Insights: The Rise of the Commercial CTO Panel Discussion

This article covers some of the key insights from our recent event, "The Rise of the Commercial CTO: Mastering Commercial Acumen in the Era of Private Capital and AI", co-hosted with Allura Partners. The event brought together investors, directors, and technology leaders for an engaging and thought-provoking panel discussion not just on AI but the evolving expectations of executive tech leaders in high-growth environments.

The Panel included: Melinda Conrad (Non Executive Director), Tim Cooper (Investor & Managing Director Five V Capital), and Loucas Gatzoulis (CPTO E1 & former CTO), moderated by John McDuling (Editor in Chief Capital Brief).

Hosts for the night were Joshua Hinton of CTO Labs and Jake Rose of Allura Partners.

A New Era of Technology Leadership

The role of the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) has changed. Once a deep technical specialist working largely behind the scenes, the most effective Technology Leaders today are front and centre, strategic and commercially-minded, with mastery of technical capability and commercial tradeoffs.

This shift is driven by many things, including the increasing significance and complexity of technology’s role in every business, the increasing interplay of private capital as a vehicle for growth and corresponding focus on value creation, and the rapid rise and transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI). Today's technology leaders are at the heart of business decision-making, and their remit is being seen in a much wider context.

The ability to articulate and drive business value while navigating the complexities of AI has become a critical differentiator for leaders and the organisations they serve.

From Backroom to Boardroom (and One Size Does Not Fit All)

As all panelists agreed, the starting premise is that today, “every business is a tech business.” The modern CTO must balance technical expertise with commercial acumen, translating technology initiatives into tangible business outcomes and also be able to align stakeholders internally on that path. Tech Leader Loucas Gatzoulis highlighted that the role today is challenging to define, as the breadth and complexity for incumbents have multiplied.

Non-Executive Director Melinda Conrad spoke to the complex and widening breadth of the role, which is today so broad that it can “feel like multiple roles on the C-suite.” Depending on the shape of the business, it cuts across responsibilities of CIO, CDO, CPO, and more, and in this sense, it can be a challenging role for Boards to get right.

Melinda reflected that when technical leadership experiments fail, it’s often because the remit is unclear or too much is expected from one person. All panelists emphasised the criticality of alignment between Technology leadership, business leadership and Board for incumbent success.

The panel also discussed that successful CTOs know their strengths and are willing to “put their hand up” for additional expertise when needed, based on realistic assessment of the needs of a business. The best outcomes come when businesses build the right team around the CTO, rather than expecting one leader to be all things to all people.

Pragmatic Curiosity: The Essential Attribute

“Pragmatic curiosity” has become my new favourite expression, remarked more than one participant at the event. Coined by Investor panelist Tim Cooper, this concept captures what sets successful CTOs apart in a private equity context: “Be curious as a CTO, but understand you have a limited budget. Be pragmatic in the ideas you pursue. Experiment, use tools, but take the team on the journey. As a leader, you have to drive the ideas forward, and you need to be realistic about the direction you are headed.”

Loucas Gatzoulis took this further, “You need to brutally focus on what matters. When it comes to investment, everything is time-boxed.” The advice holds as true for CTOs as for any leader, triaging and focusing on the things that will ‘move the needle’ in a business by prioritising ruthlessly, and bringing their team along on the journey of change.

The Investor Perspective: More Than Just Cost

A misconception that investors only care about cost was touched on a few times during the discussion. The panel was united in challenging this, emphasising that their experience focused on enabling businesses to reach their full potential and driving the disciplines needed for that to be realised. Cost savings are not always a by-product.

It was noted that investors are looking much more closely at tech before a transaction, as part of the diligence process. Tech due diligence—once an afterthought—is now central to evaluating potential portfolio companies, and today the best tech diligence goes beyond the tech stack to encompass enterprise capability, scalability, cyber diligence, and AI diligence, as circumstances suit.

Tim discussed the significant role a successful CTO plays in helping a business realise its potential before, during, and after a transaction. Loucas discussed the challenge of balancing short-term commercial goals with long-term value creation aspirations.

AI: Hype, Hope, and Hard Realities

Unsurprisingly, AI dominated much of the discussion on the night. There was strong agreement that businesses shouldn’t force AI into their strategy just to satisfy Board, Investor or Tech specialist expectations for something shiny and new. “Don’t try to make a business case fit AI or integrate it just for the sake of it,” the panel agreed. Great products and business value must come first. Yet, it’s a catch-22: AI needs to be in the mix, but it must be done thoughtfully, strategically, and pragmatically.

Loucas talked of the AI opportunity as one of quickly forming new, structured information from unstructured data through AI tools, and through that creating new customer value. At the same time, it creates considerable risk for businesses in the potential for a competitive playing field to be levelled. John talked of the selective use of AI at Capital Brief, with editorial intentionally excluded for reasons of journalistic integrity.

The panel was united in their view that while AI is reshaping roles, it’s not necessarily reducing headcount, contrary to early hype. Instead, AI is making output more effective and productive, and for some junior roles, the focus may evolve or shift rather than exit.

Panelists noted with some surprise the absence of AI dialogue from the major political parties due to its impact on national innovation and implications for power consumption.

Data Governance, Risk, and the Board’s Role

With the rise of AI and data-driven decision-making, data governance and sovereignty are now board-level concerns. Boards must provide strategic oversight and governance, ensuring the ethical use of AI and managing risks across the business. As Melinda noted, the pace of change means “we are all learning on the job” and there are many challenges, including data governance, cybersecurity and bias in decision-making. The CTO cannot be the sole gatekeeper for AI; it requires a collective, organisation-wide approach.

Tim introduced the importance of “knowing where the point of risk breaks”—the moment when it’s time to move from legacy systems to new technologies. While at times it may be safer and more pragmatic to stay with a legacy system, knowing where to hand off is key. The ownership of this decision needs to sit at the Board and Investor level - CTOs cannot carry that weight alone.

Leadership in a Complex, High-Visibility Role

The CTO role is more visible and commercially oriented than ever before. It requires:

• Clear definition of remit and support structures is challenging, but key

• Curiosity and pragmatism are critical traits: balancing experimentation with commercial discipline

• Strong communication, especially with non-technical stakeholders

• Strategic, not knee-jerk, adoption of AI and emerging tech - great people and building great products still matter

• Diligent and pragmatic risk assessment beyond the immediate - knowing when to escalate and act

• Willingness to acknowledge limitations within a rapidly changing context

In Summary

The commercial CTO is now a lynchpin for business success, but the role is broader, more complex, and more strategically important than ever. Boards and investors must be clear about what they need from technology, define the CTO’s remit accordingly, and build the right support structures. For CTOs, pragmatic curiosity—staying curious, prioritising ruthlessly, and leading with commercial impact—will be the hallmark of success in this new era. And as one participant said, it’s a pleasure to see these conversations happening, with leaders sharing candidly about the realities and opportunities of technology leadership today. Success starts with alignment, and the ability to bring the organisation with you might be the most underrated skill of all.

We're conscious that we've just scratched the surface - it was a dynamic conversation from a deeply experienced panel and continued around the room on the night.

Like to talk specifics on issues raise? Reach out to one of the team below.