Director of AI Innovation & Business Transformation

Director of AI Innovation & Business Transformation

Hybrid/ Nashville, TN (Preferred)

Travel: London, UK (Required)

Permanent/ Full-Time Role

We are seeking a strategic and hands-on Director of AI Innovation & Business Transformation to establish and lead the firm's AI capabilities, enabling business teams to safely adopt emerging technologies that improve client experience, operational efficiency, compliance, and growth.

The ideal candidate will bridge business strategy, AI governance, technology implementation, and organizational change management while serving as an internal advisor to executive leadership.

This role will function as an internal AI Center of Excellence, partnering across Wealth Management, Operations, Compliance, Marketing, Client Service, Finance, and Risk Management to identify, evaluate, and deploy practical AI solutions with measurable business value.

This position reports directly to executive leadership and operates in a highly collaborative, matrixed environment.

Responsibilities:

AI Strategy & Innovation Leadership

• Develop and maintain the firm's enterprise AI roadmap aligned with strategic growth objectives, client service priorities, and operational efficiency goals.
• Build and oversee a portfolio of AI-enabled services and tools, including client service assistants, advisor support tools, workflow automation solutions, knowledge management systems, and intelligent research platforms.
• Evaluate emerging technologies including Generative AI, Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and agentic AI applications for business use cases.
• Establish AI investment priorities based on business impact, risk profile, implementation feasibility, and return on investment.
• Serve as the firm's primary advisor to executive leadership on AI opportunities, risks, and industry developments.

AI Governance, Risk & Compliance

• Develop and maintain responsible AI governance standards that align with financial industry regulations, privacy requirements, and internal risk-management policies.
• Establish controls for data privacy, model transparency, vendor governance, and AI risk assessment.
• Work closely with Compliance, Legal, Information Security, and Risk Management teams to ensure AI initiatives meet regulatory expectations.
• Lead due diligence and evaluation of third-party AI vendors and technology partners.
• Create standards for monitoring, auditing, and validating AI-driven outcomes across the organization.

Business Enablement & Adoption

• Partner with business units to identify high-value opportunities for AI-driven improvement.
• Develop training programs, workshops, and best practices that increase employee AI literacy and adoption.
• Design engagement models that position business units as internal clients, providing consultative guidance and tailored solutions based on business needs.
• Drive organization-wide change management efforts that encourage responsible and effective use of AI technologies.
• Establish metrics to measure adoption, productivity gains, client experience improvements, and financial outcomes.

AI Solution Architecture & Delivery

• Lead the design and implementation of AI applications, including:
• Advisor and client-facing AI assistants
• Intelligent document processing
• Knowledge retrieval systems
• Workflow automation solutions
• Research and portfolio analysis support tools
• Client onboarding and service optimization platforms
• Oversee production deployment, monitoring, and continuous improvement of AI solutions.
• Apply best practices in data management, model validation, security, and operational resilience.
• Collaborate with internal technology teams and external partners to ensure scalable and sustainable implementations.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Lead cross-functional initiatives across business and technology teams without direct authority.
• Align stakeholders around strategic priorities and drive execution from concept through implementation.
• Facilitate communication between executives, operational leaders, technologists, and external partners.
• Build consensus and maintain momentum across multiple concurrent initiatives.

Vendor & Partner Management

• Conduct build-versus-buy analyses for AI solutions and technology investments.
• Negotiate and manage relationships with AI vendors, consultants, and strategic partners.
• Evaluate technology solutions for functionality, security, compliance, scalability, and cost-effectiveness.
• Deliver recommendations that maximize business value while minimizing operational and regulatory risk.

Preferred Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in technology, digital transformation, analytics, or business innovation.
• 5+ years leading AI, data science, machine learning, or digital transformation initiatives.
• Experience implementing Generative AI, LLMs, RAG architectures, intelligent automation, or related technologies.
• Strong understanding of financial services operations, regulatory requirements, and risk management practices.
• Proven success influencing stakeholders in matrixed organizations.
• Experience building governance frameworks and AI adoption programs.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex technology concepts into business outcomes for executive audiences.
• MBA, Master's degree, or equivalent experience preferred.

Success Measures

The successful candidate will:

• Establish an enterprise AI strategy and governance framework.
• Deliver measurable productivity and operational efficiency improvements.
• Increase adoption of AI tools across business functions.
• Improve client and employee experiences through responsible innovation.
• Create a scalable foundation for future AI capabilities while maintaining regulatory compliance and risk controls.
• Demonstrate quantifiable business value through cost savings, revenue enhancement, risk reduction, and operational effectiveness.