Interim CTO / Engineering Build
Lead: Casey Niemuth | Client: A high-growth DTC beauty brand
Building an Engineering Vertical During 400% Growth
Situation
A $300-400M DTC brand growing 300-400% year over year with a one-person IT department. Integration was handled by a black-box tool that had created bad accounting practices nobody knew about. Sales orders went via email. Refunds happened over Slack. They launched Amazon UK without telling IT.
Work
Built the engineering and data vertical from nothing. Established development processes and team structure. Reverse-engineered the black box to uncover hidden problems. Hand-picked and built a team of 11-15 architects and developers.
Outcome
- Fixed a $10 million balance sheet error
- Achieved ~$800,000 in contract cost avoidance
- Built full engineering and data departments with project intake, backlogs, and iterative business collaboration
- Transformed IT from an afterthought to the first call when anyone wants to do anything
"When I first got there, it was very much 'Hey, we're marketing, we did a thing. Why isn't magic happening?' Now when somebody wants to do something, they call IT."
Data Strategy / Integration Architecture
Lead: Casey Niemuth | Client: An Amazon brand aggregator
Aggregating 200+ Amazon Brands Across 30 Countries
Situation
An Amazon aggregator with 200+ brands selling across 30+ countries through both FBA and FBM. No way to see how any of it was performing. Month-end for a single brand meant wading through reports with 100,000+ lines across multiple countries. Leadership couldn't get insight into brand performance until weeks into the next month.
Work
Built a system to pull reports from all Amazon Seller Central accounts, normalize country-specific differences (EU VAT, UK post-Brexit, NAFTA dual settlements), and aggregate into unified financial transactions. Built the integration engineering team and expanded the data engineering function.
Outcome
- Reduced time-to-insight from "sometime next month" to within 7 days of period close
- Created normalization algorithms handling 30+ countries and multiple fulfillment models
- Built reusable aggregation framework (now deployed at other clients)
- Enabled visibility that revealed the business wasn't as profitable as believed
"I thought because we were selling through Amazon, everything would be the same from country to country. But it's not."
Enterprise Integration / API Architecture
Lead: Gabriel Sostre | Client: A global travel insurance provider
Building Global API Infrastructure from a Website Redesign
Situation
A global travel insurance company wanted to modernize their website and "see what APIs could do." There was no API strategy, no integration architecture, no reusable connectivity layer. Just a core policy system and regional entities operating independently across Australia, Europe, and North America.
Work
Built API-led integration architecture using MuleSoft. Created reusable policy APIs, established standards across regions, and developed the platform that would eventually support global distribution and enterprise partnerships. Navigated competing regional priorities with limited budget.
Outcome
- Partner onboarding went from months of custom work to standardized process (credentials + documentation)
- Platform now used by major wholesale retailers and hotel brands
- Built capabilities that didn't exist in siloed systems: real-time policy queries, intelligent travel services, flight delay integration
"Before, the answer to 'How's your API?' was 'Well, that's an IT thing. We'll work it out.' After, it became a sales pitch."
Operational Stabilization / Integration
Lead: Gabriel Sostre | Client: A luxury goods company
Stabilizing Inventory Chaos Before Holiday Rush
Situation
A luxury goods company had recently transitioned from in-house logistics to a 3PL. The migration happened fast. Too fast. The 3PL said they had 100 units; the ERP said 50. Inventory variance on high-moving products was 50% or more. Holiday rush was approaching.
Work
Mapped the chaos: 15 undocumented processes, SFTP file chains nobody fully understood, legacy contractors who had to explain systems verbatim because nothing was written down. Added three missing integrations (transfers, adjustments, cycle counts). Established daily diff reports. Accelerated processing frequencies.
Outcome
- Inventory variance went from 50%+ to 1-2 units
- Stabilized before holiday rush deadline
- Eliminated 3PL charges for unfulfillable orders
- Established ongoing reconciliation process
"I would change a single variable and expect a certain outcome, and it wouldn't come to pass. There's so much more I don't understand about it than I do."
