Lincoln Heacock
Fractional CIO • CISO • CTO | Quality of Tech (QoT) & Technical Due Diligence for PE | Board Member | Founder & CEO, Renew Partners
About
I help private equity sponsors, boards, and growth-stage CEOs turn technical risk into enterprise value.
If you’re losing sleep over security gaps, unstable platforms, or a tech story that won’t survive diligence, that’s where I come in. I step in as a fractional CIO/CTO/CISO and board-level advisor to stabilize the foundation, de-risk the roadmap, and give investors and customers real confidence in your technology.
What this looks like:
- Leading Quality of Tech (QoT) and technical due diligence that surfaces risk, quantifies impact, and ties findings to CapEx/OpEx, EBITDA, and exit readiness.
- Designing technology and security roadmaps that reduce technical debt, harden cyber posture, and support aggressive growth and margin targets.
- Guiding companies through ISO 27001, SOC 2, and FedRAMP with a 100% success record—making complex requirements understandable and manageable.
- Leveling up IT, product, and security teams so execution improves without the CEO or board needing to function as the de facto CIO.
Over 20+ years, I’ve led technology and security across start-ups and global enterprises (including Silicon Graphics, CyberSource, Visa, Axon, Apigee, and VMware). Along the way, I helped take a de novo business from 1,200 customers to over 350,000 and scale revenue from $12M to $350M. The real win wasn’t just the numbers—it was building resilient systems, trusted teams, and defensible moats.
Today, I focus on:
- Serving as Senior IT Advisor at IT Ally, leading technology-sector QoT, value-creation assessments, and CIO/CISO/CTO advisory for lower middle-market private equity.
- Leading Renew Partners, where I provide fractional CIO/CTO/CISO leadership to founders and operators who need seasoned guidance without full-time overhead.
- Acting as a Board Member and independent technology and risk voice, helping companies build secure, scalable platforms that can withstand scrutiny from regulators, customers, and the next buyer.
If you’re:
- A PE sponsor or independent sponsor needing a high-signal QoT and cyber view pre- or post-deal, or
- A CEO or board looking for a pragmatic, security-minded technology leader,
let’s talk.
Connect with me here on LinkedIn or grab time on my calendar for a 30-minute conversation: https://meetings.hubspot.com/renew-partners/30-min-quick-sync
Experience
Sr. IT Advisor
IT Ally, LLC. · Silicon Valley, CA
Feb 2025 – Present(1 yr 3 mos)
Senior IT Advisor to private equity and portfolio company leadership, with primary responsibility for IT Ally’s Technology industry sector. Lead and deliver: - Technology due diligence, Quality of Tech (QoT), and value‑creation assessments for tech-enabled and SaaS portfolio companies. - CIO/CISO/CTO advisory for sponsors and management teams, focused on digital transformation, cybersecurity posture, and technical debt reduction. - Sector-specific theses, playbooks, and benchmarks that inform deal screening, investment committee decisions, and post-close value-creation plans. Selected impact: - Led technology diagnostics and roadmap development that identified material risk, unlocked EBITDA improvement, and supported successful transactions. - Helped sponsors and CEOs prioritize tech and security investments that protect the downside (risk, resilience, compliance) while expanding the upside (growth, scalability, margin). - Served as a go-to resource inside IT Ally for Technology sector questions, trends, and best practices, helping other advisors deliver more targeted, high-signal recommendations.
Board Member
Fyntex, Inc. · Los Gatos, California, United States
May 2025 – Present(1 yr)
Board Member focused on helping Fyntex build a secure, scalable technology platform for 1031 exchange processing and related solutions. What I do: - Advise on technology and security strategy for Fyntex’s fully encrypted 1031 exchange platform used by title and escrow companies, broker-dealers, RIAs, and real estate professionals nationwide. - Bring a CIO/CISO/CTO lens to board discussions on product roadmap, integrations, data protection, and resiliency. - Help management sequence investments that modernize the tech stack, reduce operational risk, and create a defensible competitive moat. - Support the CEO with market, partnership, and pricing decisions that align the platform’s capabilities with growth and margin targets. Impact: - Shaped priorities for key platform upgrades to improve performance, reliability, and partner-facing user experience. - Strengthened focus on cybersecurity, privacy, and regulatory expectations to build and maintain trust with financial and real estate partners. - Provided an independent technology and risk perspective to balance innovation speed with governance and durability.
Founder & CEO
Renew Partners · Morgan Hill, California, United States
Mar 2020 – Present(6 yrs 2 mos)
Renew Partners is my platform for serving private equity sponsors, portfolio companies, and growth-stage operators as a fractional CIO/CTO/CISO and technology value-creation partner. Across clients like Bay Alarm Medical, NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Coalescence Cloud, ReadyPrice, and others, I: • Provide on-demand CIO/CTO/CISO leadership that turns technical risk, security gaps, and technical debt into quantified value-creation plans. • Lead Quality of Tech (QoT) and security assessments that map architecture, data, and team maturity to EBITDA, valuation, and exit readiness. • Guide companies through ISO 27001, SOC 2, FedRAMP and related frameworks, with a track record of successful certifications across SaaS, healthcare, fintech, and industrial clients. • Design and execute technology and security roadmaps that harden cyber posture, improve reliability, and support aggressive growth and margin targets. • Coach internal IT, product, and security leaders so they can operate at an enterprise level without requiring a permanent, full-time C-suite buildout. The through-line: give sponsors and CEOs a trusted technology and security partner who can see the whole board, move quickly, and leave behind stronger teams and more valuable companies.
Fractional CIO / CISO
Bay Alarm Medical · Concord, California, United States
Sep 2025 – Present(8 mos)
As Fractional CIO / CISO for Bay Alarm Medical, I serve as the behind-the-scenes technology and security lead—helping the team modernize their platform without taking on full-time C‑suite overhead. Highlights: - Built and led an IT and security roadmap aligned with Bay Alarm Medical’s growth, customer experience, and regulatory requirements. - Tightened cybersecurity controls, incident response, and vendor management to protect sensitive customer and device data. - Partnered with leadership to prioritize and sequence technology investments that reduced risk while supporting revenue and margin goals. - Improved reliability and scalability of core systems so the business could handle increased demand without compromising service quality. - Coached internal teams and partners to adopt best practices, reducing dependence on ad-hoc fixes and “hero mode” firefighting. Net impact: a more secure, scalable technology foundation that supports Bay Alarm Medical’s mission and gives executives and owners greater confidence in the company’s tech posture.
Partner
EKKO Security · Palo Alto, California, United States
Jan 2014 – Present(12 yrs 4 mos)
Partnered with Ekko Security to assist clients like phData, Seagate, Cigna, and VMware
Fractional CTO
FANFARE
Feb 2024 – Present(2 yrs 3 mos)
Providing technical strategy and processes, assisting with roadmap delivery, platform reliability, and resiliency.
Fractional Exec Program Manager
Skyhigh Security
Aug 2023 – Apr 2025(1 yr 9 mos)
Helping Skyhigh obtain ISO27001 & SOC2 certifications
Fractional CIO
NGM Biopharmaceuticals
Feb 2023 – Feb 2025(2 yrs 1 mo)
Providing assistance with Security policy development, leadership training & coaching, Audit committee presentations
Fractional CTO
Coalescence Cloud
May 2024 – Nov 2024(7 mos)
• Led strategic planning and execution of technology initiatives at Coalescence Cloud, driving business growth and innovation. • Collaborated with executive leadership to align technology strategies with business objectives. • Ensured delivery of robust and scalable technology solutions to support company's remote operations.
Fractional CTO
ReadyPrice
Jan 2022 – Jan 2024(2 yrs 1 mo)
Coached and led both onshore and offshore development teams to deliver mortgage delivery portal.
Fractional Exec Program Manager
Cribl
Feb 2023 – Sep 2023(8 mos)
Led Cribl's successful implementation of ISO27001/SOC2/CCPA/GDPR
Fractional Exec Program Manager
Cigna Healthcare
Jan 2023 – Jul 2023(7 mos)
Led Cigna's successful implementation of FedRAMP.
Fractional Exec Program Manager
American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) · Houston, Texas, United States
Oct 2022 – Apr 2023(7 mos)
Led the ABS implementation of ISO27001/SOC2
Fractional CISO
Academy of Art University · San Francisco, California, United States
Mar 2022 – Mar 2023(1 yr 1 mo)
Led a new security focus within the Academy of Art by performing a risk assessment utilizing the CIS v7 Control framework and implementing new policies, education, and technologies to improve the university's resiliency greatly.
Fractional Exec Program Manager
KUDO
Oct 2021 – Apr 2022(7 mos)
Led Kudo in their ISO27001 implementation
Fractional Exec Program Manager
Malwarebytes
Nov 2021 – Feb 2022(4 mos)
Led Malwarebytes implementation efforts for ISO27001/SOC2 certifications
Fractional Exec Program Manager
Seagate Technology
Jun 2020 – Apr 2021(11 mos)
Led multiple business units to obtain their ISO27001 & SOC2 certifications
Fractional Exec Program Manager
phData · Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Aug 2020 – Feb 2021(7 mos)
Led phData in the implementation efforts to obtain ISO27001/ISO27701/SOC2 certification.
Fractional Exec Program Manager
VMware
Jun 2018 – Jul 2020(2 yrs 2 mos)
Global Identity Access Management deployment to 50,000+ employees and 350+ applications
Fractional IT Executive
Axon · Scottsdale, Arizona, United States
Apr 2017 – Sep 2017(6 mos)
Served the new incoming CIO with leadership transition activities and stabilizing the IT function at Axon. Led a complete team capability assessment and developed a service improvement strategy to raise employee productivity.
Fractional CIO
Proteus Digital Health, Inc
Jul 2016 – Mar 2017(9 mos)
Provided leadership and transition management to IT team. Worked with cross-functional leaders to stabilize IT strategy and rebuild organizational relationships. Led the recruitment and selection of the company's next CIO.
Fractional Exec Program Manager
Alliance Data · Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Area
Feb 2016 – Jun 2016(5 mos)
Helped Alliance Data define a data center migration strategy to reduce spend by 30% and improve service and resiliency.
IT Lead & Coach
Apigee · San Francisco Bay Area
Jun 2014 – Jun 2015(1 yr 1 mo)
Led and served the IT team and strategy. Engaged with all teams to help use technology to win, serve, and delight customers!
Fractional Exec Program Manager
VMware · San Francisco Bay Area
Apr 2012 – Jun 2014(2 yrs 3 mos)
Drove numerous program initiatives to improve Architecture, Network, and Security functions at VMware.
Senior Business Leader
Visa
Jul 2010 – Mar 2012(1 yr 9 mos)
Responsible for championing the productivity needs of Visa employees.
Sr. Director, IT
CyberSource · Mountain View, CA
Nov 1998 – Jul 2010(11 yrs 9 mos)
Responsible for IT function and overall strategic direction.
IT technical leadership roles
Silicon Graphics · Mountain View, California, United States
Mar 1992 – Feb 1998(6 yrs)
Responsible for all HR business systems, server operations, and security infrastructure.
Education
Santa Clara University
Masters, Business Administration
Jan 2004 – Apr 2005
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
Bachelor of Science - BS, Computer Science
Sep 1986 – Jun 1991
Expertise
Specialties
