Jason Patel

Jason Patel

Chief Technology Officer

Engineer turned CTO. For six years I ran a B2B SaaS platform in martech, adtech, and privacy for more than 130 enterprise logos at 99.99% uptime, cut its annual cloud cost from $4M to $2.6M, and helped take it through an acquisition by CHEQ.

Open to Chief Technology Officer, Chief Product Officer, and Operating Partner roles. Based in Chicago.

Jason Patel, Chief Technology Officer
Chicago, ILCTO, CPO, Operating Partner
99.99%
Platform uptime, measured monthly through Catchpoint
$4M to $2.6M
Annual cloud cost, while traffic capacity doubled
130+
Enterprise logos, predominantly Fortune 1000
3 of 4
Eventual suitors sourced personally, including the buyer

Fifteen years, from the test harness to the boardroom.

git log career2011 to now
  1. Aug 2026Strategic AdvisorCHEQ, fractional through end of 2026
  2. Jan 2024Field CTO merged into CHEQEnsighten acquired by CHEQ
  3. May 2018Chief Technology OfficerEnsighten
  4. Mar 2017VP of EngineeringEnsighten
  5. Jun 2015Director of Tag ApplicationsEnsighten
  6. Jul 2014Lead Engineer, Inform and Manage platformsEnsighten
  7. Sep 2012Software Engineer IEnsighten
  8. Aug 2011Software Engineer IOrbitz Worldwide

My career started in 2011 building testing harnesses and CI pipelines at Orbitz. A year later I joined Ensighten as a Software Engineer I, then moved through lead engineer roles on the Inform and Manage platforms, Director of Tag Applications, and VP of Engineering before becoming Chief Technology Officer in 2018. That path shapes how I lead: when I set strategy for a platform, I know what each part of it costs to build, run, and change.

As CTO I led engineering and product, about 50 people, plus security and IT, on an approximately $7M budget, and presented to the Board at every meeting. The business had stalled at low-to-mid eight figures. Fixing cashflow, sunsetting unprofitable lines, and launching a new product line returned it to growth, and the platform went on to an acquisition by CHEQ in which I sourced 3 of the 4 eventual suitors and wrote the better-together thesis.

Under CHEQ I carried the platform forward as Field CTO, took SOC 2 Type II over the line, and put a customer-facing AI tool into production. Today I advise CHEQ leadership on commercial strategy and platform direction through the end of 2026, and reviewing production code is still part of the job.

What changed on my watch

Eight changes from Ensighten and CHEQ, written as a diff. Pick one to see the state before, the state after, and how it happened.

Experience

Aug 2026 to present

Strategic Advisor, fractional

CHEQ
Chicago, IL
  • Advising CHEQ leadership through the end of 2026 on commercial strategy and platform direction across the Ensighten and CHEQ Control product lines, following my transition from the Field CTO role.
Jan 2024 to Aug 2026

Field CTO

CHEQ
Chicago, IL
  • Took the role in January 2024 during the acquisition transition, concurrent with my Ensighten CTO role through the entity's February 2024 spin-down, and carried Ensighten platform ownership forward under CHEQ.
  • Led a customer-facing AI tool into production that configures on-site privacy experiences from natural language and images. Over half the base adopted it, seeding two active seven-figure expansions worth about 10% of the book, at under 0.01% margin impact.
  • Achieved SOC 2 Type II for the platform, extending the ISO 27001 program built at Ensighten, and moved engineering to AI-assisted development with human-in-the-loop review.
  • Advised a buy-side acquisition that closed, running technical diligence before close and advising on cloud cost and product strategy afterward. Authored the 2026 to 2027 technology roadmap.
May 2018 to Feb 2024

Chief Technology Officer

Ensighten, acquired by CHEQ
SF Bay Area and remote
  • Set technology strategy and led engineering and product, about 50 people with 3 product managers and 4 team leads, plus security and IT, on an approximately $7M budget, presenting to the Board at every meeting.
  • Stabilized a stalled, low-to-mid eight-figure business by fixing cashflow and sunsetting unprofitable lines, then returned it to growth with a new product line, rebuilding around AWS managed services and full-stack engineers.
  • Sourced acquirer targets from Crunchbase and LinkedIn and drove introductions through the engaged banks, producing 3 of 4 eventual suitors including the buyer. Ran technical diligence and authored the better-together thesis.
  • Cut annual cloud cost from $4M to $2.6M, a 35% reduction, while doubling traffic capacity. Sustained 99.99% uptime and cut edge-failure recovery from hours to seconds with automated failover.
  • Built the security program to ISO 27001 from the ground up and launched Ensighten Privacy, now CHEQ Enforce, which reached about 60% of the book within three years and about 90% today.
  • Co-led the technical sale of Disney, the largest customer in company history, owning pitch, demo, and objection handling. The account has grown to $5.4M in contract value from an initial $750K.
Sep 2012 to May 2018

Software Engineer to VP of Engineering

Ensighten
SF Bay Area
  • Owned delivery against go-to-market timelines, set product direction from patterns across the sales pipeline, and advised enterprise sales on technical evaluations. Promoted to Chief Technology Officer in 2018.
Software Engineer ISoftware Engineer IIISenior Engineer ILead EngineerDirector of Tag ApplicationsVP of Engineering
Aug 2011 to Sep 2012

Software Engineer I

Orbitz Worldwide
Chicago, IL
  • Built testing harnesses and CI pipelines, and prototyped new harnesses that raised quality across the application stack.

Three seats, one record

The same fifteen years reads differently depending on the chair. Here is what each one would get.

Chief Technology Officer

Platform, cloud, security, and AI, run as a business.

  • Polyglot, service-oriented platform on AWS and Azure at 99.99% uptime
  • Cloud cost cut 35% while capacity doubled
  • ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type II programs built from zero
  • Engineering moved to AI-assisted development with human review

Chief Product Officer

Roadmap, launches, and adoption, owned end to end.

  • Owned the roadmap across every product line for more than 130 enterprise logos
  • Built Ensighten Privacy, now CHEQ Enforce, from zero to about 90% of the book
  • Priced AI features from real usage, piloted through professional services
  • New product line that returned a stalled business to growth

Operating Partner

Turnaround, cost, M&A, and growth, from the inside.

  • Stabilized cashflow and returned a low-to-mid eight-figure business to growth
  • Sell-side: sourced 3 of 4 suitors and wrote the deal thesis
  • Buy-side: ran technical diligence on an acquisition that closed
  • Board reporting at every meeting as CTO

Capabilities

Platform and architecture

Technology strategyAWSAzureService-oriented architectureDistributed systemsKubernetesDockerTerraformAnsible

AI and engineering

AI product developmentLLM featuresInference cost modelingAI-assisted developmentPrometheusGrafanaPagerDutyCatchpointJavaPythonNode.jsGoSQL

Security and compliance

ISO 27001SOC 2 Type IIGDPRCCPASecurity program buildRisk managementPrivacy and consent products

Product

Roadmap ownershipProduct discoveryPricing and packagingProduct-led growthProduct launchCustomer adoption and expansion

Value creation and M&A

TurnaroundCloud cost optimizationSaaS unit economicsTechnical due diligencePost-merger integrationAcquirer sourcingDeal thesis

Leadership

Board reportingBudget ownershipOrganizational designCross-functional leadershipEnterprise salesGo-to-market

Recognition and education

Timmy Award FinalistTech in Motion, 2020
IAPP PanelistAlso a guest on privacy podcasts
B.S., Computer EngineeringUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2011
Portrait of Jason Patel

Hiring for a CTO, CPO, or operating partner?

Available for full-time roles. My advisory work with CHEQ wraps at the end of 2026, so the start date is flexible.

Remote, Chicago hybrid, or relocation for the right role.