Senior strategic advisory

Powering what's next
for financial services, insurance, and technology leaders.

OpticIntel is the senior sounding board for leaders facing their most consequential decisions: technology investments, transformation, growth, and the strategic moves that define what comes next. We cut through the complexity and bring the clarity, momentum, and confidence to move forward.

A senior bench, built for the decisions that matter.

OpticIntel provides senior, experienced consulting to the financial services market. The brand stands for one thing: trust and surety in our promise to add value and deliver. Every advisor has operated at the top of their field, and every engagement is built to move you forward with clarity and confidence.

Senior operators, not generalist consultants.

Every OpticIntel advisor has run the business, not just advised on it. You work with people who have carried the decisions you're facing and delivered on them.

Greg McCutcheon

Greg McCutcheon

Founder & Principal

Thirty years leading digital transformation across Canadian insurance, data, and financial services.

Gary Gardner

Gary Gardner

Senior Consultant

Insurance specialist, claims and broker workflow.

Jeff Young

Jeff Young

Senior Consultant

Real estate, mortgaging, and municipal government specialist.

Full bio →
Photo to come

Steve Livingstone

Senior Consultant

Insurance underwriting, segmentation, insurtech, and broker enablement.

Full bio coming soon
Photo to come

Saurabh [last name TBC]

Senior Consultant

Financial services IT, modern tech stacks, and AI.

Full bio coming soon

If any of this sounds like your week, we should talk.

OpticIntel works with a specific kind of leader — the one who's been handed the hardest decision in the room and needs an experienced voice beside them. You may recognize yourself in one of these.

Insurance & financial services

You're weighing a major technology investment and the stakes are high.

Core systems, underwriting platforms, data strategy, analytics, AI. You need someone who's actually built these systems in this industry — not a deck-wielding generalist — to pressure-test the decision before you commit.

Growth-stage technology

You're scaling a product and preparing for the next funding stage.

Product direction needs sharpening, go-to-market is fuzzy, and your investors want a story they can believe. You need a strategic advisor who's lived the operator side and can help you get the narrative, the roadmap, and the readiness in order.

Private equity

You inherited a portfolio company and the value creation plan needs teeth.

The thesis is there on paper. Now you need someone inside the business who understands PE pressures, can translate strategy into execution, and won't need six months to get up to speed. OpticIntel has lived inside PE-backed organizations for most of a career.

Executives & boards

You need a senior sounding board who's actually been in the seat.

Some decisions are too big for your internal team and too nuanced for a traditional consulting engagement. You want a trusted, confidential advisor who's run the business, sold the business, and will give you the honest read.

You get the senior person, start to finish.

We keep things simple. Senior people. Straight talk. Plain-language strategy you can actually act on.

Most consulting engagements fail for one of three reasons: the advisor doesn't know the industry, the advice doesn't survive contact with reality, or nobody senior enough actually shows up. OpticIntel solves all three.

You work directly with senior advisors who have run businesses in your industry, scaled them, and navigated the exact decisions you're facing. No layers, no rotating junior teams, no recycled playbooks. Just the clarity and the recommendation you actually need.

  • 01

    Senior perspective, always

    Every engagement is led by an advisor who has operated at the top of the field. You get decades of judgment in the room, not a slide deck prepared by someone else.

  • 02

    Industry depth, not theory

    Deep experience across insurance, financial services, and technology. If we're advising on the space, we've operated in it.

  • 03

    Private-equity fluency

    Real understanding of the pressures, timelines, and value-creation mechanics inside PE-backed organizations. Earned, not read about.

  • 04

    Clarity over complexity

    No jargon. No shelfware. The deliverable is a decision you trust and a path you can take on Monday morning.

Senior-level advisory where it matters most.

Every engagement is tailored. These are the areas where OpticIntel adds the most — backed by three decades of first-hand experience.

01 — Technology & Transformation

Technology strategy & digital transformation

Clarity on what to invest in, what to retire, and how to sequence the work. We help you modernize without the noise — pressure-testing roadmaps, evaluating vendors, and making sure the work actually lands.

  • Modernization roadmaps
  • Platform selection
  • Vendor evaluation
  • Program assurance
02 — Insurance & Financial Services

Insurance & financial services innovation

Deep expertise for insurers, brokers, MGAs, and insurtechs. From underwriting and analytics to product design, partnerships, and the operating model changes that separate leaders from laggards.

  • Underwriting strategy
  • Data & analytics
  • Insurtech partnerships
  • Operating model
03 — Startup & Growth Stage

Startup & growth-stage strategy

Practical strategic advice for technology companies ready to scale. Refining product direction, sharpening go-to-market, building investor-ready narratives, and preparing for the next funding stage.

  • Product strategy
  • Go-to-market
  • Fundraise readiness
  • Investor positioning
04 — Private Equity

Private-equity value creation

Operational advisory for PE-backed portfolio companies and deal teams. Focused on the strategic levers that move enterprise value — and, when the time comes, position the business for its next chapter.

  • Value creation planning
  • 100-day plans
  • Operational due diligence
  • Exit readiness
05 — Executive Advisory

Executive & board-level support

Ongoing counsel for CEOs and leadership teams navigating complexity. A confidential, experienced voice in the room — not a report on your desk — available when the decisions that matter land on your agenda.

  • CEO advisory
  • Board support
  • Strategic offsites
  • Decision reviews
06 — Fractional Leadership

Interim & fractional executive roles

When you need senior leadership capacity in the business itself — on an interim, fractional, or part-time basis — to lead a critical initiative, steady a transition, or bridge to a permanent hire.

  • Interim executive
  • Fractional CSO / COO
  • Transformation lead
  • Transition bridging

What to expect.

What does a first conversation look like?

An informal 30-minute call. You describe the situation; we give you an honest read on whether OpticIntel is the right fit — and if we're not, we'll often point you to someone who is. No deck, no proposal, no obligation.

Who do you typically work with?

Canadian insurers, brokers, MGAs, and insurtechs; PE-backed companies in financial services and technology; growth-stage tech companies preparing for their next funding round; and CEOs or boards who want a senior advisor on call. Most engagements are with organizations in North America.

How are engagements structured and priced?

Project work is scoped up front with a fixed fee or a clearly-defined range. Advisory retainers are priced monthly based on the time block you need. Fractional roles are structured as part-time engagements on typical consulting day rates. We'll walk through the options in the first call.

Do you work alone or with a team?

Every engagement is led by a senior OpticIntel advisor. When specialists are genuinely useful, we bring in the right person from our bench or trusted network. You'll always know who's doing the work.

Is OpticIntel a replacement for a larger consulting firm?

Not for every need. Large firms are right when you need deep benches and implementation muscle. OpticIntel is right when you need senior judgment, industry fluency, and a trusted advisor for the decisions that define the next chapter. The two often work alongside each other well.

Will you sign an NDA?

Always. Confidentiality is foundational to this kind of work. Happy to sign yours, or provide ours, before the first substantive conversation.

Weighing a decision, planning a transformation, or thinking about what's next?

Every engagement starts with a conversation. Tell us about the opportunity — we'll tell you honestly whether OpticIntel is the right fit.

Greg@opticintel.com

OpticIntel · Southern Ontario · Serving clients across North America.