Chief Marketing Officer — Foundation-Model Platform

The mandate

The chair and executive committee are aligned that the immediate priority is weak differentiation and inefficient customer acquisition within a institutionally backed enterprise artificial-intelligence products company. The immediate arena is the foundation-model platform during a responsible-AI control build. For mandate 169, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Marketing Officer operating perimeter covers approximately ₹900 crore in AI product and services revenue, with activity spanning several foundation-model platform customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The Chief Marketing Officer Artificial Intelligence remit carries direct influence over roughly 450 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The board and its investment committee want a Chief Marketing Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the foundation-model platform. The Chief Marketing Officer Artificial Intelligence seat must resolve a responsible-AI control build, while preserving the underlying strengths of the foundation-model platform. For mandate 169, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Marketing Officer’s first year on the foundation-model platform is expected to end with brand preference, commercial contribution and disciplined marketing investment. In mandate 169, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is an urgent replacement for the Chief Marketing Officer — Foundation-Model Platform seat following an accelerated leadership transition. Interim accountability is in place for the foundation-model platform, but the board wants a permanent appointment within 6–8 weeks because a responsible-AI control build cannot remain under split ownership. The predecessor’s outcome is being handled neutrally and professionally. The external search remains confidential until the preferred candidate and transition plan are agreed.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Marketing Officer value-creation thesis for the foundation-model platform, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately ₹900 crore in AI product and services revenue, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Marketing Officer Artificial Intelligence organisation of about 450 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the foundation-model platform economics and execution constraints created by a responsible-AI control build, with Chief Marketing Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Marketing Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the foundation-model platform; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Prove incremental commercial contribution using controlled evidence, not only reach, activity or brand awards in mandate 169.
• Build the Chief Marketing Officer’s three-year succession and capability plan for the foundation-model platform, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Artificial Intelligence organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the foundation-model platform baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to weak differentiation and inefficient customer acquisition, 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 Marketing Officer portfolio and organisation choices for the foundation-model platform, 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 foundation-model platform trend against brand preference, commercial contribution and disciplined marketing investment, 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 Marketing Officer’s agreed first-year foundation-model platform value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A Chief Marketing Officer forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the foundation-model platform’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the Chief Marketing Officer mandate’s highest-priority foundation-model platform risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical foundation-model platform talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the Chief Marketing Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Marketing Officer-owned improvement in the foundation-model platform operating constraint behind a responsible-AI control build, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 169: 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 CMO, Marketing Director or Growth Leader in a institutionally backed Artificial Intelligence or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the foundation-model platform, your Chief Marketing 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 Marketing Officer brief.

As a Chief Marketing Officer candidate, you bring 22–28 years of progressive Artificial Intelligence or adjacent-sector experience, consistent with the 22-28 experience band. At minimum, you have carried a P&L, book, budget or accountable portfolio of ₹700 crore and led an organisation of at least 325 people.

For mandate 169, the board wants two transitions: a difficult foundation-model platform portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a responsible-AI control build. As the prospective Chief Marketing Officer for this foundation-model platform, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 169 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Marketing Officer role in Artificial Intelligence is based in Pune; relocation is expected, although a structured weekly commute may be considered during the first quarter.

Non-negotiables

• Current or recent accountability at the level of CMO, Marketing Director or Growth Leader, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Artificial Intelligence governance forum.
• Proven Chief Marketing Officer ownership of at least ₹700 crore and leadership of no fewer than 325 employees in a comparable foundation-model platform context.
• One completed Artificial Intelligence or adjacent-sector example of weak differentiation and inefficient customer acquisition 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 Marketing Officer-level foundation-model platform consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Pune location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 169.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Marketing Officer package is ₹2.2–3.0 crore fixed + performance variable, calibrated to the final foundation-model platform scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 169 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Marketing Officer appointment in Pune, centred on the foundation-model platform, offers regular exposure to the board and its investment committee. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 169.

Confidentiality

The client name, precise footprint and transaction history are outside this brief for mandate 169. They will be shared with qualified candidates under a mutual undertaking, and the composite facts here must not be reverse-engineered or circulated for mandate 169.