Data Science & AI Senior Manager

Overview

Suntory Global Spirits (Beam Suntory) – Chicago, IL

As the Senior Manager of Data Science & AI, you will shape the global AI and advanced analytics agenda by architecting and elevating enterprise-wide capabilities that transform data into strategic competitive advantages. Reporting to the Director of Data Science & AI, you will hold a high-visibility leadership role, partnering with senior leaders across Commercial, Finance, Supply Chain, Strategy, Marketing, and Operations to translate business strategy into AI-driven solutions that deliver measurable impact.

• Leadership and Strategy: Help to define and execute the enterprise Data Science & AI strategy in alignment with corporate objectives and the global analytics operating model. Champion an AI-driven culture by embedding advanced analytics and machine learning best practices into day-to-day operations and strategic decision-making processes across all business functions.
• Technical Excellence: Drive the evaluation, selection, and optimization of AI/ML platforms and oversee the design of scalable data science models, architectures, ML Ops frameworks, and governance systems that ensure model accuracy, reliability, and ethical AI deployment. Drive innovation by exploring and implementing cutting-edge AI technologies including generative AI, computer vision, and natural language processing for commercial applications.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Serve as trusted advisor to functional leaders and senior executives, translating complex business challenges into scalable predictive models and AI solutions. Design and deliver executive-level insights that accelerate data-driven decision-making and demonstrate clear ROI from data science and AI investments across the organization.
• Performance and Governance: Establish and monitor KPIs for adoption, data quality, system performance, and business impact; drive continuous improvement initiatives. Identify and mitigate risks related to AI bias, data privacy, regulatory compliance, and platform resilience. Build data science best practices, including code review standards, reproducibility, documentation, model governance, and knowledge-sharing frameworks.
• Organizational Capability Building: Promote a culture of data science literacy and AI governance across the organization, providing strategic guidance and advanced training to ensure understanding and adherence to AI best practices and ethical principles. Build and scale the data science function to support future organizational growth.
• Commercial Impact and Industry Expertise: Lead advanced analytics initiatives that drive sales productivity, revenue growth management (RGM), optimize brand investment effectiveness, enhance consumer insights, and improve operational efficiency. Apply deep understanding of global spirits market dynamics, consumer behavior, and regulatory requirements to deliver industry-specific AI solutions.

• Education: Master’s degree or PhD in Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Physics, or a closely related quantitative field. Advanced degree strongly preferred.
• Experience: Minimum of 10 years in Data Science, Machine Learning, or Advanced Analytics with progressive responsibility and demonstrated leadership impact. 8 or more years building and deploying production AI/ML solutions in enterprise environments. Proven success leading data science programs in a global CPG, beverage, or similar fast-moving consumer-goods environment preferred.
• Technical Proficiency: Deep expertise in machine learning, AI, and statistical modeling with proficiency in Python, SQL, and advanced analytics platforms. Working proficiency in cloud-native AI architectures (GCP, AWS, Azure), ML Ops, data engineering, and scalable AI deployment. Experience with generative AI, deep learning frameworks (Tensor Flow, PyTorch), and modern AI development practices. Strong background in A/B testing, attribution modeling, demand forecasting, and recommendation engines preferred.
• Leadership and Communication: Proven leadership skills with the ability to manage cross-functional teams and…