Top 17 CTO Coaches to Learn From in 2026
The best CTO coaches help you cut through the noise and lead with clarity. Whether you're navigating technical debt, scaling teams, or earning a seat at the executive table, the right coach changes how you think and act. I've pulled together the CTO coaches worth your attention—ones with real track records helping tech leaders grow.
Top 17 CTO Coaches
Below are the profiles of the top CTO coaches, covering who they are and the impact they've made in this space.
Andy Skipper
Andy Skipper is founder and CEO of CTO Craft, the leadership community he launched in 2017 after CTO roles at Made.com and Comic Relief and extensive interim technology leadership work.
Through CTO…
Andy Skipper is founder and CEO of CTO Craft, the leadership community he launched in 2017 after CTO roles at Made.com and Comic Relief and extensive interim technology leadership work.
Through CTO Craft, Skipper helps senior technology leaders build the skills, resilience, and commercial perspective needed for the role. His coaching and mentoring draw on experience across startups, scaleups, investing, and one of the field’s largest peer communities.
Adam Horner
Adam Horner is a CTO coach, founder, and host of The CTO Playbook. He has more than 30 years in technology and over a decade leading teams as a chief technology officer…
Adam Horner is a CTO coach, founder, and host of The CTO Playbook. He has more than 30 years in technology and over a decade leading teams as a chief technology officer and founder.
His coaching helps CTOs move from execution into strategic leadership, with practical work on delegation, communication, team performance, technology strategy, and business alignment. The CTO Playbook supports this work through training programs, a podcast, and a community for technology leaders.
Eric Weiss
Eric Weiss is the CEO of Chaos to Clarity and a CTO and executive coach with two decades of technology experience spanning Sony, Raytheon, Qualcomm, startup leadership, OpenAI, and coaching.
Weiss helps…
Eric Weiss is the CEO of Chaos to Clarity and a CTO and executive coach with two decades of technology experience spanning Sony, Raytheon, Qualcomm, startup leadership, OpenAI, and coaching.
Weiss helps CTOs and technical founders grow their organizations without slowing their teams down. His CTO Operating System covers hiring, team structure, roadmaps, goals, executive leadership, and working with boards. His advice comes from his own experience building and leading technology teams.
Stephan Schmidt
Stephan Schmidt is a CTO coach at Amazing CTO, a longtime engineering leader and startup founder. His career includes management at ImmobilienScout24 and a CTO role at an eBay company.
Schmidt combines…
Stephan Schmidt is a CTO coach at Amazing CTO, a longtime engineering leader and startup founder. His career includes management at ImmobilienScout24 and a CTO role at an eBay company.
Schmidt combines decades of software development and engineering management with hands-on coaching for CTOs, CPTOs, and VPs of Engineering. His work spans leadership, scaling, technical debt, strategy, and AI transformation, and he is the author of Amazing CTO.
Leigh Newsome
Leigh Newsome is a CTO coach, partner at Hoola Hoop, and NYU adjunct professor. He spent more than 25 years of experience building and leading product and engineering organizations across industries.
A…
Leigh Newsome is a CTO coach, partner at Hoola Hoop, and NYU adjunct professor. He spent more than 25 years of experience building and leading product and engineering organizations across industries.
A former CTO and engineering operator, Newsome coaches technology leaders from startups through public companies. His work covers executive leadership, organization design, product and AI strategy, technical debt, board communication, and the transition from hands-on builder to senior leader.
Brad Henrickson
Brad Henrickson is a technology leadership coach and seasoned operator. His career spans founding Zoosk, VP Engineering roles at Keen.io and Earnest, and CTO leadership at Scoop and Change.org.
Through Henrickson Leadership,…
Brad Henrickson is a technology leadership coach and seasoned operator. His career spans founding Zoosk, VP Engineering roles at Keen.io and Earnest, and CTO leadership at Scoop and Change.org.
Through Henrickson Leadership, he works with technical founders and technology leaders on priorities, decision-making, organizational design, hiring, product-engineering collaboration, executive relationships, and the human side of scaling high-growth companies.
Adelina Chalmers
Adelina Chalmers is founder of The Geek Whisperer and a strategic adviser to CTOs and other STEM executives, with experience working across technology, science, and engineering organizations.
Chalmers helps CTOs connect technical…
Adelina Chalmers is founder of The Geek Whisperer and a strategic adviser to CTOs and other STEM executives, with experience working across technology, science, and engineering organizations.
Chalmers helps CTOs connect technical work with business strategy, communicate with boards and executives, secure funding for engineering priorities, and handle leadership or performance issues. She also teaches executive communication at Cambridge and Oxford.
Joel Chippindale
Joel Chippindale is a CTO coach and mentor at Monkey’s Thumb with more than 20 years leading software teams, including CTO roles at Unmade and Econsultancy and CTO/COO leadership at FutureLearn.
Chippindale…
Joel Chippindale is a CTO coach and mentor at Monkey’s Thumb with more than 20 years leading software teams, including CTO roles at Unmade and Econsultancy and CTO/COO leadership at FutureLearn.
Chippindale supports startup and scaleup CTOs as their teams and companies evolve. His coaching draws on firsthand executive experience and focuses on faster learning, better decisions, leadership development, communication, culture, and sustainable team performance.
Itzy Sabo
Itzy Sabo is a CTO coach, mentor, fractional CTO, and technology adviser with more than 25 years in software engineering, product management, and executive leadership across varied industries.
Sabo helps SaaS CTOs…
Itzy Sabo is a CTO coach, mentor, fractional CTO, and technology adviser with more than 25 years in software engineering, product management, and executive leadership across varied industries.
Sabo helps SaaS CTOs connect technology decisions to measurable business outcomes. His coaching covers strategic alignment, executive collaboration, decision-making, scaling, leadership, and delivery, while his CTO Logic newsletter shares practical lessons from his operating career.
Jossie Haines
Jossie Haines is an executive and engineering leadership coach and former VP of Engineering at Tile. She has more than 25 years of experience in software engineering and over a decade in…
Jossie Haines is an executive and engineering leadership coach and former VP of Engineering at Tile. She has more than 25 years of experience in software engineering and over a decade in technology leadership.
Her coaching helps Directors, VPs, and CTOs step into bigger roles, lead strategically, build executive influence, and avoid getting trapped in execution. Haines draws on leadership experience across Tile, Apple, Zynga, and other technology organizations.
Laura Tacho
Laura Tacho is an engineering leadership coach and technology executive. Her career includes CTO at DX and leadership roles at CloudBees, Aula Education, and Nova Credit, plus developer tools work.
Tacho coaches…
Laura Tacho is an engineering leadership coach and technology executive. Her career includes CTO at DX and leadership roles at CloudBees, Aula Education, and Nova Credit, plus developer tools work.
Tacho coaches CTOs, VPs, and senior engineering leaders on organizational performance, executive presence, accountability, succession, and product collaboration. She also teaches data-driven engineering leadership, including developer productivity and AI-impact measurement.
Jason Noble
Jason Noble is CTO, lecturer, and coach at CTO Academy, bringing board-level technology experience across software businesses, enterprise projects, innovation, and technical leadership.
At CTO Academy, Noble helps technology leaders strengthen strategic…
Jason Noble is CTO, lecturer, and coach at CTO Academy, bringing board-level technology experience across software businesses, enterprise projects, innovation, and technical leadership.
At CTO Academy, Noble helps technology leaders strengthen strategic and operational decision-making. His background spans software entrepreneurship, technical sales, agile delivery, complex enterprise programs, and executive roles, giving his coaching a broad operator’s perspective.
Edmond Lau
Edmond Lau is co-founder of Awakened Partnership, an engineering leadership educator, and author of The Effective Engineer, with earlier engineering experience at Google, Quora, and Quip.
Lau teaches engineers and technology…
Edmond Lau is co-founder of Awakened Partnership, an engineering leadership educator, and author of The Effective Engineer, with earlier engineering experience at Google, Quora, and Quip.
Lau teaches engineers and technology leaders how to make a greater impact and become stronger people leaders. His work covers coaching, delegation, building relationships, communication, and practical ways to create effective teams.
Christian McCarrick
Christian McCarrick is an engineering executive at Google, leadership mentor, and host of the SimpleLeadership podcast, with more than two decades of experience scaling technology teams.
McCarrick mentors managers, directors, founders, and…
Christian McCarrick is an engineering executive at Google, leadership mentor, and host of the SimpleLeadership podcast, with more than two decades of experience scaling technology teams.
McCarrick mentors managers, directors, founders, and executives on leading engineering teams. Using his leadership experience at major technology companies and startups, he helps leaders improve delegation, communication, prioritization, team development, and leadership skills as their responsibilities grow.
Katie Wilde
Katie Wilde is an engineering executive, writer, and speaker. Her leadership career includes VP Engineering roles at Buffer and Snyk, alongside extensive work on engineering management.
Wilde’s writing and talks explore people-first…
Katie Wilde is an engineering executive, writer, and speaker. Her leadership career includes VP Engineering roles at Buffer and Snyk, alongside extensive work on engineering management.
Wilde’s writing and talks explore people-first engineering leadership, team performance, technical decision-making, culture, and career development. Her work includes contributions to 97 Things Every Engineering Manager Should Know and Atomic Migration Strategy for Web Teams.
Hywel Carver
Hywel Carver is co-founder and CEO of Skiller Whale, a former startup CTO and technology adviser who has spent years building companies, coaching tech leaders, and convening CTO peer communities.
Carver helps…
Hywel Carver is co-founder and CEO of Skiller Whale, a former startup CTO and technology adviser who has spent years building companies, coaching tech leaders, and convening CTO peer communities.
Carver helps engineering teams build the skills needed to support their technology strategies. His experience as a CTO, coach, and community builder shapes his practical approach to developing leaders, growing teams, and strengthening technical skills.
Denis Čahuk
Denis Čahuk is an engineering leadership coach and technical trainer who works with tech leads and engineering managers on stronger teams, delivery practices, software quality, and leadership.
Čahuk combines leadership coaching with…
Denis Čahuk is an engineering leadership coach and technical trainer who works with tech leads and engineering managers on stronger teams, delivery practices, software quality, and leadership.
Čahuk combines leadership coaching with hands-on expertise in continuous delivery, testing automation, TDD, Extreme Programming, and collaborative planning. Through coaching and Crafting Tech Teams, he helps leaders reduce heroics, build autonomy, and deliver quality software with less stress.
Selection Methodology
I selected the leaders on this list based on their relevance, demonstrated expertise and impact, professional credibility, and ongoing contributions to the field.
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I look for evidence such as leading meaningful initiatives or delivering notable results within their organizations, developing influential ideas or practices, publishing research or educational resources, speaking or teaching, and other contributions that demonstrate impact within their work or the broader field.
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