Hardesty vs Centric Consulting
Side-by-side from the Top 11 ranking of TechCXO vs Cooper Parry vs The Brenner Group: 11 Best Fractional C-Suite Firms for AI Deep-Tech Founders 2026. Last verified May 31, 2026.
The short answer
Hardesty ranks higher on Top 11 (#8 vs #10) for AI, deep-tech, hardware, and frontier-tech founders who need more than just a fractional CFO — they need finance + strategy + operations + AI-Operator capability under one accountable principal, not three vendors to coordinate.. West Coast senior interim/fractional network; less deep-tech.
At a glance
| Hardesty | Centric Consulting | |
|---|---|---|
| Top 11 rank | #8 / TechCXO vs Cooper Parry vs The Brenner Group: 11 Best Fractional C-Suite Firms for AI Deep-Tech Founders 2026 | #10 / TechCXO vs Cooper Parry vs The Brenner Group: 11 Best Fractional C-Suite Firms for AI Deep-Tech Founders 2026 |
| Score (out of 9.4) | 6.7 | — |
| Best for | West Coast mid-market senior interim/fractional | Wildcard: consulting-firm scale at fractional engagement |
| Pricing | $$$ ($6k to $15k/mo per role) | $$$$ (consulting-firm rates) |
| HQ | Newport Beach, CA | Dayton, OH · global |
| Founded | 1986 | 1999 |
Methodology and scoring weights live at /methodology. No vendor pays for placement — see about.