VP - Technology & AI

Overview

The Vice President of Technology and AI is responsible for leading strategic and operational initiatives across Artificial Intelligence, eCommerce, Engineering, and Business Intelligence. This role drives innovation and execution excellence, accelerating delivery of company initiatives, elevating eCommerce platforms, enhancing Core One applications, and expanding data availability for actionable insights. The VP partners closely with senior leadership to champion change management and cultivate a culture of innovation.

• Strategic Leadership:
  Define and execute an enterprise-wide AI strategy aligned with business objectives.
• Lead teams in commercial website development, engineering, business intelligence, and AI, fostering innovative solutions.
• Drive technology upgrades to advance company objectives and improve operational efficiency.
• Collaborate with executive leadership to ensure strategic alignment.

• Identify and leverage emerging technologies to enhance products, services, and operations.
• Lead cross-functional innovation initiatives from concept to execution.
• Promote adoption of AI-powered tools, predictive analytics, and intelligent workflows.
• Explore generative AI applications to improve customer experience, operational efficiency, and decision-making.
• Oversee eCommerce platform unification and performance.

• Assess and streamline business processes for efficiency, scalability, and effectiveness.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives using methodologies such as Lean and Six Sigma.

• Evaluate and implement advanced technologies, including machine learning, natural language processing, and robotic process automation.
• Lead digitization efforts focused on AI-enabled analytics and intelligent automation.
• Manage partnerships and negotiate contracts with vendors, consultants, and technology providers.

• Build and lead a high-performing global team.
• Foster innovation, collaboration, and accountability.
• Provide mentorship and development opportunities.
• Collaborate across departments.

• Manage priority incidents, including communication and SLA for eCommerce sites.
• Identify/mitigate risks with AI adoption and integrations.
• Ensure compliance with AI ethics, regulations, standards, and policies.
• Directly and indirectly responsible for product quality.
• Other duties as assigned.

Education and/or Work Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, data science, engineering, or related field (MBA/advanced degree preferred).
• 10+ years of progressive experience in digital transformation, technology integration, innovation, or AI leadership.
• Demonstrated success in executing and adopting technology initiatives.
• Experience driving adoption across functions and geographies.
• Strong strategic thinking and leadership skills.
• Deep understanding of technology trends, eCommerce, and enterprise platforms.
• Excellent project management, communication, and negotiation skills.
• Ability to lead diverse global teams.
• Familiarity with change management and process improvement.
• Experience in the distribution industry preferred.
• Successful execution of projects on time and within budget.
• Adoption of new technologies that drive growth and efficiency.
• Achievement of ROI targets.
• eCommerce website performance and SLA compliance.
• Continuous process improvement and cost reduction.
• Employee engagement and retention.
• Ability to identify emerging technologies and translate them into business value.
• Skilled at balancing visionary thinking with practical implementation.
• Strong decision-making in architecture, platforms, and integration strategies.
• Expertise in guiding teams through transformation with minimal disruption.
• Proven ability to work effectively with ELT and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Commitment to leveraging analytics and BI for strategic insights.
• Focus on delivering seamless digital experiences through technology.

• Ability to safely and successfully perform the essential job functions consistent with the ADA, FMLA and other federal, state and local standards, including meeting qualitative and/or…