Director of Product and Technology Services (Strategy & AI Transformation)

GRT Financial•SouthField, MI

About The Position

The Director of Product and Technology Services bridges product strategy and IT execution. This role drives enterprise-wide strategic planning, identifies new market opportunities, and operationalizes modern AI capabilities (e.g., predictive analytics, GenAI copilots, automation) to accelerate revenue, efficiency, customer experience, and risk management. The ideal candidate is equally fluent in business strategy and applied AI, with a track record of delivering outcomes at scale and building high-performing, cross-functional teams.

Requirements

10+ years in strategy, corporate development, digital/AI transformation, or related roles, with 5+ years leading teams and enterprise programs.
Demonstrated experience shipping AI/ML or analytics products that drove measurable business impact (revenue growth, cost reduction, risk mitigation, or CX improvement).
Strong command of strategic analysis (market sizing, unit economics, portfolio strategy) and AI concepts (supervised/unsupervised learning, GenAI, RAG, evaluation, model risk).
Proven ability to influence C-suite, align cross-functional stakeholders, and lead through ambiguity.
Excellent communication skills; able to translate technical topics into business outcomes.

Nice To Haves

Experience in financial services
Prior ownership of an AI program with governance at scale (e.g., >10 use cases, model monitoring, policy/compliance alignment).
Familiarity with major cloud ecosystems (Azure/AWS/GCP), data platforms (lakehouse), MLOps tooling, and modern product delivery (Agile, product ops).
Advanced degree in Business, Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, or related field (MBA or MS/PhD a plus).
Exposure to regulatory environments affecting data/AI (e.g., privacy, model governance, sector-specific regs).

Responsibilities

Lead the annual and multi-year strategic planning process; define the company’s strategic agenda, growth bets, and portfolio priorities aligned to CTO/C-Suite direction.
Build market/competitive intelligence and scenario planning to inform capital allocation and M&A/partnership decisions.
Translate strategy into OKRs and measurable roadmaps; partner with Finance and Business Unit (BU) leaders on targets and accountability.
Create and execute the enterprise AI strategy (classical ML + GenAI), including use-case prioritization, value sizing, risk assessment, and adoption plans.
Stand up or mature AI operating model: governance, model lifecycle management (ML Ops), prompt and model risk management, and responsible AI policies (privacy, security, fairness, transparency).
Drive delivery of high-value AI/automation products (e.g., demand forecasting, churn prediction, intelligent decision support, copilots for sales/service, content generation, document intelligence).
Partner with CEO/CTO/CRO and Data leaders to ensure enabling platforms: data quality, metadata, feature stores, vector DBs, model registries, observability, and cost governance.
Own value realization: quantify and report ROI, productivity gains, CX improvements, and risk reduction linked to AI and strategic initiatives.
Champion change management and workforce enablement (training, adoption, new ways of working), in close partnership with HR/L&D.
Establish a culture of experimentation and continuous improvement (A/B testing, pilots, phased scale).
Advise CTO/C-Suite on strategy and AI opportunities/risks; prepare executive materials and communicate progress with clarity.
Build and lead a diverse Strategy & AI organization (strategy, product, data science/ML, analytics translators, program management).
Manage a portfolio of internal and external partnerships (hyperscalers, ISVs, SIs, startups, academic institutions).