Hire Head of Ecommerce — senior digital leadership for mid-market brands
In mid-market companies there is rarely a VP layer — the head of ecommerce is the most senior digital person in the building. They set the strategy, run the team, own the trading number, and sit with the founders making real decisions. It is a role that demands both altitude and hands-on ability: boardroom thinking on Monday, trading the site on Tuesday.
I'm Omer Muneer Qazi, a Dubai-based Fractional CTO & Solutions Architect with 15+ years of experience and 100+ projects delivered across 6 countries. I place heads of ecommerce who are comfortable owning the outcome end to end — and I back them with the technical leadership most mid-market teams lack. For larger organizations that need a full executive layer, a VP of ecommerce may fit better.
One senior owner for digital
Digital strategy the founders buy into
A clear, plain-spoken ecommerce strategy tied to company goals — presented in language owners understand, with trade-offs made explicit instead of buried in jargon.
Team building from the ground up
Hiring, structuring, and developing your internal ecommerce team — or professionalizing the team you already have — so capability compounds inside the business.
Trading ownership
The promotional calendar, pricing, and merchandising decisions owned by one accountable person — ending the era of discount decisions made by committee.
Technology and vendor direction
Platform, app, and agency decisions guided by commercial sense rather than sales pitches — with a Fractional CTO validating the technical calls.
Retention as a growth engine
Email, SMS, and loyalty built into the operating model from the start — so growth is not entirely rented from paid acquisition.
Founder-level reporting
Simple, honest reporting the ownership team actually reads: revenue, margin, and what is being done about both.
From first principles to owned outcomes
A structured engagement with no surprises — you’ll always know what’s happening and what’s next.
Founder alignment
We start with what the owners actually want — growth, margin, exit value, or all three — because the ecommerce strategy must serve the business strategy.
Reality audit
Team, tools, traffic, conversion, and retention reviewed honestly — so the plan starts from facts, not from how things were described in the interview.
Build and professionalize
Quick wins in trading and retention while the team, processes, and reporting are built up underneath.
Owned growth
Within two quarters the business should have a strategy it understands, a team it trusts, and a number someone is accountable for.
Why hire a head of ecommerce through a Fractional CTO
Mid-market heads of ecommerce usually inherit a mess: an agency-built site nobody understands, data nobody trusts, and tools chosen by whoever shouted last. I clean that up alongside the hire — rationalizing the stack and fixing the data — so your new leader starts from solid ground instead of quicksand.
You get senior commercial leadership plus the technical direction to make it stick. Get in touch to scope the role.
Frequently asked questions
Head of ecommerce vs VP of ecommerce — which do we need?
It is mostly about company size and structure. Mid-market businesses without a VP layer need a head of ecommerce who owns everything. Larger or more complex businesses benefit from a VP who sits at the executive table with full P&L authority.
Should the head of ecommerce report to the founder or the CMO?
To whoever owns the P&L. If ecommerce is the business, they report to the founder or CEO. If it is one channel among several, the CMO or COO can work — as long as the reporting line carries real authority.
Do they need to be technical?
Commercially sharp with enough technical fluency to direct developers and vendors — that is the sweet spot. Deep platform engineering is my side of the partnership, not theirs.
How long before we see results?
Trading and retention quick wins in the first quarter; team and process maturity over two quarters. Anyone promising a transformed P&L in 30 days is selling you something.
Full-time or fractional to start?
Fractional works well when you need senior thinking before you can justify the full-time salary — and it lets both sides prove the fit before committing.
Give digital a senior owner
Tell me where ecommerce sits in your business today — I will tell you what seniority the role actually needs and what the first 90 days should look like.
Related ways to work with Omer
Not quite the right fit? These closely related engagements solve adjacent problems — browse a few before you reach out.
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