Chief Talent and Capability Officer — Applied-AI Portfolio

The mandate

The enterprise is entering a phase in which leadership must resolve critical capability shortages constraining execution of the investment plan within a privately held enterprise artificial-intelligence products company. The immediate arena is the applied-AI portfolio during model-cost escalation. For mandate 176, the successful executive inherits decisions that have been deferred, competing stakeholder expectations and a need to establish facts before committing further capital.

The Chief Talent and Capability Officer operating perimeter covers approximately C$950 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 Chief Talent and Capability Officer Artificial Intelligence remit carries direct influence over roughly 300 colleagues and third-party capacity.

The chair, executive committee and principal capital sponsors want a Chief Talent and Capability Officer who can convert ambiguity into a short list of explicit choices for the applied-AI portfolio. The Chief Talent and Capability Officer Artificial Intelligence seat must resolve model-cost escalation, while preserving the underlying strengths of the applied-AI portfolio. For mandate 176, value will come through sharper allocation, stronger leaders and an operating cadence that exposes variance early.

The Chief Talent and Capability Officer’s first year on the applied-AI portfolio is expected to end with verified capability supply, internal mobility and leadership depth. In mandate 176, 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 Talent and Capability Officer — Applied-AI Portfolio seat, established because model-cost escalation now requires one accountable executive rather than distributed ownership. The board has classified the appointment as urgent and intends to move from qualified shortlist to offer within 6–8 weeks. Interim governance protects the applied-ai portfolio, but it is not a substitute for a permanent appointee. The external search remains confidential to avoid unnecessary disruption before the appointment is agreed.

What you will own

• Set the Chief Talent and Capability Officer 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$950 million in AI product and services revenue, including allocation, risk acceptance and board forecasts.
• Lead the Chief Talent and Capability Officer Artificial Intelligence organisation of about 300 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 model-cost escalation, with Chief Talent and Capability Officer-approved owners, dated milestones and transparent escalation thresholds.
• Establish one Chief Talent and Capability Officer operating review across commercial, customer, financial, people, technology and risk outcomes for the applied-AI portfolio; remove reconciliations that obscure accountability.
• Have changed an executive structure and workforce economics while sustaining critical talent and employee relations in mandate 176.
• Build the Chief Talent and Capability Officer’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 critical capability shortages constraining execution of the investment plan, 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 Talent and Capability Officer 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 verified capability supply, internal mobility and leadership depth, 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 Talent and Capability Officer’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 Chief Talent and Capability Officer 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 Chief Talent and Capability Officer 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 Chief Talent and Capability Officer’s direct reports.
• A quantified Chief Talent and Capability Officer-owned improvement in the applied-AI portfolio operating constraint behind model-cost escalation, supported by a clean baseline and named data owner.
• Clear stakeholder confidence in mandate 176: 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 Talent Officer, Learning and Capability Head or Deputy CHRO in a privately held Artificial Intelligence or adjacent enterprise. In relation to the applied-AI portfolio, your Chief Talent and Capability 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 Talent and Capability Officer brief.

As a Chief Talent and Capability 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 C$550 million and led an organisation of at least 200 people.

For mandate 176, the board wants two transitions: a difficult applied-AI portfolio portfolio choice and a leadership-system change during model-cost escalation. As the prospective Chief Talent and Capability Officer for this applied-AI portfolio, you must challenge optimistic cases and still create followership. References for mandate 176 must distinguish your contribution from the institution around you.

The Chief Talent and Capability Officer 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 Chief Talent Officer, Learning and Capability Head or Deputy CHRO, with direct exposure to a board, investment committee or equivalent Artificial Intelligence governance forum.
• Proven Chief Talent and Capability Officer ownership of at least C$550 million and leadership of no fewer than 200 employees in a comparable applied-AI portfolio context.
• One completed Artificial Intelligence or adjacent-sector example of critical capability shortages constraining execution of the investment plan 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 Talent and Capability Officer-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 176.

Compensation and terms

The anticipated Chief Talent and Capability Officer 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 176 follows standard vesting and performance conditions. The Chief Talent and Capability Officer 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 176.

Confidentiality

The organisation will be identified only after reciprocal interest and a confidentiality undertaking for mandate 176. The market, scale and situation in this brief are intentionally composite and are not a coded description of a named enterprise for mandate 176.