Chief Data Officer — Powertrain Division

The mandate

A powertrain division has invested in data lakes, dashboards, analytics squads and supplier portals, yet warranty teams still reconcile vehicle, part, software and repair records manually. Projects solve one question and then decay because ownership, definitions and access are unclear. Rising warranty cost has made the gap urgent. The board is creating a Chief Data Officer role to concentrate investment on reusable evidence and decisions.

The CDO will govern an approximately THB 9,900 million revenue and programme perimeter and influence 2,025 employees and material partners. Scope includes data strategy, governance, architecture, master and metadata, platforms, analytics, responsible AI, data product management and data talent. Technology owns infrastructure operation; business functions own decisions; privacy and security retain independent control. The CDO owns the reliability, reuse and economic value of data products.

Warranty intelligence needs lineage. A claim must connect vehicle configuration, build, supplier lot, software version, operating conditions, diagnostic path, replaced part and repair outcome. Missing or conflicting identity can make a false pattern look real. The CDO will establish authoritative entities and evidence quality by use case, with uncertainty visible to engineers and finance.

Data value will be measured by changed action. A prediction that no one can investigate or use in parts planning is not a product. Each initiative needs a decision owner, service level, adoption path and measurable benefit. Reusable capabilities such as vehicle identity, fitment, failure taxonomy and supplier traceability will receive preference over bespoke executive dashboards.

Why this seat is open

The role was not in the approved plan. A warranty review exposed that distributed data ownership could not set enterprise priorities or settle definitions. Interim teams maintain platforms but lack authority over investment and business adoption. Appointment is targeted within four to six weeks; no undisclosed data breach prompted the role.

What you will own

• Define authoritative data products for vehicles, components, software, suppliers and repair events.
• Establish lineage, quality, access and stewardship proportionate to decision risk.
• Prioritise analytics and AI through adoption and value evidence.
• Connect warranty intelligence to engineering, parts, supplier and finance action.
• Govern data vendors, platforms and lifecycle economics with technology.
• Build data-product, governance and analytics leadership with successors.

The operating model will assign business product owners alongside technical teams. Owners approve definitions, decide quality thresholds and secure workflow change. Stewards will have time and authority, not honorary titles. Data issues affecting safety or material financial decisions will use protected escalation and documented acceptance.

AI will be introduced selectively. Pattern detection may help identify emerging cohorts, but labels and missing data can reproduce historic diagnostic bias. Models will disclose training population, confidence, drift and human review. Generated explanations will not become engineering evidence without traceable source. High-impact uses need monitoring, withdrawal and incident procedures.

Economics will include preparation and change effort, not only platform spend. Benefits will reconcile to avoided claims, earlier containment, reduced investigation, inventory or supplier recovery. Products without adoption or enduring owners will be stopped; valuable components will be retained for reuse. Platform consolidation will follow data-product needs rather than become the strategy itself.

Access design will recognise engineering collaboration and competitive sensitivity. Suppliers may contribute evidence without seeing unrelated programme data, while investigators need rapid, audited access during incidents. Retention rules will preserve regulatory and warranty proof without allowing every raw dataset to remain indefinitely.

The first 12 months

During the first 75 days, the CDO will map the 15 most consequential warranty and operational decisions, assess data leadership and halt low-value duplication. By day 90, the sponsor will receive an authoritative-domain plan, investment choices and immediate evidence gaps affecting live cases.

By month eight, three warranty cohorts should use governed vehicle-to-repair lineage, two shared data products should serve several workflows, and selected analytics should operate with adoption and monitoring. Critical supplier and software-version records will carry accountable quality owners.

At year-end, time to assemble evidence for priority investigations should fall by 40%, duplicate data spend reduce by 15% and verified data products support at least THB 450 million of annualised value. Ninety-five per cent of high-impact records should meet agreed quality thresholds, with no material AI decision operating without human review and drift control.

What the board will measure

• Warranty evidence trusted across engineering and finance.
• Reusable products replacing isolated dashboards.
• Value realised through business adoption.
• Responsible AI and proportionate data control.
• Strong data ownership and succession.

The person

You are a Chief Data Officer, data-product executive or industrial analytics leader with 18–22 years in automotive, manufacturing, technology or complex services. You have governed at least THB 5,750 million and 1,425 employees. Evidence must include a warranty or quality data product, an analytics portfolio you stopped or redirected and value independently verified after adoption.

This is an onsite Bangkok role with plant, engineering, supplier and regional travel. You can mediate technical definitions without removing business accountability.

Compensation and terms

Base salary is THB 14–20 million plus annual incentive and LTI. Measures include data value, warranty impact, reuse, quality, responsible AI, cost and succession. The committee will calibrate final mix to accountable data scope and can plan around a notice commitment lasting no more than six months.

Confidentiality

The company, products, datasets, suppliers and warranty evidence are confidential. Further detail follows qualification and an undertaking. Bangkok and the rounded perimeter do not identify the organisation.