Managing Director, Head of Data and AI

AI Strategy & Enablement Leads

Over the last 20 years, Ares’ success has been driven by our people and our culture. Today, our team is guided by our core values – Collaborative, Responsible, Entrepreneurial, Self-Aware, Trustworthy – and our purpose to be a catalyst for shared prosperity and a better future. Through our recruitment, career development and employee-focused programming, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive work environment where high-performance talent of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can build careers within this exciting and growing industry.

Ares is seeking a Managing Director–level executive to serve as Head of Data and AI
, the firm’s senior-most leader accountable for data and artificial intelligence strategy, outcomes, and governance across the global enterprise. As Ares enters its next phase of growth across Private Credit, Liquid Credit, Private Equity, Real Assets, Secondaries, and adjacent strategies, this role is responsible for defining and delivering a cohesive, enterprise-wide Data and AI vision that underpins the firm’s investment platform, client experience, operational scale, and risk management capabilities.

This leader will ensure that data and AI are treated as foundational strategic assets – governed, trusted, and leveraged consistently across the firm to drive decision quality, efficiency, and competitive advantage.

Reports to:

Partner, CIO

• Managing Director, Head of AI Engineering & Data Platforms
• Managing Director, Data Product & Master Data Management
• Data Governance & Stewardship Leadership
• AI Strategy & Enablement Leads

• Define and own the multi-year enterprise Data and AI strategy, aligned to Ares’ investment priorities, growth objectives, and operating model.
• Establish a clear point of view on how data and AI drive investment alpha, operational leverage, client experience, and risk transparency.
• Translate firm strategy into a coherent portfolio of data platforms, AI capabilities, and data products, with clear business outcomes and success metrics.
• Act as the executive steward for Data and AI across the firm, ensuring alignment, consistency, and strategic focus.

• Serve as the firm’s executive owner of enterprise data, accountable for data quality, consistency, lineage, and trust.
• Lead Master Data Management (MDM) across all critical domains (e.g., legal entities, issuers, securities, funds, clients, products, properties), spanning institutional and wealth management businesses.
• Establish and enforce enterprise data governance frameworks, including stewardship models, ownership accountability, data policies, and standards.
• Partner closely with Legal, Compliance, Risk, and Operations to ensure data platforms support regulatory, reporting, and control requirements globally.

• Define the firm’s AI vision and adoption strategy, balancing innovation with control, transparency, and responsible use.
• Oversee enterprise AI enablement, including governance models for model usage, vendor tools, and internally developed capabilities.
• Lead firm-wide build‑vs‑buy decisioning for AI technologies, ensuring alignment with long‑term strategic differentiation.
• Ensure AI solutions are embedded across investment workflows, operations, legal, compliance, and corporate functions with measurable outcomes.

• Provide executive oversight for enterprise Data and AI platforms, ensuring architectural coherence, scalability, and alignment with firm priorities.
• Partner with the Head of Data and AI Engineering to ensure delivery excellence while maintaining strategic separation between vision, outcomes, and execution.
• Collaborate with Infrastructure, Security, Architecture, and Application leadership to ensure platforms meet requirements for resilience, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance.
• Hold engineering organizations accountable for outcomes while empowering autonomy in execution.