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Why more UAE businesses are ‘renting’ their C-suite executives instead of hiring them
Recruitment industry executives say demand for on-demand C-suite leadership is accelerating, with CFOs the most sought-after role amid corporate tax and governance pressures
- PUBLISHED: Mon 10 Aug 2026, 5:59 AM UPDATED: Mon 10 Aug 2026, 9:31 AM
The market for fractional executives, senior leaders who work with companies on a part-time or project basis rather than as full-time hires, is gaining significant traction in the UAE, particularly among SMEs, scale-ups, family businesses and venture-backed startups that need senior leadership expertise without the cost and commitment of a full-time C-suite appointment.
Rhys Holding, co-founder of Fractional, said enquiries for fractional executives at the firm were up roughly 200 per cent over the past three months.
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“SMEs are actively asking for access to senior leadership with Fortune 500 experience, without the commitment of a full-time hire, and experienced executives are increasingly choosing fractional roles over permanent ones,” he said.
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The UAE’s SME base underpins that demand. The country has more than 1.4 million registered companies, with 250,000 added in 2025 alone, while research from the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government puts SMEs at around 94 per cent of all businesses in the UAE.
Mayank Patel, SVP at Adecco and Head of EEMEA, said businesses were becoming increasingly comfortable accessing leadership “as-a-service” across technology, finance, marketing and leadership functions.
“As the number of registered SME companies continues to grow in the UAE, this creates a larger addressable market for fractional leadership solutions,” he said.
CFOs lead the way
Both Adecco and Fractional identified the chief financial officer as the most in-demand fractional role, driven by the introduction of UAE Corporate Tax and growing pressure on businesses to strengthen financial controls and governance.
“Companies are focused on financial discipline and cash flow management, corporate tax compliance and governance, budgeting, forecasting and business planning,” Patel said.
Demand is also rising for fractional chief operating officers to support scaling, chief marketing officers for growth and customer acquisition, chief technology officers for digital transformation, and chief human resources officers for talent strategy.
Holding said demand was spread broadly across CFOs brought in ahead of funding rounds or to structure loans, CTOs scaling product and teams, COOs stabilising operations, and CMOs driving go-to-market execution.
Cost savings
Both executives pointed to significant cost savings.
Fractional leadership typically costs 30 to 60 per cent less than a full-time C-suite hire, according to Holding, once salary, housing, transport, bonus, benefits, visa costs and end-of-service gratuity are factored in.
A full-time CFO at a UAE SME commands a base salary of Dh61,000 to Dh92,000 a month, according to 2025 data from Cooper Fitch, before additional benefits and an end-of-service gratuity of up to 8.33 per cent of basic salary per year of service. Because fractional arrangements are structured on a business-to-business basis, Holding noted, SMEs also avoid visa, insurance and end-of-service liabilities altogether.
Reshaping careers
For senior executives, the model also offers a route to diversify income.
“Rather than being tied to a single organisation, a senior leader can work with multiple businesses simultaneously,” Patel said, citing greater flexibility, broader industry exposure and specialist expertise across several clients as key benefits.
Holding said most fractional executives at the firm hold two to three concurrent engagements, with rates rising as they build a track record.
“What draws experienced executives to fractional work is variety, the chance to work across adjacent industries and keep solving new problems,” he said.
Early adoption
Both executives described the UAE market as still in its early stages compared with the US and UK, where the fractional model is well established. Professionals listing "fractional" in their LinkedIn title globally grew from around 2,000 in 2022 to more than 142,000 by early 2025, according to Axios – a signal of the pace of adoption internationally.
“We believe we are still in the early stages of adoption in the UAE,” Patel said.
“As SMEs become more focused on agility, cost control and specialist expertise, we expect fractional leadership to become a mainstream talent solution rather than a niche alternative.”
Sam Loyd, co-founder of Fractional, added: "The fractional model is well established in mature markets and the results speak for themselves. The UAE is at a point where the conditions that drove that adoption internationally are very much present, and the demand from SMEs for a smarter, more agile approach to senior leadership is growing."
Fractional said it is targeting companies with 10 to 200 employees navigating funding rounds, market entry, leadership transitions or restructuring, with executives typically matched and embedded within two to three weeks of an initial brief.
