Own your AI agenda. Without the full-time hire.
A senior AI leader in your leadership meetings, owning the agenda. They set the direction and report to your board with the numbers.
For the CEO who keeps having AI land on their desk, with no one senior owning it.
- Someone senior owns your AI agenda
- Every move costed, and board-ready
- Confident AI decisions, with an expert in your corner
AI is on every agenda. It's owned by no one.
It keeps landing on your desk, and it's on every board agenda, but no one senior owns where it goes. Hiring a full-time Chief AI Officer to find out is a bet you can't justify yet. A fractional leader owns it now, at a fraction of the cost.
AI today
With a fractional leader
AI lands on your desk, and sits on every board agenda.
A senior owner in the room, driving where it goes.
Spend justified on gut feel.
Every move costed, with the business case behind it.
A strategy deck everyone nods at, then ignores.
A plan that's already moving, with an owner.
A full-time AI hire you can't yet justify.
Senior ownership at a fraction of the cost.
Someone senior owns it. Starting this month.
In the room, owning where AI goes.
A fractional AI leader sits in your leadership rhythm and carries the AI agenda month to month. Three things they own:
In your leadership meetings
They own the AI agenda where the decisions get made - setting the direction and staying to see it through.
- A standing seat in your leadership rhythm
- The AI roadmap, sequenced by what pays
- The call on what to start, pause, or stop
Reporting to your board
Every move comes with the numbers behind it, so the board sees evidence instead of a hunch.
- A one-page business case per move: cost, timeline, return
- The return on what's already been spent
- Progress your board can hold you to
Vendor-neutral
An honest call on what to build and who should build it, including the work that isn't RIVER's.
- A straight read on build, buy, or leave it
- Named work for other partners where they fit
- No agenda but yours
Senior and hands-on, and they own the outcome.
You get a senior AI leader who owns the agenda rather than advising on it, at a fraction of a full-time hire. The direction is a complete engagement on its own - nothing has to be built.
Everything a procurement or legal team needs is in our Trust Centre
- Senior and hands-on: a leader who owns the AI agenda and answers for the outcome.
- Vendor-neutral, including the work that isn't ours to do.
- The direction stands on its own - no build required to get the value.
- Included from the Retainer Black tier, so it grows with the work.
- 100% New Zealand built, Māori and Pacific owned.
RIVER learnt our business inside out, and found growth we hadn't seen ourselves. That is what changed our ability to scale.
Jay HarrisonFounder, Edison Health · 2022Start this month. The plan moves from day one.
Tell us where AI keeps landing and who's carrying it today. We put a senior leader into your leadership rhythm, and the agenda starts moving from the first meeting.
- A senior leader in your leadership meetings
- Reporting to your board with the numbers
- Vendor-neutral on what to build, and who builds it
The investment
A senior AI leader owning your agenda, month to month.
Included from the Retainer Black tier, so a fractional leader grows with the work.
The direction is a complete engagement on its own. Nothing has to be built.
Every engagement includes
- A senior AI leader in your leadership meetings
- The AI agenda owned and sequenced by what pays
- A one-page business case for each move
- Board-ready reporting on progress and return
- A vendor-neutral view on what to build, and who builds it
The questions people ask when they’re ready to move.
They own the AI agenda in your leadership rhythm - a person accountable for the outcome, sitting where the decisions get made.
- Sits in your leadership meetings and sets the direction.
- Reports to your board with the numbers behind each call.
- Keeps a costed plan moving, deciding what to start, pause or stop.
- Stays vendor-neutral on what gets built and by whom.
Same seniority, a fraction of the cost and commitment. You get an experienced AI leader in the room without a full-time salary or a year-long hire.
- Vendor-neutral, so the advice isn't tied to selling you a build.
- Scale it up or down as the work changes.
- If it turns into a full-time role, you'll have seen the value first.
No. The direction stands on its own. A senior leader in your rhythm is a complete engagement in itself.
- Run it with nothing being built.
- The view stays vendor-neutral, including work that isn't ours to do.
- If a build is the right move, you'll have the costed case for it first.
Enough to own the agenda, scaled to your rhythm. We scope the cadence with you up front.
- A standing seat in your leadership meetings.
- Board reporting and the plan between them.
- More in the early months while the direction is set, steadier once it's moving.
It runs on a monthly retainer, scaled to how much of the agenda you need owned. We scope the cadence with you up front.
- Included from the Retainer Black tier, so it grows with the work.
- Scoped to your rhythm, and adjustable month to month.
+ GST.
Easy to start. Fast to prove. Built to scale.
Tell us about your AI leadership, and we’ll take it from there. Prefer to look first? Ask Moana, or take the free Readiness Check.
Ideas from the field.
Guides and research from a team that ships it.
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Teams like yours, in their own words.
A decade of work, across health, sport, finance and the public good.
RIVER learnt our business inside out, and found growth we hadn't seen ourselves. That is what changed our ability to scale.
Jay HarrisonFounder, Edison Health · 2022We crunch through complex data to generate insights, and RIVER made it simple to work through, while keeping everyone aligned on our core value proposition.
Alex OsbornCTO, trev · 2024Our business runs on what RIVER built. They have been central to our technology and our growth, and it keeps driving results.
Mark BramwellDirector, Commercial Realty · 2024RIVER listens, understands what we actually need, and gives us our time back. That is what a good partnership looks like.
Tony NaiduDevelopment Manager, Auckland Badminton Association · 2025RIVER helped us validate our market and launch our platform, and they haven't stopped since. They've been with us every step.
Mike CollinsFounder, iMatch Sport · 2025RIVER has been a trusted partner from the start, and they exceeded what we expected. We're already seeing the difference their work is making.
Ellen LekkaProgramme Specialist, UNESCO & SVSG · 2025The team at RIVER has been an incredible partner from day one. Their ongoing support helped make our success possible.
Scott TownshendFounder, trev · 2022RIVER approached every detail with care. Every decision was made with consideration and purpose.
Daemon CoyleGM, Mental Health Foundation · 2021Our new brand is bold and effective, and customers love it. The website has driven a real increase in leads.
Marcus SinGM, Cleanly · 2020We have always been ambitious about what our site should do, and RIVER take on the hardest parts of it. They make it happen, no matter how complex.
Chris HartFounder, Real Groovy · 2021RIVER are responsive and always ready to adapt. We have never had to chase them, and their support has been critical as our needs changed.
Supriya Kulkarni-PadhyeM&E Coordinator, Oceania Football Confederation · 2020We love our new brand. It reflects who we are as a team and resonates with our customers. Thank you for bringing our vision to life.
Tracy BergeGM, Greentree Advisers · 2021