AI Center of Excellence Director

Cherry Bekaert is one of the largest accounting and consulting firms in the country, recognized as a Great Place to Work. We deliver innovative advisory, assurance, and tax services to our clients and foster a collaborative environment focused on enabling career growth and continuous professional development.

The AI CoE Director is the founding leader of Cherry Bekaert’s AI Center of Excellence — a greenfield role with direct executive sponsorship, budget authority, and the mandate to build a production AI capability from the ground up.

• Provide leadership to the AI CoE team, including coaching, mentoring, and professional development, and deliver regular performance feedback.
• Define, recruit, and structure the CoE; establish its operating model and deliver the first wave of production AI workflows within the first six months.
• Own the firm’s AI production strategy end‑to‑end, prioritizing investments across Tax, Assurance, Advisory, and Wealth Management based on use‑case value, technical feasibility, and adoption readiness.
• Direct the Production Track —Workflow Architects and Prompt + Skills Engineers — to ship reusable prompt libraries, Claude skills, workflow templates, and integration patterns that service line professionals adopt without CoE hand‑holding.
• Activate and sustain the Coordination Track, partnering with the AI Training Lead and Use Case + ROI Lead to onboard Ambassadors, track adoption metrics, and build the business case for continued investment.
• Build and manage an AI Ambassador network of 12 to 20 professionals across service lines and shared services, providing production‑ready tools, structured training, and a monthly communication cadence.
• Establish AI governance policies in partnership with the AI Governance Council, including use‑case tiering, risk classification, and escalation protocols for complex or high‑risk deployments.
• Translate AI production outcomes into executive‑ready business cases, demonstrating measurable ROI, competitive positioning, and realized value to the C‑suite and the firm’s investors.
• Monitor the competitive landscape, including peer firms deploying agentic AI workflows, proprietary compliance tools, and billion‑dollar technology investments, and identify opportunities to accelerate Cherry Bekaert’s AI maturity.
• Collaborate with Information Security, Legal, and Compliance teams to maintain responsible AI use, data privacy, and regulatory alignment across all deployed workflows.
• Manage the CoE budget, vendor relationships, and platform licensing to maximize production output within a lean, high‑impact staffing model.
• Represent the firm’s AI capabilities externally at industry events, recruiting channels, and peer forums, positioning Cherry Bekaert as a destination for AI talent in professional services.

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering, Information Systems, or a related field; master’s degree preferred.
• 12+ years of progressive technology and AI experience, with at least five years in leadership roles directing AI strategy, production, or adoption programs.
• Prior experience building an AI function at a professional services, consulting, or knowledge‑work firm is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated track record of standing up and scaling an AI program within a professional services environment—building teams, governance models, and production workflows from a blank slate.
• Working knowledge of AI governance frameworks, including risk tiering, use‑case classification, responsible AI principles, and regulatory compliance in a professional services context.
• Collaboration instincts suited to a matrixed environment, with the ability to work productively across Technology, Tax, Assurance, Advisory, Wealth Management, and corporate functions without positional authority.

• Shared values that foster inclusion and belonging, including uncompromising integrity, collaboration, trust, and mutual respect.
• The opportunity to innovate and do work that motivates and engages you.
• A collaborative environment focused on enabling you to further your career growth and…