Fractional and interim Chief Development Officer for healthcare.
A fractional Chief Development Officer runs your inorganic growth: sourcing, structuring, and closing acquisitions, partnerships, and joint ventures, and building the pipeline and BD function behind them, as a part-time or time-bound engagement. This is corporate development and M&A leadership, not data, digital, or fundraising. Built by a practitioner who has sat in the seat.
The development seat is empty, or the growth plan is bigger than the team.
The seat just opened
Your CDO or head of corporate development left, and the pipeline cannot sit idle through a six to twelve month search. Someone senior runs the function now.
A platform just closed
A PE sponsor bought the platform and needs an add-on pipeline built against the value-creation plan, fast, before a permanent hire is even sourced.
M&A is in motion
Deals are live, partnerships and JVs are on the table, and the team needs senior dealmaking leadership to keep them moving through close.
An exit is ahead
Buyers want growth that is repeatable and not dependent on one or two people. The development function needs to look like a system.
The full development function, run by one senior operator.
Scoped up or down to your situation. Two common shapes: run the seat day to day, or build the sourcing and pipeline system and ready the team for the permanent hire.
Acquisition strategy and pipeline
Target thesis and buy-box, market mapping, and proprietary off-market sourcing so you work names other buyers are not.
Deal execution
Owner outreach and relationships, LOI drafting, diligence coordination, and negotiation through to close, with pipeline reporting to leadership.
Partnerships and joint ventures
Sourcing, structuring, and developing partnerships and health-system JVs, including the governance and alignment that make them hold.
Build the function
A CRM and pipeline operating system, referral activation, outreach cadence, vendor and analyst direction, and board-ready reporting.
Direct the team and vendors
Point the in-house analyst and outside buy-side vendors at the right work, and consolidate what you are paying multiple providers to do.
Ready the permanent hire
A hire profile, interview scorecard, and 30/60/90-day onboarding plan so the next leader inherits a running function.
Fractional or interim CDO versus the alternatives.
| Comparison criteria | Fractional / interim CDO | Full-time CDO hire | Outsourced buy-side firm |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to deploy | Two to four weeks | Six to twelve month search, then ramp | Weeks, but sourcing only |
| All-in cost | Roughly 40 to 60 percent of a full-time hire | $250K-$410K fully loaded in year one, plus ramp | Retainer, often plus success fees |
| Scope | Strategy, sourcing, execution, JVs, team build | Full ownership of the function | Lead lists and outreach only |
| Runs the seat | Yes, for the engagement | Yes, permanently | No |
| Best when | A transition, a new platform, a deal cycle, or building the function | Scale and daily presence justify the seat | You only need top-of-funnel volume |
Run by an operator who has sat in the seat and closed the deals.
Healthcare M&AI is led by Shawn Rothlis, a practitioner with 8+ years in corporate development, M&A, and strategic finance, including corporate development at a NASDAQ-listed oncology platform and a PE-backed urgent care platform, where he built more than a dozen health-system joint ventures. His experience spans $1B+ in cumulative transaction value and 130+ centers acquired and integrated.
That is the difference between sitting in the development seat and consulting next to it. You get senior judgment on which targets are likely to transact, how to structure a JV that holds, and how to build a pipeline a permanent hire can run, applied to your deals from week one.
Three ways to engage, one written scope.
Monthly retainer
Ongoing fractional leadership at one to three days per week. Best for a standing development function that does not need a full-time seat yet.
Time-bound interim
Near-full-time coverage of the seat for a defined window, to bridge a vacancy or run a specific deal cycle through close.
Fixed-fee project
A scoped sprint such as a pipeline build, a JV stand-up, or a development-function diagnostic, priced to a deliverable.
Every engagement runs on a written statement of work with defined scope, cadence, and deliverables, plus a short weekly or biweekly operating review with leadership. Engagements are advisory, with no success or transaction-based fees.
Confidentiality and conflicts. All work is done under NDA. Single-client exclusivity within your sub-sector and geography is available, and any potentially overlapping engagement is cleared with you first. For a fractional dealmaker that sees your targets, valuations, and strategy, that boundary is the foundation of the relationship.
Built for healthcare buyers across the table.
PE-backed healthcare platforms
Running an add-on strategy with a lean team and a value-creation clock.
Private equity funds
Standing up development at a new platform, or covering a portfolio company between hires.
Health systems
Developing partnerships, joint ventures, and market-entry transactions.
Healthcare operators
Growing through acquisition without the overhead of a full-time corporate development office.
Match the scope to the need.
Market map (one-time project)
A ranked target universe for one thesis, delivered in 2-5 business days.
Fractional deal sourcing
Ongoing sourcing intelligence on a retainer, refreshed as signals move.
Fractional or interim CDO (this page)
A practitioner runs the whole development seat, from sourcing through close.
Common questions about a fractional or interim CDO.
What is a fractional Chief Development Officer?
A fractional Chief Development Officer runs a company's inorganic growth: sourcing, structuring, and closing acquisitions, partnerships, and joint ventures, and building the pipeline and BD function behind them, as a part-time or time-bound engagement instead of a full-time hire. In this context CDO means corporate development and M&A leadership rather than data, digital, or fundraising.
What is the difference between an interim and a fractional CDO?
Interim means near-full-time coverage of the development seat for a defined window, usually to bridge a vacancy or run a specific deal cycle. Fractional means ongoing senior leadership a set number of days per week. Both are available, and an interim engagement often steps down to a fractional cadence once the gap is closed.
When should a healthcare company hire a fractional or interim CDO?
Common triggers: the development seat is open and the pipeline cannot pause, a PE platform just closed and needs an add-on pipeline against the value-creation plan, an M&A or integration push is underway, growth needs to look repeatable before an exit, or the need is real but does not yet justify a full-time C-suite hire.
How is this different from a recruiter or an outsourced buy-side firm?
A recruiter fills the seat months from now. An outsourced buy-side firm sends lead lists and outreach. A fractional or interim CDO runs the whole development function today: strategy, proprietary sourcing, deal execution through close, partnerships and JVs, and building the system the permanent hire inherits.
How do you handle confidentiality and conflicts of interest?
All work is done under NDA. Single-client exclusivity within your sub-sector and geography is available, and any potentially overlapping engagement is cleared with you first. Your work product is yours; the underlying methodology stays with Healthcare M&AI.
How are engagements priced?
Three models: a monthly retainer at one to three days per week, a time-bound interim engagement, or a fixed-fee project such as a pipeline build or JV stand-up. Every engagement is scoped to a written statement of work. Engagements are advisory, with no success or transaction-based fees. Starting points are shared on the call.
Which healthcare sectors do you cover?
All of healthcare services. The work is positioned by deal type and buyer type rather than one specialty, spanning physician practices, urgent care, dental, behavioral health, post-acute, ancillary services, and health-system partnerships and JVs.
What happens when the engagement ends?
You keep a working development operating system: a prioritized pipeline, an outreach and referral framework, and documented process. For a permanent transition, you also get a hire profile, an interview scorecard, and a 30/60/90-day onboarding plan so the next leader inherits a running function rather than rebuilding one.
Keep the development seat covered.
Tell us where the gap is: an open seat, a new platform, a deal cycle, or a function that needs building. We will scope it on a 25-minute call and confirm a start date.