How to build a CTO email list
To build a CTO email list, search CTO and Chief Technology Officer, add the people who hold the budget beside them (VP Engineering, CIO, IT Director), then set Employee Headcount and Industry and export verified work emails.
The CTO title alone misleads. At 15 people, the CTO still writes code and buys on a company card. At 3,000 people, the CTO sets direction and directors choose the tools.
Match the buyer to what you sell
| You sell | Titles to target | Employee Headcount | Industry to pair |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dev tools: CI, testing, monitoring | CTO, VP Engineering, Engineering Director | 21 to 100, 101 to 250 | Technology > Software Development |
| Cloud migration or cost tools | CTO, Head of DevOps, Head of Infrastructure | 101 to 250, 251 to 500 | Technology > Technology, Information and Internet |
| Security: pen tests, detection, identity | CISO, CIO, IT Director | 251 to 500, 501 to 1000 | Financial Services > Banking, Healthcare > Hospitals |
| Managed IT, co-managed support | IT Director, IT Manager, CIO | 101 to 250, 251 to 500 | Manufacturing > Fabricated Metal Products |
Below about 100 staff, many companies have no IT lead and the owner signs. Lead generation for IT services covers that buyer.
Who decides as the company grows
| Employee Headcount | Software company | Any other company |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 10, 11 to 20 | Technical founder or CTO, coding daily | The owner, often with an outside IT provider |
| 21 to 100 | CTO, who still approves every tool | IT Manager, with the owner signing |
| 101 to 250 | CTO for platforms; VP Engineering for team tools | IT Director or a first CIO |
| 251 to 500, 501 to 1000 | VP Engineering, Head of DevOps, CISO | CIO for big systems; IT Director for services; CISO for security |
| 1001 to 5000 and up | The director who runs your area | The director who runs your area, with procurement in the deal |
Rule of thumb: software companies have a CTO facing the product. Banks, hospitals and manufacturers have a CIO or IT Director running internal systems.
Technical founders overlap with the CEO email list. Where finance co-signs big contracts, add a second contact from the CFO email list.
Who counts as an IT decision maker
An IT decision makers email list is wider than CTOs. It holds everyone who can approve or block a technology purchase:
- Executive: CTO, CIO, CISO, Chief Technical Officer.
- Budget owners: VP Engineering, VP IT, Head of IT, Head of Infrastructure, IT Director.
- Tool choosers: Engineering Director, Head of DevOps, Head of Platform, IT Manager.
Pick two levels per company at most. More than that and colleagues compare notes. How to find decision makers in a company covers other departments.
Tech titles and the noise they bring
Job title search matches all the words, in any order, and VP never matches Vice President. Leave out “of”: VP Engineering already finds “VP of Engineering”.
| Search | Also catches | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| CTO | Field CTO (a vendor's sales role), Fractional CTO | Exclude Field, Fractional |
| CIO | Chief Investment Officers at funds | Leave out Financial Services > Investment Management |
| Chief Information Officer | Chief Information Security Officer | Exclude Security, unless you sell security |
| VP Engineering | VP Sales Engineering, and mechanical or civil engineers | Exclude Sales; pair with a Technology industry |
| IT Manager | IT Project Manager | Exclude Project |
Where tech lists go wrong
- Bank VPs: at banks, VP is a common rank, often with no budget. Target the CIO or the head of technology instead.
- One-person CTOs: freelancers often list themselves as CTO of their own firm. Skip 1 to 10 unless you sell to startups.
- Same email to both sides: a CTO wants faster shipping and a CIO wants stable systems. Split the list and write twice.
Build it in ContactYard
ContactYard searches 100M+ verified B2B prospects, and results appear with the total as you filter. The example follows Fernway, a fictional monitoring tool sold to engineering leaders at US software companies.
Step 1: Paste the titles
Put the list for your side of the market in Include job titles, leave matching on Smart, and paste the exclusions.
CTO, Chief Technology Officer, Chief Technical Officer, VP Engineering, Vice President Engineering, Engineering Director, Head of Engineering
CIO, Chief Information Officer, CISO, VP IT, Vice President IT, Head of IT, IT Director, Information Technology Director, Head of Infrastructure, IT Manager
Field, Fractional, Interim, Assistant, Sales, Recruiter, Recruiting, Project
Step 2: Set the company filters
Fernway picks Employee Headcount 21 to 100 and 101 to 250, Industry Technology > Software Development and Company Location United States.
To tighten it, add Software Development under Services, or a stack word such as “Kubernetes” in Keywords.
Step 3: Read 20 rows, then export
Scan the titles and add any stray word to Exclude job titles. Turn on Email required, plus Phone required if you call, click Save, and export the CSV into any sending tool.
One credit covers the verified work email, the mobile when available and the verification. How to build a prospect list explains every filter.
Worked example: Fernway
Fernway, fictional monitoring tool (illustrative numbers)
- Filters
- Software Development, United States, 21 to 100 and 101 to 250 employees
- Contacts
- 2,400 engineering leaders, 1 to 2 per company
- Data cost
- Growth: $49 a month for 10,000 contacts
- Same contacts elsewhere
- 9,600 to 28,800 credits at 4 to 12 credits per contact
FAQ
- Where can I get a CTO email list?
- Build it in ContactYard: search the CTO titles, set headcount and industry, and see the total before you export verified work emails.
- Should I buy CTO email lists instead?
- Bought CTO lists mix startups with enterprises and age from the day they are compiled. Where to buy email lists compares them; building your own costs about $3.30 per 1,000 on Scale, against $18 to $371 elsewhere.
- What is on an IT decision makers mailing list?
- Usually CIOs, IT Directors and IT Managers, sometimes with postal addresses only. A ContactYard export gives named people with verified work emails and mobiles when available.
Start free, paste the titles for your side of the market, and save the search so new CTOs appear next month.
Keep reading
How to find decision makers in a company
Who decides at each company size and department, and how to find them at 1,000 companies at once.
Lead generation for IT services
Who buys IT services, which channels work for MSPs, and the filters and emails to win clients.
How to build a prospect list
Six steps from a one-line buyer description to an exported, verified prospect list, with an example.