Free Range Space

About

Executive-level technology leadership without bureaucracy or ego.

Free Range Space

Free Range Space LLC was founded in Midway, Utah to provide executive-level technology leadership without bureaucracy or ego.

We partner with organizations that need more than implementation support — they need clarity, direction, and execution discipline.

Engagements include:

  • Fractional CTO / CIO leadership
  • Enterprise modernization strategy
  • AI adoption and operationalization
  • Organizational design for engineering teams
  • Due diligence and technical assessment
  • Pre and post-acquisition integration
  • Cloud architecture and cost optimization
  • Building modern agile product and technology organizations

Our model is intentionally different: executive perspective, operational rigor, and hands-on technical engagement when it matters most.

The name “Free Range Space” reflects a belief that talented people perform best when given autonomy, structure, and trust.

We create that environment.

Mark Ballstaedt

About The Founder, Mark Ballstaedt

Chief Technology Officer | Chief Information Officer | Executive Technology Leader | Player-Coach

For nearly 30 years, Mark has led large-scale technology organizations through transformation, growth, and modernization across digital commerce, enterprise platforms, and global operations. Today, he operates at the forefront of AI-driven transformation — building AI-native systems and evolving organizational structures to responsibly and effectively leverage agentic technologies.

Mark has served as CTO and CIO for organizations generating between $300 million and nearly $6 billion in annual revenue, including leadership roles at:

  • JetBlue Airways
  • 1-800 CONTACTS
  • Vivint Smart Home
  • Young Living Essential Oils
  • Ken Garff Automotive Group
  • Annuity.com

Mark's work spans global digital commerce ecosystems, cloud transformation, AI strategy, enterprise architecture, and operational excellence. He has led and scaled teams of 300+ technology professionals across North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Mark is not just a figurehead executive.

He operates as a true player-coach. Mark still architects systems, reviews code, designs APIs, evaluates infrastructure decisions, and builds alongside his team members. Mark believes credibility in leadership comes from understanding the work at the level of implementation — not just theory.

Strategy without execution is noise.

Execution without strategy is waste.

I bridge both.

What Mark Actually Does

Mark builds high-performing technology organizations that align deeply with business outcomes — and he actively participates in delivering those outcomes.

That includes:

  • Defining enterprise technology vision and multi-year roadmaps
  • Leading global software engineering, IT operations, data, security, and product teams
  • Modernizing legacy platforms into scalable cloud and hybrid architectures
  • Driving Agile and Lean transformations at enterprise scale
  • Aligning digital commerce systems with measurable revenue growth
  • Building autonomous, durable product teams with clear ownership
  • Establishing governance, vendor strategy, and global operating models
  • Identifying and operationalizing AI opportunities responsibly and pragmatically
  • Personally engaging in system design, architectural reviews, and hands-on technical problem solving

Whether standing up greenfield products or modernizing enterprise platforms, Mark brings both executive clarity and engineering depth to every engagement.

Mark believes great technology is not just about architecture — it is about people, clarity, accountability, and alignment.

Leadership Philosophy

The strength of the whole will always outperform the individual.

High-performance comes from:

  • Extreme alignment between business and technology
  • Clear communication and decision rights
  • Empowered teams with ownership
  • Removing bottlenecks, not adding process
  • Measuring outcomes, not activity
  • Investing in people and their long-term growth

Mark expects leaders to lead — and engineers to engineer — but he also believes the best technology organizations are built when leaders remain close enough to the work to remove friction, unblock decisions, and model excellence.

Technology should accelerate the business — not slow it down.

Let us work together

Whether you need a product built, a team leveled up, or an AI strategy defined, I would love to hear about your challenges.

Get in Touch