Strategic Advisory · Security · AI

Executive-tier security, cloud, and AI leadership — without the full-time headcount.

Fractional CISO and CTO engagements, coaching for the executives who already hold the seat, and private AI built on hardware you own. Strategy, security, and governance — grounded in over a decade of hands-on work in live production environments.

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About

A trusted seat at the technology table.

Lehnert Consulting provides fractional executive leadership and strategic advisory for organizations that have outgrown ad-hoc IT decisions but aren't ready to hire a full-time CTO, CISO, or practice director.

That includes the leaders themselves. Alongside fractional engagements, I coach and advise sitting CISOs, CTOs, and IT directors — a confidential partner for driving strategy, finding cost, defending budgets, and preparing for the board.

The focus is on judgment, not billable hours. Every engagement centers on a defensible strategy: what your risk actually is, where technology should take you next, and how AI gets adopted under real governance — so it creates advantage instead of exposure. The model is deliberately roadmap-first: I chart the route and direct the execution, through your team or trusted hands I can bring in.

Clients are typically small and mid-sized organizations under $100M in annual revenue: growing businesses, professional services firms, healthcare operators, and technology teams navigating compliance obligations, board-level scrutiny, or the aftermath of an incident.

Services

Advisory engagements built around outcomes, not tickets.

01

Executive Technology Leadership

Leadership, delivered or developed. As your fractional vCISO or vCTO: board reporting, strategic direction, budget and vendor rationalization, and Azure/M365 architecture — designed from the ground up, or optimized in place to reduce cost — with modernization planning that ties technology back to business objectives. Already have the executive? I coach and advise sitting CISOs, CTOs, and IT directors as a confidential partner: sharpening strategy, defending budgets, and preparing for the board.

02

Private AI Enablement

AI capability your organization actually owns. Strategy and governance first — where AI genuinely fits, and the policy and technical controls that prevent shadow IT and data leakage. Then, when the case is real: local, self-hosted AI designed, built, and handed over on hardware you own. Feasibility assessment, hardware specification, secure build, model deployment, staff training, governance handoff. Your data never leaves your walls. Every engagement begins with an honest feasibility read — including the times the answer is that a private deployment isn't the right fit. Every system I design is built to be governed, auditable, and defensible.

03

Security, Compliance & Resilience

It starts with an honest gap analysis: where your security posture actually stands, and a prioritized roadmap to close it. From there, readiness for SOC 2, HIPAA, HITRUST, and PCI-DSS attestations — including working directly with your auditors on your behalf — and the kind of executive-facing reporting that keeps auditors, insurers, and boards on the same page. And when something has already gone wrong: incident response and post-breach digital forensics.

04

Startup Technology Foundations

Full-stack technology buildouts for startups — identity, cloud, endpoints, and security designed compliance-ready from day one. Building SOC 2, HIPAA, or PCI-DSS alignment into a greenfield environment costs a fraction of retrofitting it at your first enterprise deal, and it shows in diligence. One engagement, a defined handoff, and a foundation your first security hire will thank you for.

How We Work

Three ways to engage.

Most client relationships run on retainer — ongoing leadership works best with continuity. Project and hourly structures exist for work with a defined edge.

Retainer · Primary

Fractional Leadership

Ongoing executive leadership — vCISO, vCTO, or coaching for the executive you have — on a monthly cadence. Strategy ownership, board and leadership reporting, budget and vendor oversight, and a roadmap that actually gets executed.

Statement of Work

Project Engagements

A defined outcome with fixed scope and clear deliverables: gap analyses, compliance readiness, incident response and forensics, private AI deployments, greenfield technology buildouts. Scoped up front, delivered to a handoff.

Time & Expense

Advisory Hours

Focused hourly work for second opinions, diligence support, and short-fuse decisions — for the questions that need an hour of judgment, not a month of engagement.

Every engagement begins with a conversation. Scope, cadence, and terms are shaped around the problem — pricing follows the discovery call, not a rate card.

A strong fit

Organizations under roughly $100M in revenue that need senior technology judgment: no CISO or CTO on staff, or a sitting leader who wants a seasoned partner. A compliance mandate on the calendar. An AI initiative that shouldn't leak data. The aftermath of an incident. A greenfield build worth doing right the first time.

What this isn't

Break-fix IT, help-desk staffing, or managed services. If you need hands on keyboards, I'll help you select them — and hold them accountable. And you won't get a one-off assessment that ends on a shelf; every engagement is measured by what changes after it.

Credentials

Twelve Microsoft certifications. Years of practice.

Credentialed at the intersection of security and AI — from Cybersecurity Architect Expert through Cloud & AI Security Engineer and Copilot governance. Certifications are proof of range; the credential that matters is the work behind them — years spent architecting, defending, and remediating live production environments across dozens of organizations.

SC-100
Cybersecurity Architect
Expert
MS-102
Microsoft 365 Administrator
Expert
AB-730
AI Business Professional
Specialty
SC-500
Cloud & AI Security Engineer
Associate
SC-300
Identity & Access Administrator
Associate
AZ-104
Azure Administrator
Associate
MD-102
Endpoint Administrator
Associate
SC-900
Security, Compliance & Identity
Fundamentals
MS-900
Microsoft 365
Fundamentals
AZ-900
Azure
Fundamentals
AI-900
Azure AI
Fundamentals
AB-900
Copilot & Agent Administration
Fundamentals
Contact

Start a conversation.

Direct Email
inquiry@lehnertconsulting.com
Location
Tennessee · Remote Nationwide

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