Executive Director, AI, Data & Analytics

RaceTrac•Atlanta, GA

About The Position

We are seeking a visionary Executive Director of AI, Data, and Analytics to lead the enterprise-wide AI, analytics & data strategy and unlock insights that accelerate guest satisfaction, operational excellence, and sustainable business growth. This executive leader will define how data, advanced analytics, and AI power our brand’s competitive advantage across marketing, sales, operations, digital experiences, supply chain, and many other critical business functions both within our core RaceTrac business and our full family of brands (Gulf, Potbelly and Energy Dispatch). The ideal candidate is a strategic storyteller, a builder of high-impact teams, and an experienced leader in restaurant or retail analytics. This role partners closely with the C-suite, serving as the enterprise champion for data-driven decision-making and ensuring our analytics capabilities directly influence value-based outcomes aligned with and guided by the business.

Requirements

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Data Science, Analytics, Statistics, Computer Science, Business, or related field.
10+ years of experience in data management, analytics, and data strategy, with 5+ years leading teams in enterprise or multi-unit consumer businesses.
Proven expertise in restaurant, retail, CPG, or other high-volume customer transaction environments.
Strong command of data technologies and tools, including SQL, Python/R, BI platforms (Power BI, Tableau), and modern cloud data platforms (Databricks, Snowflake, AWS, Azure).
Exceptional communication, executive presence, and ability to influence senior leaders.
Strong commercial acumen with a track record of connecting analytics to P&L performance, customer outcomes, and long-term strategic goals.
Experience leading analytics transformations, data modernization, or AI initiatives at scale.
Background in leading multi-disciplinary teams across analytics, engineering, and data governance.

Nice To Haves

Experience in private equity-owned or high-growth transformation environments.

Responsibilities

Enterprise Strategy & Leadership Develop and execute a multi-year, enterprise-wide data, AI and analytics strategy aligned to company goals across all functional areas of the business.
Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership, shaping innovation, priorities and investment decisions through data-driven insights and scenario modeling.
Lead the cultural transformation toward a data-driven organization by embedding analytics into planning, performance management, and daily decision-making.
Represent analytics at the executive and Board level, communicating progress, opportunities, risks and critical business insights.
Customer, Commercial & Operational Intelligence Own the enterprise perspective on customer behavior, loyalty drivers, price elasticity, promotion effectiveness, menu performance, digital engagement, and regional performance variations.
Translate insights into clear, actionable strategies that power marketing & promotional effectiveness, personalized engagement, and customer lifetime value growth.
Provide enterprise oversight of operational analytics to drive improvements in labor efficiency, food cost optimization, inventory level optimization, speed of service, and operational consistency.
Drive the development of standardized KPI frameworks supporting strategic planning, forecasting, and business performance measurement.
Data, Technology & Advanced Analytics Strategy Define and govern the enterprise analytics ecosystem, including reporting platforms, dashboards, self-service tools, and data products that enable executive-level visibility and actionability.
Lead the evolution of advanced analytics, including predictive/prescriptive modeling, machine learning, and AI/GenAI applications for demand forecasting, labor planning, menu optimization, personalization, network optimization, fraud detection, and operational automation.
Establish technology roadmaps and architectural standards ensuring scalability, resilience, data quality, and compliance across all data platforms.
Partner with IT and digital product teams to modernize data infrastructure and integrate real-time analytics into business workflows.
Organizational Leadership & Talent Strategy Build, scale, and lead a high-performing Data & Analytics organization across analytics, data science, data engineering, data governance, and BI.
Be a go-to, educational resource for our Business Leaders as it relates to data, AI, and analytics, designing novel approaches to stimulate innovation, increase data-driven decision making, and encourage businesses to test the art-of-the-possible
Develop leadership bench strength and succession plans that ensure long-term capability, innovation, and organizational resilience.
Create a high-accountability, high-ownership culture focused on business outcomes, intellectual rigor, continuous learning, and operational excellence.
Establish standards for data governance, stewardship, and responsible AI to protect guest trust and uphold regulatory and ethical expectations.
Executive Collaboration & Influence Actively evangelize with business leaders to understand their critical business challenges to solve pain-points, unlock value, and introduce opportunities for automation + innovation.
Operate as the critical connector between business, shared services, technology, and field operations—translating complex analytics into strategic decisions that accelerate performance.
Partner with leaders in Marketing, Category, Operations, Finance, Supply Chain, IT, and Digital to drive integrated planning, forecasting, experimentation, and performance optimization.
Deliver compelling, concise executive storytelling that distills complex insights into clear recommendations for C-suite and Board audiences.
Establish clear, understandable and business-aligned value projections prior to activation and followed through with measured and agreed upon realized value