# Fractional | Dubai > Fractional executive search for SMEs in Dubai and the UAE. We match vetted, part-time C-suite leaders (CFO, COO, CMO, CTO, CRO and CHRO) to your stage, sector and challenge, and embed them to deliver real results. Also: non-executive directors drawn from a collective of vetted C-suite operators. The home of fractional leadership. The right leader, for exactly as long as it matters. Fractional | Dubai is the founding hub of Fractional, the fractional executive search partner for SMEs. We draw on a curated, vetted collective of 400+ senior executives across finance, operations, marketing, technology, people and revenue, match the right leader to the moment, and embed them as an operator who holds the decisions in their domain and is accountable to outcomes, not a consultant who advises and steps away. Every engagement is business to business, company to company: no employment visa to sponsor, no headcount to carry, no benefits or end-of-service gratuity, and one month's notice to scale up, down or out. Executives work 4 to 24 hours per week over six to twenty-four months, and our engagements typically run 30 to 60% less than a full-time hire. ## Executive roles - [Fractional CFO](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/services/fractional-cfo): finance leadership for funding rounds, board reporting and cash flow. - [Fractional COO](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/services/fractional-coo): operators who turn strategy into delivery as the business scales. - [Fractional CMO](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/services/fractional-cmo): positioning and the marketing engine, built and run for real return. - [Fractional CTO](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/services/fractional-cto): technical direction across architecture, product and delivery. - [Fractional CRO](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/services/fractional-cro): revenue leadership aligning sales, marketing and go-to-market. - [Fractional CHRO](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/services/fractional-chro): people, culture and compliance aligned to how the business needs to grow. - [All services](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/services): every fractional C-suite role we match. ## Board and governance - [Non-Executive Directors](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/services/non-executive-director): board appointments: non-executive directors drawn from a collective of vetted C-suite operators. ## Specialised UAE appointments - [Free Zone Substance and Tax](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/services/free-zone-substance-and-tax): QFZP positioning, adequate-substance review and corporate tax readiness for free zone businesses. - [Risk and Compliance Officers](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/compliance): fractional MLROs, Compliance Officers, Heads of Compliance and Chief Risk Officers for firms regulated in ADGM, DIFC, by VARA, the CBUAE or the CMA. ## Risk and compliance role guides - [Fractional Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO)](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/compliance/mlro): The senior individual who owns your anti-money laundering framework, decides what is reported to the authorities and answers for it to the regulator. - [Fractional Deputy MLRO](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/compliance/deputy-mlro): The MLRO’s second in command: shares the anti-money laundering workload and takes over the role, with its responsibilities, whenever the MLRO is unavailable. - [Fractional Compliance Officer](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/compliance/compliance-officer): The approved individual who makes sure the firm meets its regulatory obligations day to day, and tells senior management when it does not. - [Fractional Head of Compliance](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/compliance/head-of-compliance): The senior leader accountable for the whole compliance framework, who oversees the Compliance Officer and MLRO and represents the firm to the regulator. - [Fractional Chief Risk Officer (Head of Risk)](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/compliance/chief-risk-officer): The senior leader who identifies and measures the risks the firm runs, agrees with the board how much risk it will take, and reports honestly against that limit. - [Fractional Head of Financial Crime](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/compliance/head-of-financial-crime): The senior specialist who owns the firm’s defences against money laundering, sanctions breaches, fraud and bribery, and proves they work. - [Fractional Head of Ethics and Integrity](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/compliance/head-of-ethics-and-integrity): The senior leader who sets the firm’s standards of conduct, runs its whistleblowing channels and leads an independent response when a concern is raised. ## Solutions by business moment - [SMEs](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/solutions/smes): the senior leadership layer, without the full-time cost. - [Startups](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/solutions/startups): senior operators who have done it before, without the burn rate. - [Scale-ups](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/solutions/scale-ups): leadership for the growth phase, deployed as a stack when needed. - [Family businesses](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/solutions/family-businesses): professionalise the business, protect the family. - [Fundraising](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/solutions/fundraising): investor-ready finance leadership for the raise ahead. - [Turnaround](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/solutions/turnaround): crisis and turnaround operators, matched and moving within days. - [Market entry](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/solutions/market-entry): enter the UAE with a leader who already knows the market. - [Private equity](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/solutions/private-equity): PE-fluent operators for portfolio companies. - [Investment firms](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/solutions/investment-firms): a vetted collective of leaders for your portfolio. - [Revenue growth](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/solutions/revenue-growth): commercial leadership accountable for outcomes. - [All solutions](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/solutions): browse every business moment we support. ## Data releases - [Still choosing the UAE: where senior executives applied, Aug to Oct 2026](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/media/data/executives-still-choosing-the-uae-2026): 73% of executives applying to work across a border chose the UAE. Fractional data from 64 city hubs, August to October 2026, with charts, method and downloads. - Licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Free to republish, including commercially, with credit to Fractional and a link to this page. Please do not crop the source line or wordmark from the supplied charts. - Cite as: Source: Fractional, analysis of applications to its 64 city hubs, 1 August to 13 October 2026. fractional-dubai.com/media/data/executives-still-choosing-the-uae-2026 - [Full text in Markdown](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/media/data/executives-still-choosing-the-uae-2026/index.md): every finding, table, the method and the media contacts. - Data: JSON https://www.fractional-dubai.com/media/data/executives-still-choosing-the-uae-2026/executives-still-choosing-the-uae-2026-data.json, CSV https://www.fractional-dubai.com/media/data/executives-still-choosing-the-uae-2026/executives-still-choosing-the-uae-2026-data.csv - Shares and ratios only; application volumes are not disclosed. Keep the method caveats with any figure. ## Get started - [Apply to join the collective](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/apply): for senior executives who want to work fractionally. - [Brief a search](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/contact): tell us the moment and we will match a leader. - [Become a City Ambassador](https://www.fractional-global.com/ambassador): help lead the Dubai collective. ## Optional - [Why fractional executives](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/why-fractional-executives-is-the-way): the case for the model. - [Client stories](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/clients): outcomes from real engagements. - [Partners](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/partners): the ecosystem we work alongside. - [For communities](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/for-communities): programmes with partner communities. - [Readiness assessment](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/tools/fractional-executive-readiness-assessment): a short check on whether your business is ready for a fractional executive. - [Articles](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/articles): guidance on hiring and working with fractional executives. - [Events](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/events): workshops, summits and mixers. - [llms-full.txt](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/llms-full.txt): the expanded version of this file, with full article text and events. - [About Fractional | Dubai](https://www.fractional-dubai.com/about): why Fractional began in Dubai, the UAE market, and the co-founders, Rhys Holding and Sam Loyd. - [The founders on Fractional Global](https://www.fractional-global.com/about): the full founders' story and press coverage of Fractional. - [Fractional Global](https://www.fractional-global.com): the wider collective across the Middle East and Asia Pacific. --- Fractional | Dubai. The home of fractional leadership. The founding hub of Fractional Global.