Episode 178: Sara Daw on the Growth of Fractional Leadership

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Have you heard of part-time C-Suite leaders? Meet Sara Daw, our guest this episode, who is a leading voice on the future of executive work and a pioneer of the fractional leadership movement. She heads The CFO Centre & The Liberti Group, the world’s largest network of fractional leaders, where skilled C-Suite leaders work for businesses in a freelance role from a few hours a month to several days a week, instead of being a full-time hire.

Sara shares deep insights on why senior executives are moving to portfolio careers, and why more companies are hiring CFOs, CMOs, and other senior leaders for just a few days to several weeks instead of full-time.

Sara is an award-winning global leader in fractional C-Suite talent and author of ‘Strategy and Leadership as Service’, the first research on applying the access economy to C-suite leadership, built on her research at Oxford University. She was named to the Independent’s E2E Female 100 Track in 2024 and 2025, recognising the UK’s fastest-growing female-led businesses.

[3:41s] Sara’s origin story - from Chemistry to Finance to Fractional Leadership

[6:56s] Tipping point for fractional leadership

[15:22s] The fractional edge over a fulltime role

[28:35s] Fractional leadership in bigger organizations

[31:23s] On access economy and ‘Strategy and Leadership as Service’

RWL: Must-read Sara’s book ‘Strategy and Leadership as Service’

Connect with Sara on LinkedIn

Connect with Vinay on X and LinkedIn

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