Callum McCurrach

Challenge

The organisation was operating within a complex PE-backed environment undergoing significant transformation, including acquisition integration, platform evolution, and international market expansion. The technology estate consisted of legacy components, disparate systems across acquired entities, and increasing operational pressure driven by rapid growth and global customer demands. There was no formal CTO in place, with technology leadership operating under a CIO structure, requiring executive-level ownership of technology strategy, stabilisation, and long-term platform direction. The business was simultaneously navigating investor expectations, governance requirements, and the need to align technology with product and commercial priorities in a data-heavy SaaS environment serving enterprise and international customers. Additional complexity stemmed from: - Multi-entity integration requirements following acquisitions - Global platform deployments across multiple markets - High customer SLA/OLA expectations - Compliance, contractual, and governance alignment (including ISO-aligned practices) - Legacy technology constraints alongside innovation demands - Team growth and flexible resourcing This created a need for a senior technology leader capable of operating strategically at board and investor level while remaining hands-on in stabilisation and integration phases.

Execution

Progressed from Technical Director into a de facto Acting CTO role, taking ownership of technology strategy across integration, platform evolution, and global scaling initiatives while reporting directly to CIO, executive leadership, and investment stakeholders. Led the alignment of technology and product roadmaps in close partnership with the CPO, ensuring platform capabilities supported commercial objectives, international expansion, and long-term scalability. Established clearer governance structures and improved cross-functional collaboration between technology, product, customer support, and commercial teams. Directed the integration of multiple entities into a more cohesive platform and operating model, addressing legacy fragmentation and improving consistency across systems, teams, and delivery practices. Simultaneously led vendor consolidation and legacy technology exit planning to reduce operational complexity and improve strategic flexibility. Worked extensively with compliance and legal teams to ensure contractual and governance alignment, supporting ISO-aligned initiatives and strengthening enterprise readiness for global customers and investor scrutiny. Operated as the senior escalation point for critical platform, infrastructure, and enterprise customer challenges, providing stabilisation during high-pressure delivery periods while maintaining forward momentum on transformation initiatives. Also played a key role in: - Leading technical due diligence and investment governance processes - Enabling international market launches (localisation, data considerations, deployment strategy) - Strengthening technology operating model maturity during rapid growth - Providing regular executive and board-level updates on technology strategy and risk - Onboarding of flexible resourcing partners and setup and integration of a satellite offshore office in Vietnam & Poland for engineering based staff

Outcomes

• ✓ Successful significant nine-figure exit value
• ✓ Successfully led acquisition TDD resulting in better alignment with investment thesis and contributed to ~25% challenge on purchase EV
• ✓ Reduced resourcing overheads by ~30% with a further long-term strategy for optimal expansion, scaling workforce up/down depending on business requirements
• ✓ Reduced Cloud/Infrastructure overheads by ~40%

Challenge

The organisation was experiencing rapid growth within a complex B2B SaaS environment, serving a large UK and international customer base with a platform underpinning digital automotive commerce. The technology estate had evolved organically, resulting in a predominantly monolithic architecture, legacy components, and increasing delivery pressure as the business scaled. Engineering teams were expanding quickly, requiring stronger governance, clearer operating structures, and improved alignment between technology, product, and commercial priorities. At the same time, the business was transitioning through ownership change and increased investor scrutiny, placing additional emphasis on scalability, due diligence readiness, and long-term platform sustainability. Key challenges included: - Scaling and structuring an engineering function of ~100 people - Modernising legacy monolithic architecture without disrupting live customer delivery - Leading technical due diligence during ownership transition - Improving platform scalability, resilience, and delivery efficiency - Balancing innovation with operational stability in a high-growth SaaS environment - Aligning technology direction with product roadmap and commercial growth objectives The organisation required senior technology leadership capable of driving transformation while maintaining platform stability and delivery continuity.

Execution

Led the engineering function through a period of transformation, organisational scaling, and platform modernisation, reporting to the Technical Director at executive level and contributing directly to long-term technology strategy. Directed the transition from a predominantly monolithic SaaS architecture towards a more modular, platform-oriented and microservices-based approach where commercially appropriate. This was executed pragmatically to avoid unnecessary disruption to live services and enterprise customers. Partnered closely with AWS to drive adoption of managed services and modern cloud paradigms, improving scalability, resilience, and operational efficiency across the platform while reducing reliance on legacy infrastructure patterns. Played a central role in strengthening the technology operating model, including organisational design, team structuring, and governance improvements to support a rapidly expanding engineering function across multiple disciplines and locations. Worked closely with product leadership to ensure technology capabilities aligned with evolving roadmap priorities, enabling faster delivery of new features while maintaining platform stability and customer satisfaction. Also contributed significantly to: - Hiring strategy and scaling multidisciplinary engineering teams - Establishing stronger engineering standards and governance practices - Supporting technical due diligence processes during ownership transition - Improving cross-functional collaboration between technology, product, and commercial teams - Enhancing platform resilience during periods of rapid growth and customer expansion Maintained a balance between strategic transformation and hands-on leadership, ensuring critical delivery challenges and platform risks were addressed proactively during the scaling phase.

Outcomes

• ✓ Successfully transformed the technology function into a more scalable, structured, and mature engineering organisation capable of supporting continued business growth and increased customer demand.
• ✓ Improved platform scalability, resilience, and delivery efficiency through pragmatic modernisation of architecture and adoption of cloud-native and managed service approaches.
• ✓ Strengthened governance, engineering standards, and operating model maturity, enabling the organisation to scale its technology capability while maintaining delivery stability and service quality for enterprise customers.
• ✓ Supported a smoother ownership transition and due diligence process by improving technology clarity, documentation, and strategic alignment, enhancing investor confidence in the technology function.