Paul Theisen leaning one elbow on a mulberry-colored prop plane. He devised the idea of his company TAG CXO while on a plane ride home.

About TAG CXO

TAG CXO started on a plane ride home.

During a consulting role with a company in Orlando, Paul Theisen, our Founder and Principal, participated in an eye-opening meeting with the CEO, CFO, and Director of IT. While thinking about the interaction on his flight home, it dawned on him:

Middle-market companies need the leadership of a Fortune 500 CIO. But they simply don’t have the budget to attract that level of talent or enough work to keep them busy full-time anyway. Without a better option, they never really close the tech leadership gap.

What Theisen figured out was that by solving the leadership gap with the right talent, all the other tech problems start to go away quickly.  

He started thinking about how to bridge that gap into a win-win for both companies and CIOs alike. From Paul’s clear vision and mission of Technology Leadership Solved, TAG CXO was created.

Paul, with a bench of fellow tech leaders, set out to help middle market businesses with executive-level IT advisory to guide them toward success and avoid pitfalls that might otherwise go overlooked. These executives looking for their next career step dedicate a fraction of their time to helping businesses solve their unique tech challenges and make vital executive guidance available.

A win for enterprise CIOs
They get the satisfaction of solving unique challenges in the middle market, opportunity to do career-defining work, and connection to a community of fellow passionate problem-solving CIOs.

A win for middle market companies
In turn, middle market companies get incredible value and executive-level clarity at an affordable rate as they only pay for a portion of the CIO’s time rather than hiring a full-time role.

Secure the expert tech leader you thought was out of reach

Different on purpose

We started TAG CXO to bring together a carefully selected team of enterprise-level industry veterans to solve technology problems for mid-market companies.

Our values

Impartial by design

Advise from authority

Manage with stewardship

Grow through integrity

TAG CXO Services

Advisory Services
Fractional/Interim Executives
Program Management
Retained Executive Search
Private Equity Tech Leadership

Technology Leadership Solved™

Our Team

Paul Theisen

Founder, Principal, and Fractional CIO

A tenured executive leader, Paul brings over 30 years of experience across a spectrum of industrial markets serving asset heavy enterprises in commercial and specialty construction, global manufacturing, energy, and the utility industries.

Bryan Kearney

Fractional Executive CIO

Bryan is passionate about helping mid-market executives build and sustain a framework and process for technology alignment to business objectives.

Ed Escobedo

Fractional Executive CIO/CISO/CRO

Ed is a passionate and skilled problem solver. Through focused leadership, Ed helps mid-market organizations build and align their internal technology and cybersecurity systems and processes, leading to positive transformation and operational excellence.

Steve Phillips

Fractional Executive CIO/CISO/CRO
Steve is a people-first leader who inspires and builds sustainable teams with an unrelenting focus on results. In his 25-year career as a CIO, Steve has set and delivered digital transformation strategies that propel innovation and top and bottom-line growth, as well as offer competitive differentiation.

Lisa Baldwin

Fractional Executive CIO

Lisa is a global-minded IT leader who brings world-class insights – gained from 30 years of experience – to TAG CXO clients. She has a track record of transformation and modernization with paramount, luxury brands such as Tiffany and Co., Coach and IBM.

Pat O'Connor

Fractional Technology Executive

As a fractional executive, Pat has worked in numerous industries, making him a jack-of-all-trades, able to assess and strategize for any business. He’s passionate about continued education, with an understanding that everything in technology is constantly evolving and embraces the opportunity to learn and implement something new with each project.

Dinesh Rawlley

Fractional Executive CIO

Dinesh Rawlley is a business savvy thinker and seasoned technology executive with over 30 years of experience helping Fortune 500 organizations maximize the business value of technology investments through M&A due diligence, merger integration, carve-out planning, post-merger integration management, and digital transformation. 

Todd Henne

Fractional Executive CFO

Todd Henne is a highly accomplished, results-driven senior accounting and financial management executive with more than 40 years of progressive experience in accounting, finance, and operations management within start-ups and global multi-million-dollar organizations.

Lisa Schaffner

Strategic Advisor, Fractional Chief Data and Analytics Officer

Dr. Lisa M. Schaffner, PhD, is an accomplished expert in healthcare strategy, data, and analytics. A visionary and execution-oriented executive, she conquers chaos and accelerates rapid and sustained returns by transforming data and analytics assets into actionable insights. 

Practice Directors

Darin Howard

Practice Director, BI/Reporting and
Analytics

Darin’s leadership and years of business intelligence experience enable him to design and develop solutions that deliver timely and trusted information, helping organizations make better decisions critical to their success. 

Dan Streufert

Practice Director, IT Infrastructure Services

Dan is a proven and experienced, enterprise IT leader with a passion for process enablement and business/IT transformation in rapid-growth organizations. An entrepreneur at heart, Dan’s personal drive and curiosity have honed and complemented his soft skills with deep technical knowledge. 

Kim Wineland

Practice Director, Program Delivery

Kim Wineland knows that the right systems deliver enhanced organizational performance and potential for superior achievement. For over 20 years, she has been an unwavering advocate for transformative technology and a masterful program management and business transformation leader. 

Scott Carlson

Practice Director, Cybersecurity Services

Scott Carlson is a highly skilled and experienced Information Security advisor with 30 years of experience, adept at identifying risks and developing solutions. He enjoys cracking difficult problems and seeking out hidden solutions that deliver the most secure data management. Scott is a complexity simplifier, translating the technological jargon associated with Information Security into “human speak” so that all team members and leadership are confident in decisions

Kevin Lee

Practice Director, Cybersecurity Services

With more than 35 years as a consulting practice leader and executive with a background implementing a wide range of operational and IT solutions for some 80 different clients, Kevin brings extensive experience and uncommon acumen to the table.

Dan Streufert

Practice Director, IT Infrastructure Services

Dan is a proven and experienced, enterprise IT leader with a passion for process enablement and business/IT transformation in rapid-growth organizations. An entrepreneur at heart, Dan’s personal drive and curiosity have honed and complemented his soft skills with deep technical knowledge. 

Strategic Partners

Zach Poth

Strategic Advisor

Zach is a seasoned Sales and Operations Executive with over 15 years of progressive experience in business process development and people management. 

Jim Williams

Senior Advisor, Human Resources & Labor Relations

Jim brings over 30 years of Human Resources, Change Management, and Executive Coaching in a diverse set of organizations concentrating on utilities, mining, heavy construction/ maintenance, and municipalities. In his role as a consultant and business coach, Jim will ask powerful questions without judgment.

Kim Moulton

Senior Advisor, Human Resources, Labor Relations, Health & Safety

A diverse career of over 30 years focused on people through Health, Safety & Wellness, Human Resources, and large-scale Change Management / Cultural transformation initiatives allows Kim to influence and guide an organization, its leaders and those who get the work done.