Fractional & interim CMO · Healthtech and life sciences
Fractional CMO for healthtech and life sciences companies.
Senior marketing leadership for B2B companies that sell into healthcare and life sciences, where evidence, compliance and several buyers decide the deal.
A fractional CMO for a B2B healthtech or life sciences company is a senior marketing leader who works part-time inside the leadership team and turns evidence into pipeline: choosing the segments and buyers to focus on, writing one message that clinical, operational and procurement stakeholders can each act on, keeping claims compliant, and aligning marketing with sales. Phil Ruttens, based in Antwerp, ran a revenue marketing centre across 10+ countries for World Courier / AmerisourceBergen.
When a healthtech or life sciences company needs a fractional CMO
- Strong evidence, weak story. The data exists, but buyers outside the clinical or scientific team cannot see what it means for them.
- Long, multi-stakeholder deals. Pilots succeed, then stall in procurement, IT or budget approval.
- Moving from early adopters to a market. The first customers came through the founders; the next ones need a repeatable approach.
- Several countries, several systems. Each market buys differently, and marketing is spread too thin.
- The marketing leader has left. Then start with what to do in the first 30 days.
Who buys, and what each needs
| Role | What they need to see | What marketing must give them |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical or scientific lead | Evidence that it works and is safe in their setting | Studies, outcomes, peer references, accurate and compliant claims |
| Operations and department heads | That it fits the workflow and the team can adopt it | Implementation stories, training and support information |
| IT, data and security | Integration, data protection and risk | Security, integration and data-handling information ready early |
| Procurement and finance | Value, total cost and compliance with the buying process | A clear value case and the documents a formal procurement needs |
What Phil takes ownership of
- Market focus: the segments, buyers and countries that matter now.
- Message: one reason to buy, backed by evidence, adapted for each role in the buying group, and reviewed for compliance with your regulatory owners.
- Sales alignment: one qualification standard, one hand-off and one weekly review.
- Team, agencies and budget: clear briefs and decisions about where spend goes.
- Operating rhythm: a plan, a cadence and owners the team keeps after the mandate.
Relevant experience
- World Courier / AmerisourceBergen: revenue marketing centre across 10+ countries.
- CMO, Tyk (2022–2025): marketing organisation, marketing P&L, hiring briefs and scorecards for a scaling API software business.
- Iron Mountain: lead generation and online marketing across 19 countries in Europe.
- Fractional CMO / Revenue Leader, RUTTENS+ (2016–present): defined mandates, interim work and advisory.
Full detail on the Track Record page and the CMO profile and CVs.
Frequently asked questions
What does a fractional CMO do for a healthtech company?
A fractional CMO leads marketing part-time from inside the leadership team. For a B2B healthtech company that means choosing the segments and buyers to focus on, turning evidence into one clear message for clinical, operational, IT and procurement stakeholders, aligning marketing with sales and setting an operating rhythm.
How is marketing to healthcare buyers different?
Decisions involve several stakeholders, evidence carries more weight than promotion, and claims must stay within regulatory and compliance limits. Marketing has to give each role the proof it needs and work closely with medical, regulatory or quality owners.
Does Phil Ruttens have life sciences experience?
Phil Ruttens ran a revenue marketing centre across 10+ countries for World Courier / AmerisourceBergen, and has led B2B marketing in software and services. He works as a fractional and interim CMO through RUTTENS+, based in Antwerp.
Fractional or interim CMO for a healthtech company?
Choose interim when a marketing leader has left and live work needs close to full-time leadership. Choose fractional when the team can execute but needs a senior owner for marketing decisions a few days a week.