Independent technology leadership
Senior judgement for decisions that have to last.
Arcadian Advisory supports founders and leadership teams with clear technical direction, delivery discipline, and calm leadership.
The Arcadian standard
Commercial pragmatism
Technology decisions that serve the P&L, not vanity metrics.
Signal over noise
Cutting through hype to choose solutions that will still make sense in two years.
Delivery momentum
Unblocking teams and establishing a sustainable shipping cadence.
Independence
Clear counsel for leadership teams, free from vendor incentives.
Engagements
Ongoing executive-level leadership during periods of scale, transition, or recovery. Typical focus includes technical strategy, team structure, delivery discipline, and executive decision support.
Ongoing, typically 1–2 days per week.
Independent assessment of technology, teams, and delivery capability to inform investment, acquisition, or board decisions. Clear articulation of risk, constraints, and areas requiring intervention.
Fixed-scope engagement.
Focused review of existing systems to identify structural risk, scalability limits, and operational friction. Recommendations prioritised for impact and feasibility.
Fixed-scope engagement.
Ongoing counsel for founders and leadership teams navigating complex technical or organisational decisions. Designed to complement existing leadership rather than replace it.
Monthly or quarterly.
Approach
Diagnose
Understand constraints, goals, and current reality.
Align
Define the plan with leadership and the teams doing the work.
Execute
Ship, measure, iterate; remove blockers and unblock dependencies.
Sustain
Leave behind systems and habits that keep working after we step out.
Andrew Carpenter
Founder & Principal
Independent technical leadership when the stakes are high.
I work with founders and leadership teams when technical decisions are compounding risk—during growth, change, or recovery. My role is to bring clear judgement, align stakeholders, and help teams ship with discipline.
I’ve led cross-functional delivery in complex organisations, with experience spanning product engineering, systems, and execution under real constraints. The focus is always on decisions that age well, not short-term optimisation.
- Delivery is slowing down and priorities are contested
- Architecture is becoming a constraint rather than a platform
- Leadership needs an independent view of risk and trade-offs
- A team is scaling quickly and needs a steadier operating cadence
