Best Fractional Chief Product Officers in Chicago

Best Fractional CPO Services in Chicago

The Chicago–Naperville–Elgin metro area’s product leadership ecosystem is a unique blend of finance, manufacturing, B2B SaaS, and deep-tech innovation. Fractional CPOs play a pivotal role in this region, providing executive-level product vision without permanent overhead, helping companies scale, align teams, and implement scalable systems across industries from fintech and healthcare SaaS to manufacturing. Their expertise allows organizations to navigate complex market dynamics, accelerate time-to-market, and turn ambitious ideas into actionable product strategies. By embedding temporarily yet strategically, these leaders ensure lasting impact on growth, efficiency, and team alignment, cementing Chicago–Naperville–Elgin’s reputation as a hub for disciplined and innovative product leadership.

At Digital Reference, we connect organizations with verified, results-driven product professionals who transform businesses rather than simply manage products. Using our research-driven methodology, we rigorously evaluate each fractional CPO across performance metrics, leadership approach, strategic adaptability, and cultural fit. This ensures that every professional featured is credible, capable, and contextually aligned with the organizations they serve, delivering measurable outcomes and enabling sustainable growth and innovation.

Below, we introduce three standout Fractional Chief Product Officers shaping the Chicago area’s product ecosystem through strategic insight, operational mastery, and human-centered leadership.

🌟 Meet Chicago’s Leading Fractional CPOs

♦️ Salana McElroy

Product Leader & Fractional CPO
🔗 LinkedIn

With a career that blends enterprise product leadership and startup agility, Salana McElroy has established herself as a force in Chicago’s product community. She specializes in leading companies through growth-phase transitions, helping teams build the structure, clarity, and confidence needed to execute ambitious roadmaps.

💡 Key Highlights:

🌟 Operational excellence: Salana is known for implementing product frameworks that improve predictability and speed without compromising creativity.

🤝 Team empowerment: She has coached cross-functional teams through change, instilling a shared sense of ownership and customer empathy.

📈 Data-led decisions: Her approach emphasizes clear metrics and actionable insights, helping organizations move from intuition to precision.

Her work often involves partnering with CEOs and founders to identify bottlenecks, refine product-market fit, and ensure product vision aligns with business strategy. She is especially known for turning fragmented roadmaps into cohesive, results-driven execution plans.

Salana’s leadership philosophy reflects the broader ethos of Chicago’s product scene: grounded, empathetic, and growth-oriented. Her fractional engagements frequently lead to lasting organizational transformation, even after her role concludes.

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♦️ Marlon Davis

Product Portfolio Transformations Specialist, Fractional CPO at Froogel Product Manager

🔗 LinkedIn

Marlon Davis brings over a decade of experience leading cross-functional product teams through growth, transformation, and scaling. Based in the greater Chicago area, Marlon has become a go-to advisor for digital transformation initiatives—helping legacy businesses and emerging startups alike modernize their product delivery processes.

💡 Key Highlights:

🚀 Transformation leadership: Marlon has guided organizations through transitions from project-based delivery to product-led operations, enabling greater agility and alignment.

🧩 Strategic frameworks: He helps companies define and operationalize clear product strategies that integrate customer insight with business goals.

🔍 Change management: Known for his structured yet empathetic approach, Marlon helps teams navigate organizational shifts with confidence and clarity.

Marlon’s fractional engagements often include introducing OKR systems, refining backlog prioritization, and creating leadership alignment between product, engineering, and design. His impact extends beyond process—he brings vision and repeatable systems that sustain performance long after the engagement ends.

Chicago’s emphasis on collaboration and community is reflected in Marlon’s leadership style. He’s active in mentoring rising product leaders and often contributes to local product meetups and workshops focused on scaling digital organizations.

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♦️ Nick McEvily

Fractional Chief Product Officer | Product & Growth Strategist
🔗 LinkedIn | 🌐Personal Website

Nick McEvily is a Chicago-based product leader whose experience spans consumer digital products, enterprise SaaS, and innovation strategy. Known for his entrepreneurial mindset, Nick has worked both as a product operator and a founder, giving him a uniquely holistic understanding of how products drive business growth.

💡 Key Highlights:

💼 Startup-to-scale execution: Nick excels at guiding early-stage companies through Series A and B growth, aligning vision with delivery.

🧠 Strategic growth leadership: He helps teams build sustainable revenue models by merging customer insight, product data, and operational alignment.

⚙️ Innovation and systems thinking: His experience includes leading cross-functional innovation projects that tie experimentation directly to business outcomes.

Nick’s clients range from high-growth SaaS startups to enterprise transformation projects. His engagements often center on helping companies develop stronger product strategies, accelerate development cycles, and build the right leadership infrastructure.

He is also active in Chicago’s product innovation community, where he frequently advises founders on growth strategy, user research, and leadership development. His holistic approach—balancing strategy, execution, and empathy—has made him a respected figure among Chicago’s next generation of product executives.

Why Fractional Product Leadership Matters in Chicago

In the Chicago–Naperville–Elgin area, fractional CPOs embody the region’s ethos of practicality, integrity, and teamwork, driving sustainable innovation and long-term growth. They provide strategic focus, cross-functional alignment, accelerated execution, and scalable frameworks, helping organizations navigate digital transformation and complex product challenges. As the local economy expands in AI, logistics, and enterprise SaaS, these leaders serve as strategic accelerators, turning change into measurable progress and enabling businesses to scale effectively. To explore more curated lists, visit:

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At Digital Reference, we are proud to spotlight professionals who embody authenticity, expertise, and impact. By connecting organizations with verified, outcome-driven experts, we’re not just facilitating hires—we’re enabling better products, stronger teams, and more sustainable innovation across industries. Because in a city built on precision, perseverance, and partnership, fractional CPOs aren’t just filling roles—they’re defining the future of leadership.‍