly one-page report
I work inside the team as your CTO or CIO, without the full-time hire.
- Everything in Advise
- Team rituals and code reviews
- Hiring and vendor management
- Board and investor updates
I run the function while you find the permanent hire.
- Everything in Embed
- Line management of the team
- Hands-on delivery and incidents
- Recruit and hand over to my successor
Not sure which fits? Most of the time it becomes clear on the first call.
Talk it throughFifteen years of building and fixing things.
- 2025 to todayWildz Group.Chief Product Officer, leading product and technologyA leaner product and technology organisation that ships more and hits every deadlineChief Product Officer, leading product and technology. A leaner product and technology organisation that ships more and hits every deadline
- 2025 to todayYipii.FounderRelaunched my own company as a new business, on a platform built since 2009Founder. Relaunched my own company as a new business, on a platform built since 2009
- 2025StopChurn.Co-founder and partnerA customer data platform built to take on Customer.io and KlaviyoCo-founder and partner. A customer data platform built to take on Customer.io and Klaviyo
- 2023 to 2025DeusX Capital.Technical DirectorHelped form a family office and ran technology across its companiesTechnical Director. Helped form a family office and ran technology across its companies
- 2021 to 2025Red Acre.CTO, then Group CTOFrom nine months without a release to more than twenty a dayCTO, then Group CTO. From nine months without a release to more than twenty a day
- 2023 to 2025I'm Red.Product creator and technical leadAn AI support agent that handles most of the conversationsProduct creator and technical lead. An AI support agent that handles most of the conversations
- 2017 to 2021Run It Once.CTO and Technical DirectorFrom a product that could not be released to an acquisitionCTO and Technical Director. From a product that could not be released to an acquisition
- Family businessShanelty.Interim CEOStepped in as CEO, grew turnover and led the company to a saleInterim CEO. Stepped in as CEO, grew turnover and led the company to a sale
- 2010 to 2025Dazzle Panel.FounderBuilt a vehicle tracking business at 17 and ran it for 15 yearsFounder. Built a vehicle tracking business at 17 and ran it for 15 years
Stop starting, start finishing.
I've sat in the seat you're hiring for.
I built my first product at 17, a vehicle tracking system that reached 600 vehicles in its first year. It ran for 15 years as Dazzle Panel. In 2025 I relaunched it as a new business, Yipii, and I still write code for it every week.
Since then I've been CTO of a regulated poker platform through its acquisition by Rush Street Interactive, Group CTO of a fintech group with over 100 engineers, co-founder of a customer data platform, and interim CEO of a family company through its sale. Today I'm also Chief Product Officer at Wildz Group, which runs several online casinos.
What I bring is pattern recognition. I've seen most of your problems before, usually at a bigger scale, and I know which fixes stick.
The things people ask on the first call.
You might, and I will help you hire one when it makes sense. Most companies under 50 engineers do not need one full-time yet. They need senior decisions a few days a month and someone accountable for them.
Whatever fits the company: a monthly retainer, hourly for shorter pieces of work, or part of the fee in equity for the right early-stage business. Due diligence is quoted as a fixed project. Everything is agreed in writing before work starts, so there are no surprise invoices.
The first three months are where the real change happens, so that is where we start. After that it is month to month.
Both. I still write code and run production systems every week. I will review pull requests, set up pipelines and configure security tools myself when that is the fastest way.
Malta, in the CET time zone. I work remotely with teams across Europe, the UK and further, and travel on-site when it is worth it.
I sign an NDA before we talk details. I do not name clients or share their numbers without written permission.
Start with a 30-minute call.
Tell me what is going on. If I can help, you get a one-page proposal within two days. If I can't, I'll tell you who can.