Interview with Adriana Ionas on fractional leadership, strategy, clarity, and the impact of new executive models on business growth.
Adriana Ionas is a strategic consultant and fractional CFO with over 20 years of experience across corporations, entrepreneurship, and transformation projects. After years of leading teams and publicly listed organizations, she chose to collaborate with startups and fast-growing companies—places where direction is shaped on the go. She works with people who want to build for the long term, bringing clarity, balance, and an authentic way of connecting financial decisions with the day-to-day reality of the business.
Fractional Insider: How was your transition from a classic career to fractional leadership/consulting?
Adriana Ionas: The transition came naturally, but it became clearer when I started the EMBA program at the Bucharest International School of Management, in partnership with Maastricht University, in 2022. It was a period of intense reflection, in which I asked myself deep questions about my professional direction and about the kind of contribution I wanted to have. I defended my thesis and graduated in 2025, and the experience confirmed that I wanted a role that goes beyond the classic CFO position—one that connects strategy, people, and numbers in a coherent and dynamic way.
I realized that what truly motivates me is working at the intersection of vision and execution, where numbers can shape the desired financial reality, not just report it. I choose to get involved where there is a clear purpose and an authentic desire to build, beyond ego or titles—where shared meaning comes first.
Fractional Insider: What attracted you most to this model, and what challenges did it bring?
Adriana Ionas: At the center of any collaboration, what matters most to me is the quality of the relationship and the meaning of what we build together. I look for contexts where professional partnership is based on trust, autonomy, and real dialogue. I appreciate teams that approach things with openness and curiosity, because that’s where I can truly contribute—through structure, understanding, and a decision-oriented way of working.
The biggest challenge was selection—learning how to choose the right projects. Not all companies are ready for this type of partnership, even if the intention is there. It requires clarity, openness, and a certain maturity in their relationship with change.
Fractional Insider: How do you choose the projects and clients you work with?
Adriana Ionas: Things fall into place naturally when the intention is clear. I choose projects where I feel a values alignment and a genuine desire for growth, not just adjustment or optimization. I’m drawn to people who have the courage to ask difficult questions, who embrace uncertainty, and who want to understand the process, not just the final result.
For me, partnership is essential. I cannot be “the consultant from the outside.” I become part of the team, with everything that entails—engagement, transparency, and honesty when constructive confrontation is needed. That’s where real trust is built and sustainable results take shape.
Fractional Insider: Tell us about a moment when you had major impact as a fractional leader.
Adriana Ionas: More than one specific moment, I believe the real impact happens when dialogue changes the way a team relates to its own decisions. I’ve had collaborations where, after each discussion, one of the founders would revisit ideas, analyze them from a new angle, and restart the conversation. The process was bidirectional—I, too, sometimes saw things differently, and together we refined the proposal until it aligned with the reality and strategic direction of the business.
For me, this is the true role of a fractional: to create a space for reflection and decision, where ideas can be refined without tension. The result is not just a better solution but a team that thinks more integratively and acts with more intention.
Fractional Insider: What are the main differences between being a full-time executive and being fractional?
Adriana Ionas: When you’re a full-time executive, it’s easy to be absorbed by the organization’s rhythm—by urgencies, deliverables, and the constant need for internal alignment. In a fractional role, you maintain a healthy distance that allows you to see things with clarity and empathy. It’s a different type of presence: more focused, more conscious, more intentional.
At the same time, this model gives organizations access to a level of expertise they couldn’t otherwise afford. They essentially benefit from the full range of skills and experience of a senior executive, adapted to their needs and pace. I enjoy this type of collaboration because it brings both worlds together—the depth of experience and the agility required to grow sustainably.
Fractional Insider: How do you explain the value of a fractional to a skeptical CEO?
Adriana Ionas: I usually don’t try to convince, but to clarify. A fractional role is not a reduced version of a full-time executive—it’s a different form of collaboration. It means access to real expertise, to an external perspective, and to a strategic approach adapted to the company’s needs and current stage. It’s a concentrated, impactful presence, without the cost and rigidity of a permanent role.
Often, skepticism disappears naturally after the first conversations. People feel the difference in the questions I ask, in the way I think, and in the clarity of the process. I prefer to talk about results and about how the team dynamic shifts, not about theory. When decisions become simpler and more grounded in reality, the value becomes obvious on its own.
Fractional Insider: What are the most common mistakes companies make when working with fractionals?
Adriana Ionas: I believe everything comes down to expectations. There are fractional professionals who provide punctual support through reports and analyses, and there are others—like myself—who work closely with the team, involved in day-to-day decisions and transformation processes. When these perspectives are not clearly differentiated from the start, confusion arises.
For me, the fractional role is not limited to analysis; it becomes a process of strategic co-creation. I don’t just provide a solution; I work with the team to create a way of thinking and acting. Another frequent mistake is when organizations view the role as an external solution instead of a true partnership. Impact emerges when there is trust, dialogue, and willingness to build together.
Fractional Insider: How do you see the evolution of this career model in the coming years?
Adriana Ionas: I don’t think we’re talking about a trend anymore, but about a reality that has already settled in. Perhaps it’s also the world I move in, where professionals consciously choose the freedom to shape their roles around the value they can bring, not around a title. It’s a sign of professional maturity—to know what you’re good at and to choose the environments where that “good” has meaning and impact.
I believe we are redefining the way we view work, belonging, and collaboration. We no longer work for organizations, but together with them. Work becomes more fluid, but also deeper—based on trust, autonomy, and shared meaning. In this transformation, technology and AI are not competitors, but thinking partners. They can help us build concepts, anticipate scenarios, and develop ideas with real value.
For me, the future of these professions lies in foresight—the ability to see further and to build in the right direction. And in the satisfaction of working in a world where the profession becomes more fluid, but also more meaningful.
Fractional Insider: What advice would you give a senior professional considering becoming fractional?
Adriana Ionas: I believe it’s worth starting by understanding why you want this—not as a temporary solution, but as a deliberate choice. Being fractional does not mean being less involved, but involved differently: with a clearer, freer, more conscious perspective. It’s a role that requires balance, curiosity, and a healthy relationship with uncertainty.
The first months can be confusing—it’s a different way of thinking, working, and grounding yourself. But in time, everything settles. You learn to recognize the places where you can bring value and the ones where it’s better not to get involved. And that moment of alignment—between experience, meaning, and people—makes the entire journey worthwhile.
Adriana Ionas’ journey shows that next-generation leadership is not built on rigidity, but on courage, dialogue, and a deep understanding of people and the strategies that support their evolution.
