SVP – Corporate Development — Applied-AI Portfolio

The mandate

A recent strategy review exposed a board-approved inorganic agenda requiring disciplined execution within a multinational-owned enterprise artificial-intelligence products company. The immediate arena is the applied-AI portfolio during an enterprise-trust gap. For mandate 182, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The SVP – Corporate Development operating perimeter covers approximately C$800 million in AI product and services revenue, with activity spanning several applied-AI portfolio customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The SVP – Corporate Development Artificial Intelligence remit carries direct influence over roughly 425 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors want a SVP – Corporate Development who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the applied-AI portfolio. The SVP – Corporate Development Artificial Intelligence seat must resolve an enterprise-trust gap, while preserving the underlying strengths of the applied-AI portfolio. For mandate 182, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The SVP – Corporate Development’s first year on the applied-AI portfolio is expected to end with proprietary pipeline, integration logic and value realisation. In mandate 182, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

The SVP – Corporate Development — Applied-AI Portfolio requirement was not included in the approved hiring calendar. It became urgent after an enterprise-trust gap created an immediate need for one accountable owner of the applied-ai portfolio. Interim coverage protects essential decisions, but split ownership cannot continue through the next operating gate. The board intends to move from qualified shortlist to offer within 4–6 weeks while preserving confidential, evidence-led diligence.

What you will own

• Set the SVP – Corporate Development value-creation thesis for the applied-AI portfolio, translate it into no more than five enterprise priorities and stop work that does not support them.
• Carry stewardship of approximately C$800 million in AI product and services revenue, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the SVP – Corporate Development Artificial Intelligence organisation of about 425 employees and partners, appointing a team with clear decision rights and credible succession for every critical seat.
• Resolve the applied-AI portfolio economics and execution constraints created by an enterprise-trust gap, with SVP – Corporate Development-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one SVP – Corporate Development operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the applied-AI portfolio; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Show end-to-end ownership of a material platform or value stream, including budget, talent and measurable operating outcomes in mandate 182.
• Build the SVP – Corporate Development’s three-year succession and capability plan for the applied-AI portfolio, reducing dependence on individual executives and improving mobility across the wider Artificial Intelligence organisation.

The first 12 months

• Days 1–90: Validate the applied-AI portfolio baseline, meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to a board-approved inorganic agenda requiring disciplined execution, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal SVP – Corporate Development portfolio and organisation choices for the applied-AI portfolio, 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 applied-AI portfolio trend against proprietary pipeline, integration logic and value realisation, 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 SVP – Corporate Development’s agreed first-year applied-AI portfolio value case within a 10% tolerance, with variance explained before rather than after the relevant quarter closes.
• A SVP – Corporate Development forecast that remains decision-useful across three consecutive quarters and reconciles the applied-AI portfolio’s operating, cash, customer and people assumptions.
• Closure of the SVP – Corporate Development mandate’s highest-priority applied-AI portfolio risk and execution issues by their board-approved dates, with independent evidence that fixes are sustained.
• Retention of at least 90% of critical applied-AI portfolio talent and ready-now successors for at least 70% of the SVP – Corporate Development’s direct reports.
• A quantified SVP – Corporate Development-owned improvement in the applied-AI portfolio operating constraint behind an enterprise-trust gap, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 182: 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 SVP Corporate Development, M&A Director or Strategy Executive in a multinational-owned Artificial Intelligence or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the applied-AI portfolio, your SVP – Corporate Development 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 SVP – Corporate Development brief.

As a SVP – Corporate Development 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 C$850 million and led an organisation of at least 300 people.

For mandate 182, the board wants two transitions: a difficult applied-AI portfolio portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during an enterprise-trust gap. As the prospective SVP – Corporate Development for this applied-AI portfolio, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 182 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The SVP – Corporate Development must be based in Toronto; 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 SVP Corporate Development, M&A Director or Strategy Executive, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Artificial Intelligence governance forum.
• Proven SVP – Corporate Development ownership of at least C$850 million and leadership of no fewer than 300 employees in a comparable applied-AI portfolio context.
• One completed Artificial Intelligence or adjacent-sector example of a board-approved inorganic agenda requiring disciplined execution 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 SVP – Corporate Development-level applied-AI portfolio consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Toronto location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 182.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated SVP – Corporate Development package is C$330,000–440,000 base + annual incentive, calibrated to the final applied-AI portfolio scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 182 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The SVP – Corporate Development appointment in Toronto, centred on the applied-AI portfolio, offers regular exposure to the chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors. A notice period of up to 6 months can be accommodated for the selected executive in mandate 182.

Confidentiality

Client identity is withheld at this stage and will be disclosed under mutual confidentiality after an initial fit discussion for mandate 182. Rounded ranges and blended context prevent this document from being used to triangulate the organisation for mandate 182.