Chief Data Officer — Machine-Learning Infrastructure Stack

The mandate

A change in the economics of the sector has made urgent data investment producing limited reusable business value within a listed enterprise artificial-intelligence products company. The immediate arena is the machine-learning infrastructure stack during model-cost escalation. For mandate 195, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Data Officer operating perimeter covers approximately CHF 750 million in AI product and services revenue, with activity spanning several machine-learning infrastructure stack customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief Data Officer Artificial Intelligence remit carries direct influence over roughly 400 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The group board and the relevant risk and people committees want a Chief Data Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the machine-learning infrastructure stack. The Chief Data Officer Artificial Intelligence seat must resolve model-cost escalation, while preserving the underlying strengths of the machine-learning infrastructure stack. For mandate 195, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Data Officer’s first year on the machine-learning infrastructure stack is expected to end with trusted data products, ownership and measurable adoption. In mandate 195, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is a newly created Chief Data Officer — Machine-Learning Infrastructure Stack seat approved as part of the next operating model; it is not an incumbent replacement. The board is running a planned 4–6 month search so the appointee can join ahead of the next capital and talent cycle. Current leaders retain their existing accountabilities until the machine-learning infrastructure stack remit is formally activated. Confidentiality protects organisation design choices while the board compares external and adjacent-sector talent.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Data Officer value-creation thesis for the machine-learning infrastructure stack, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately CHF 750 million in AI product and services revenue, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Data Officer Artificial Intelligence organisation of about 400 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the machine-learning infrastructure stack economics and execution constraints created by model-cost escalation, with Chief Data Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Data Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the machine-learning infrastructure stack; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have converted governed data assets into adopted products with named owners, service levels and economic value in mandate 195.
• Build the Chief Data Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the machine-learning infrastructure stack, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Artificial Intelligence organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the machine-learning infrastructure stack baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to data investment producing limited reusable business value, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal Chief Data Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the machine-learning infrastructure stack, install the new operating cadence, fill critical leadership gaps and deliver the first measurable release of cash, capacity or customer value.
• Months 10–12: Demonstrate a repeatable machine-learning infrastructure stack trend against trusted data products, ownership and measurable adoption, lock the following year’s capital and talent plan, evidence control sustainability and present a credible three-year value case with downside actions.

What the board will measure

• Delivery of the Chief Data Officer’s agreed first-year machine-learning infrastructure stack value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Chief Data Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the machine-learning infrastructure stack’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief Data Officer mandate’s highest-priority machine-learning infrastructure stack risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical machine-learning infrastructure stack talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Chief Data Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Data Officer-owned improvement in the machine-learning infrastructure stack operating constraint behind model-cost escalation, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 195: no unresolved high-severity escalation older than 30 days and no material surprise withheld from its agreed governance forum.

The person

You are currently a Chief Data Officer, Data and Analytics Head or Digital Executive in a listed Artificial Intelligence or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the machine-learning infrastructure stack, your Chief Data Officer track record includes a transition where the original plan was no longer sufficient; you can explain your choices, evidence and numerical impact. Candidates from AI, enterprise software, data infrastructure, cloud, analytics or applied research will be considered where the operating model, customer stakes and governance intensity match this Chief Data Officer brief.

As a Chief Data Officer candidate, you bring 18–22 years of progressive Artificial Intelligence or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 18-22 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of CHF 650 million and led an organisation of at least 300 people.

For mandate 195, the board wants two transitions: a difficult machine-learning infrastructure stack portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during model-cost escalation. As the prospective Chief Data Officer for this machine-learning infrastructure stack, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 195 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Data Officer must be based in Zurich; international relocation is supported, but this Artificial Intelligence role is not designed as a remote appointment.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of Chief Data Officer, Data and Analytics Head or Digital Executive, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Artificial Intelligence governance forum.
• Proven Chief Data Officer ownership of at least CHF 650 million and leadership of no fewer than 300 employees in a comparable machine-learning infrastructure stack context.
• One completed Artificial Intelligence or adjacent-sector example of data investment producing limited reusable business value with outcomes sustained for at least two reporting periods after the initial intervention.
• Sector credibility from AI, enterprise software, data infrastructure, cloud, analytics or applied research; experience that is purely functional and lacks Chief Data Officer-level machine-learning infrastructure stack consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Zurich location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 195.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Data Officer package is CHF 450,000–620,000 base + annual incentive and LTI, calibrated to the final machine-learning infrastructure stack scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 195 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Data Officer appointment in Zurich, centred on the machine-learning infrastructure stack, offers regular exposure to the group board and the relevant risk and people committees. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 195.

Confidentiality

To protect the board, incumbent team and candidate, the organisation remains unnamed until a confidential conversation confirms mutual relevance for mandate 195. The operating facts have been rounded and blended expressly to remove identifying signals for mandate 195.