ZRG has acquired Fortium, expanding its Interim Solutions & Project Consulting business with interim, fractional and project-based CIO, CTO and CISO leadership services.
ZRG has acquired Fortium, a Dallas-based provider of fractional, interim and project-based CIO, CTO and CISO leadership, expanding the firm's Interim Solutions & Project Consulting business with a dedicated technology leadership offering.
The acquisition brings Fortium's interim technology leadership capabilities into ZRG's platform, providing clients with on-demand access to experienced CIO, CTO and CISO executives. According to ZRG, the addition is intended to address both technology leadership credibility and continuity by placing experienced operators directly within organizations without requiring a full-time executive hire, relying on a single individual or conducting a lengthy executive search.
Founded in 2014, Fortium serves public, private and private equity-owned organizations across more than 90 industries through regional hubs across North America. The company has built a network of more than 180 Fortium Partners who support clients through interim, fractional and project-based engagements.
Fortium said its model gives mid-market organizations access to experienced technology executives who help scale businesses, modernize operations, strengthen cybersecurity and guide leadership teams through technology decisions. The firm's client roster includes more than 400 organizations across the United States, Canada and international markets, including Fortune 500 companies and private equity firms managing more than $1 trillion in assets.
"Companies are making more nuanced decisions about leadership than they did even a few years ago, particularly in technology," said Mark Viner, leader of Interim Solutions & Project Consulting at ZRG. "Fortium has built a leading position in interim and fractional technology leadership, bringing experienced operators into the business in a way that is aligned to the actual need, not a default org chart."
As part of the acquisition, Burke Autrey, founder and CEO of Fortium, will join ZRG as president of Fortium Partners, a ZRG company. Richard Harris, Stephen Lavin, Greg Pascuzzi, Helmut Oehring and Brad Wheeler will also join the organization.
"Technology leadership is a business capability decision, not a hiring event – and how you deliver it is inseparable from the culture behind it," said Autrey. "Fortium was built on both: the conviction that companies need executive technology leadership with the credibility to lead at the C-suite and the continuity to last through every transition, and a working style built around people who operate closely with clients, execute without unnecessary complexity, and earn trust over time. That is exactly what we found in ZRG. This combination works because the culture matches, and culture is what shapes how we serve clients and how that trust holds when it matters most."
Larry Hartmann, CEO of ZRG, said the acquisition strengthens the company's technology leadership capabilities while creating opportunities to collaborate across the broader business.
"Fortium adds a focused capability in an important functional area for our clients," Hartmann said. "It strengthens one part of our business, but the value does not stop there. This creates meaningful opportunity to collaborate across the firm and to deliver more complete solutions when technology leadership is part of the answer."
Fortium will integrate immediately into ZRG's Interim Solutions & Project Consulting business with a focus on maintaining client continuity while expanding access to ZRG's data-driven platform and global advisory capabilities.