EVP – Operations Transformation — Applied-AI Portfolio

The mandate

Customer and operating evidence now point to an operations reset after service and cost drift within a multinational-owned enterprise artificial-intelligence products company. The immediate arena is the applied-AI portfolio during a research-to-product transition. For mandate 158, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The EVP – Operations Transformation operating perimeter covers approximately ₹750 crore in AI product and services revenue, with activity spanning several applied-AI portfolio customer, product and delivery clusters rather than a single asset. The EVP – Operations Transformation Artificial Intelligence remit carries direct influence over roughly 600 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors want a EVP – Operations Transformation who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the applied-AI portfolio. The EVP – Operations Transformation Artificial Intelligence seat must resolve a research-to-product transition, while preserving the underlying strengths of the applied-AI portfolio. For mandate 158, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The EVP – Operations Transformation’s first year on the applied-AI portfolio is expected to end with stable delivery, structurally lower cost and accountable operating rhythms. In mandate 158, authority covers resources and leadership appointments; material trade-offs go directly to the board sponsor.

Why this seat is open

This is a planned replacement for the EVP – Operations Transformation — Applied-AI Portfolio seat. The incumbent continues to lead the applied-ai portfolio through an agreed succession period and will support a structured handover. The board has allowed 4–6 months to assess candidates, complete diligence and protect continuity while a research-to-product transition is addressed. The search is confidential so the transition can be communicated to employees, customers and partners in a controlled sequence.

What you will own

• Set the EVP – Operations Transformation 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 ₹750 crore in AI product and services revenue, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the EVP – Operations Transformation Artificial Intelligence organisation of about 600 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 a research-to-product transition, with EVP – Operations Transformation-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one EVP – Operations Transformation operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the applied-AI portfolio; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Demonstrate enterprise authority across functions and markets, with outcomes visible in cash, customers or controlled risk in mandate 158.
• Build the EVP – Operations Transformation’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 an operations reset after service and cost drift, assess the leadership team, stabilise immediate delivery risks and agree a board-owned scorecard with explicit decision gates.
• Months 4–9: Make the principal EVP – Operations Transformation 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 stable delivery, structurally lower cost and accountable operating rhythms, 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 EVP – Operations Transformation’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 EVP – Operations Transformation 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 EVP – Operations Transformation 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 EVP – Operations Transformation’s direct reports.
• A quantified EVP – Operations Transformation-owned improvement in the applied-AI portfolio operating constraint behind a research-to-product transition, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 158: 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 EVP Operations, COO or Transformation Director in a multinational-owned Artificial Intelligence or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the applied-AI portfolio, your EVP – Operations Transformation 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 EVP – Operations Transformation brief.

As a EVP – Operations Transformation 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 ₹1,000 crore and led an organisation of at least 600 people.

For mandate 158, the board wants two transitions: a difficult applied-AI portfolio portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during a research-to-product transition. As the prospective EVP – Operations Transformation for this applied-AI portfolio, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 158 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The EVP – Operations Transformation role in Artificial Intelligence is based in Gurugram; 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 EVP Operations, COO or Transformation Director, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Artificial Intelligence governance forum.
• Proven EVP – Operations Transformation ownership of at least ₹1,000 crore and leadership of no fewer than 600 employees in a comparable applied-AI portfolio context.
• One completed Artificial Intelligence or adjacent-sector example of an operations reset after service and cost drift 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 EVP – Operations Transformation-level applied-AI portfolio consequences will not meet the bar.
• Willingness to meet the Gurugram location expectation, complete conflicts and background diligence, and protect the confidentiality of mandate 158.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated EVP – Operations Transformation package is ₹2.2–3.0 crore fixed + performance variable, calibrated to the final applied-AI portfolio scope and the candidate’s current mix. Any long-term participation for mandate 158 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The EVP – Operations Transformation appointment in Gurugram, 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 158.

Confidentiality

This search is being conducted without naming the client for mandate 158. Identifying information will follow only when both sides elect to proceed under confidentiality; nothing in the published mandate should be treated as a clue to ownership or brand for mandate 158.