Our Story
Structured outcomes in every engagement.
Cynaxus exists because most consulting engagements fail in predictable ways. We saw it from the buyer's seat — and built the firm we wished had existed when we were the ones writing the check.
Why Cynaxus exists
The consulting industry has a well-documented failure mode. We are the alternative.
The pattern is consistent: a firm sells access to senior talent. The engagement starts with a partner in the room. A few weeks in, you are working with analysts. The final deliverable is a slide deck that recommends three options and defers the hard choice back to you. Six months later you are starting over with someone else — and paying for the privilege of the handoff.
Joseph Ficocello spent years on the receiving end of that pattern — as Global Director of IT at an AmLaw 50 firm with over $1B in revenue, twice as Chief Information Officer, and across Fortune 100 advisory and public-sector work. He watched consultancies fail clients in the same ways, over and over, for reasons that had nothing to do with capability and everything to do with incentive structure.
Cynaxus is the firm he built after deciding those structural problems were worth solving. Not aspirationally — structurally. Senior-only delivery means no junior bench. Vendor-neutral means no commissions. Fixed-fee means no incentive to extend. Honest counsel means saying the thing the client needs to hear, not the thing that protects the relationship.
How we operate
Five commitments that are not optional on any engagement.
Senior-Only Delivery
Every engagement is led by a practitioner with at least 15 years of hands-on responsibility for the function being advised on. The person you meet in the first conversation is the person doing the work. No junior bait-and-switch. No offshore handoff.
Vendor-Neutral, Always
We do not resell hardware, software, or cloud services. We earn no commissions, kickbacks, or referral fees from any vendor we recommend — ever. The advice you get is the advice that is right for you, not the advice that pays us most.
Outcomes, Not Hours
We tie our compensation to results, not time. Fixed-fee engagements are scoped around clear deliverables, agreed timelines, and transparent change control so budget and schedule expectations stay aligned from the start.
Plain English
We make complex technology and security issues clear for the people who need to act on them. Boards, GCs, and CFOs get plain-language context, practical options, and a clear explanation of each recommendation.
Discretion by Default
Our work touches sensitive matters: breaches, regulatory exposure, executive decisions, board-level concerns. We operate under NDA by default, with discipline that respects attorney-client privilege, reputational stakes, and the confidentiality expectations of regulated institutions.
Honest Counsel
If we can't have an honest conversation, we don't have an honest relationship. When we see something wrong — a flawed strategy, a poor vendor choice, a leadership gap — we say so directly. Diplomatically, but without softening. You are paying for our judgment, not our agreement.
The founder
Joseph Ficocello
With a career spanning over 25 years, Joe has served as a Global Director at an AmLaw 50 firm with over $1B in revenue, and twice before as Chief Information Officer. His work has included Fortune 100 advisory, support for federal and state investigations and proceedings, and technology strategy for some of the most complex regulated environments in the country.
He holds active certifications across information security, risk management, cloud, and project management — including CISSP, CISM, CISA, CRISC, and PMP — independently verifiable on Credly. He has keynoted and appeared on panels at dozens of industry conferences on cybersecurity, applied AI, and technology leadership.
The commitment he made when founding Cynaxus is simple: the most experienced person in the room stays the person doing the work. Not the pitch. The work.
Learn more about Joe →Beyond the engagement
We give back with our actual skills.
Two programs exist because we believe senior-level expertise should not be available only to organizations that can afford enterprise retainers.
Lighthouse
Budget-friendly senior counsel for small organizations — nonprofits, small businesses, and civic institutions — who need the same quality of advice as large enterprises but cannot pay enterprise fees. Real guidance, not watered-down service.
Learn about Lighthouse →Community
Pro bono and reduced-fee work for nonprofits, civic-tech initiatives, and good causes. We contribute through direct technical work — cybersecurity, infrastructure, AI governance — not through writing a check. We give back with our actual skills.
Learn about Community →Core Values
Seven principles that govern every engagement. Operating constraints, not marketing copy — the line between work we will do and work we will decline, enforced at the engagement level.
Read the Core Values →Careers
Open positions for senior operators who care about doing this work the right way — without the politics, the padding, or the junior bench. If that describes how you have always wanted to work, we want to talk.
View Open Positions →If this is the firm you've been looking for, let's talk.
A 30-minute scoping call is free. We will tell you honestly whether we are the right fit — and if we are not, we will tell you that too.