VP Enterprise AI Strategy and Value Capture

Ulta Beauty, Inc. • Bolingbrook, IL

19d • $375,000 - $390,000

About The Position

Live the experience. From professional empowerment to continual learning opportunities. From ongoing investment in our strategic initiatives to a career of self-determination. At Ulta Beauty, our team is critical to our scalability—and is recognized that way. We’ve been defined as a “mature start-up.” A place where interdepartmental exposure, open doors, and genuine collaboration is ubiquitous. Where challenges come fast and furious, requiring agility, mental dexterity, and creativity. Where our passion for better solutions drives us and is core to who we are.
We’re engineering for the future of retail, and it’s no-holds-barred. But for those motivated by continual change and ambiguity, by superior leadership, by whip smart colleagues who will press you daily for your very best, you’ll find that virtually nothing’s impossible at Ulta Beauty.
The Vice President of Enterprise AI Strategy & Value Capture will develop and lead Ulta Beauty’s enterprise AI strategy to transform the customer experience, operational performance and efficiency, and revenue growth across the company. As a key leader in the Enterprise Strategy and New Growth organization, this executive will identify and prioritize the highest potential AI-enabled business opportunities and architect the enterprise priorities to transform the enterprise, in partnership with the Executive Team and senior leadership—guiding the organization to mobilize, execute and deliver meaningful P&L impact.
This role is accountable for driving AI-driven enterprise transformation, partnering across the organization to unlock breakthrough value and business impact through AI-enabled solutions. The VP of Enterprise AI Strategy & Value Capture will be critical to unlocking AI as a core competitive advantage for Ulta Beauty, shaping how the company operates, competes and drives value in the next era of retail.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, Engineering, Product Management, or related field; Advanced degree (MBA, MS, PhD) preferred.
• 10+ years of leadership experience in AI/ML, product innovation, or digital transformation.
• Demonstrated success leading enterprise-scale strategy and transformation in omnichannel retail, consumer or adjacent sectors
• Deep understanding of AI/ML foundations (data, integration, platform access, risk, reliability, governance) and experience defining target-state AI architecture and partnership strategy
• Experience leading cross-functional teams across product, engineering, data science, and business operations.
• Proven experience reengineering end-to-end workflows, partnering with executives and teams to redesign processes and build prioritized AI roadmaps tied to capturable value
• Strong track record leading cross-functional AI product teams to deliver roadmaps, build reusable tech and data capabilities and drive adoption to capture value.
• Experience leading a cross-functional executive cadence to set AI priorities, approve investments, unblock delivery and track realized value against defined business outcomes
• Pragmatic visionary leader and strategic thinker with a bias for action and measurable outcomes
• Strong communicator with excellent storytelling and executive engagement skills.
• Ability to influence at the executive leadership and board level, while engaging deeply with technical teams.
• Connector who bridges seamlessly across strategic, operational and technical topics and translates technical capabilities into business value and financial impact.
• Change leader who can shift mindsets and operating models at scale.
• Skilled at balancing long-term innovation bets with short-term wins and fast delivery.
• Comfortable operating in high-change, high-ambiguity environments.
• Champions a “win together” culture.

Nice To Haves

• Advanced degree (MBA, MS, PhD) preferred.

Responsibilities

• Define and champion the enterprise-wide strategy to accelerate and amplify impact against business priorities and customer experience goals, enabled by AI
• Identify and prioritize opportunities to leverage AI to accelerate our go-to-market agenda, partnering across the organization to deliver system-wide efficiency through transformation of front and back-end processes and capabilities, and create insulating competitive differentiation
• Develop strategy to drive people enablement / build capability in the organization, partnering with HR
• Partner with executive leadership to shape AI investment strategy and communicate progress to the Board and key stakeholders.
• Partner with business, product and technology teams to define and deliver AI powered programs from strategy through value realization.
• Partner to redesign business processes to unlock optimal value from AI, not simply automate legacy ways of working
• Align enterprise KPIs to track adoption, financial impact, productivity gains, and guest outcomes
• Establish a multi-year AI enterprise strategy with clear business cases, ROI targets, and prioritization across functions
• Translate strategy to advise and inform product vision, roadmaps, and success metrics in partnership with IT Technology, data science, product and functional business teams.
• Champion enterprise-wide AI programs from concept to launch—ensuring cross-functional execution, governance, and adoption.
• Oversee portfolio of AI priorities in alignment with strategy, ensuring program-level prioritization, funding, and resource alignment.
• Support technology delivery at scale through strong execution discipline, agile methodologies, and platform thinking
• Serve as a change agent, moving from traditional automation to AI powered ways of working
• Partner with HR teams to drive change management for AI adoption, including communication, training, and enablement
• Build AI fluency across the organization—from executives to frontline teams
• Influence senior leaders to adopt AI-driven operating models and decision frameworks
• Serve as a trusted advisor to the executive team on AI trends, risks, and opportunities in retail
• Integrate existing AI governance models and protocols and partner with existing teams to refresh responsible AI development and deployment practices, working with the Data Governance, Legal, Compliance, and Risk teams.
• Ensure products meet high standards of ethics, transparency, security, and inclusivity.

Benefits

• Full-time positions are eligible for paid time off, health, dental, vision, life and disability benefits.
• Part-time positions are eligible for dental, vision, life, and disability benefits.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Executive