# Arved Cornelsen > Fractional CTO and C-level advisor who develops digital strategies adopted by the board and leads AI transformation, building strong engineering teams and meaningful products. Based in Bonn, Germany. - Website: https://cornelsen.me - Role: Fractional CTO & AI Transformation Advisor - Location: Bonn, Germany - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arvedcornelsen/ - GitHub: https://github.com/itaintarco ## About Great products aren’t just used. They create real experiences. That conviction has shaped my work for more than 14 years: building meaningful web products and the teams behind them. Today I advise at C-level for a company with nine-figure revenue. I develop digital strategies that the board adopts, and I lead the AI transformation that turns them into reality: AI where it creates real value, in products, in processes and in the way teams work. Always with people at the centre. Based in Bonn, at home in multicultural teams and always up for a good conversation. ## Work with me I help leadership teams turn digital strategy and AI into results. As a fractional CTO and C-level advisor, I develop digital strategies that the board adopts and lead AI transformation from the first use case to production: with clear architecture, strong engineering teams and people on board. Based in Bonn, working across Germany and Europe. ### Fractional CTO (also known as CTO as a Service) Senior technology leadership, part time and ongoing. - Technology and AI strategy that fits your business model - Architecture and build vs. buy decisions - Building, hiring and leading the engineering team - Selecting vendors and partners - Reporting to the board, owners and investors For: Scale-ups and mid-sized companies that need CTO experience without a full-time hire. Format: A few days per month, agreed on what your stage needs. ### Advisor & board member (Beirat) A sparring partner for CEOs and boards, without an operational role. - Reviewing digital and AI strategies before they reach the board - Challenging roadmaps, budgets and investment decisions - A second opinion on technology, teams and vendors - Helping you ask your tech team the right questions For: CEOs, founders, owners and advisory boards. Format: Regular sessions or a seat on your advisory board. Details: https://cornelsen.me/work-with-me/ ## In numbers - 14+: years building digital products and teams - 100M+: company with nine-figure revenue advised at C-level - 3,500: employees: company strategy and core process transformation ## FAQ ### What is a fractional CTO? A fractional CTO is an experienced technology leader who works for your company part time and on an ongoing basis, for example a few days per month. You get CTO experience for strategy, architecture and team leadership without hiring a full-time executive. Fractional CTO and CTO as a Service mean practically the same. ### How is that different from an interim CTO? An interim CTO works full time for a limited period, for example to bridge a vacancy. A fractional CTO works part time and ongoing, so your company keeps senior technology leadership at a fraction of the cost. ### What does an advisor or board member do? An advisor or advisory board member (Beirat) gives strategic advice without taking on an operational role. Typical topics are digital and AI strategy, technology investments and how the tech organisation is set up. ### Where do you work? I am based in Bonn, Germany, and work with companies across Germany and Europe, on site and remotely. ## Pages - [Work with me](https://cornelsen.me/work-with-me/) - [Talks](https://cornelsen.me/talks/) - [About](https://cornelsen.me/about/) - [Articles](https://cornelsen.me/articles/) ## The day job (what I do) C-level advisor, coach, cheerleader, navigator, automator of everything and Chief Critic Officer: whatever helps people Get The Stuff Done. - **Digital strategy:** Strategies the board adopts, and the organisation can actually execute. - **AI transformation:** Turning AI hype into working products, processes and new ways of working, with people on board, not left behind. - **Architecture:** Of systems, of teams and of the way they work together. Cloud native by default. - **Engineering culture:** A healthy engineering culture is still my obsession, and technical leadership is what truly elevates product development. ## Speaker at - [Tech Show Frankfurt](https://www.techshowfrankfurt.de/de/speakers/arved-cornelsen): “Beyond Copilot: A Customer Case Study on GenAI for Complex RFP Processing with Human-in-the-Loop” (2026-05-06) - [code.talks](https://codetalks.com/) - [Starters Summit](https://www.starterssummit.com/): “Design Thinking workshop & workshop coach” (2021-02-05) ## Interests (kicks and giggles) - AI agents and automation: Building them, breaking them and learning what they really change. - Tinkering: With new technology and new ways of working, because trying things beats reading about them. - Teaching: I loved lecturing creative coding and web development at HSBI (Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and Arts). Nothing sharpens your thinking like a room full of students asking “why?” - Behavioural psychology: What really makes teams, leaders and a bit of luck tick. - Mindfulness & meditation: The reset button for a busy mind. A few quiet minutes a day keep me clear and present, especially when everything around me speeds up. The best decisions rarely come from a racing head. - Running: Like there is no tomorrow. Early kilometres are where my best ideas show up and where big problems shrink back to their real size. No meetings, no screens, just rhythm. - Surfing: Paddling against every wave. The ocean teaches patience, timing and humility better than any leadership book: you can’t force a wave, you can only be ready when it comes. ## Expertise keywords Fractional CTO, CTO as a Service, C-level advisory, Digital strategy, AI transformation, Architecture, Engineering culture, Engineering leadership, Technical leadership, Software architecture, Cloud native, Agile organizational development, Creative coding, Web development ## Articles - [12-Factor Agents: From AI Prototype to Software Factory](https://cornelsen.me/articles/12-factor-agents-software-factory/): What the 12-Factor Agents teach about reliable AI agents, and which team structures and software factory set-up turn them into lasting business value. RSS feed: https://cornelsen.me/rss.xml ## Contact Use the contact form at https://cornelsen.me/#contact or reach out via LinkedIn.