Director of AI Transformation

Job description This is a hybrid position requiring an on-site presence 3 to 4 days per week.

Please note that the number of days on-site can increase based on business needs.

OVERVIEW:

Sysco is the global leader in foodservice distribution. With over 71,000 colleagues and a fleet of over 13,000 vehicles, Sysco operates approximately 333 distribution facilities worldwide and serves more than 700,000 customer lo...cations.

We offer our colleagues the opportunity to grow personally and professionally, to contribute to the success of a dynamic organization, and to serve others in a manner that exceeds their expectations.

We’re looking for talented, hard-working individuals to join our team.

Come grow with us and let us show you why Sysco is at the heart of food and service.

Job Summary

The Director, AI Transformation is responsible for partnering with Sysco Technology and Functional and/or Business Unit business partners to develop and embed AI into core processes, products, and decision-making to drive P&L outcomes.

This includes transforming entire personas and E2E processes while improving customer outcomes.

This is a highly visible role and will require strong collaboration across a complex, matrixed organization.

This role will lead AI initiatives from opportunity identification to design, experimentation, and production of solutions at scale to deliver real value.

This role will partner with functional, business, and technology partners to unlock P&L gains by using agentic AI including multi-agent AI orchestration, automation, new applications, and E2E process reimagination.

Finally, this leader will collaborate with his/her functional/business partners and the broader AI Transformation Office to build AI fluency and lead change management within his/her respective functional/business area of focus to ensure sustained improvement of customer, operational, and service outcomes.

This role will require AI fluency, digital savviness, strength in process improvement, and an ability to drive transformation through AI and process improvement.

This is an opportunity to meaningfully impact Sysco’s business, customer, and colleague outcomes using AI, process reimagination, and Sysco’s broad array of digital capabilities.

Duties and Responsibilities

AI Strategy & Leadership

• Define and own AI transformation roadmap aligned with business objectives of assigned functional/business area of focus.

• Partner with business/functional and technology partners to identify high-impact personas, E2E processes, and point solutions where AI solutions could unlock P&L value.

• Size ROI and P&L contribution; assess change management needs to prioritize use cases.

Program & Delivery Management

• Lead E2E AI initiatives from ideation and proof-of-concept through deployment and scaling.

• Work with business/functional and technology partners to redesign E2E processes and ways of working.

• Use agentic AI including multi-agent AI orchestration, automation, new applications, and E2E process reimagination to deliver outcomes in collaboration with business leaders, technology leaders, and their teams.

Change Management & Adoption

• Drive organizational change to enable AI adoption, including new ways of working and decision-making.

• Collaborate with Learning & Development and Change Management teams to build AI fluency and lead change management within functional/business area of focus.

• Educate functional/business team leaders and their teams on AI capabilities, limitations, and value.

• Promote AI literacy and data-driven culture within functional/business area of focus.

Technology & Data Enablement

• Partner with ML Ops, Tech Platform, and Application teams to develop and deploy new AI capabilities that address specific use case needs and that can be scaled and leveraged to accelerate new use case development over time.

• Partner with data and technology teams to ensure strong data foundations, platforms, and tooling.

• Evaluate and select AI technologies, vendors, and partners.

• Stay current on emerging AI trends, including generative AI, automation, and advanced analytics.

Measurement & Value Realization

• Define KPIs and success metrics for AI initiatives within functional/business area of focus.

• Partner with Finance and the Data COE to track ROI, operational improvements, and business outcomes.

• Continuously optimize AI solutions based on performance and feedback.

Qualifications

Education Required:

• Bachelor’s degree

Education Preferred:

• MBA

Experience Required:

• 10 years’ experience across breadth of business functions, including Digital.

• Management Consulting at top-tier firm or experience at Fortune 500 Company in digital transformation, analytics, data science, or AI-related roles.

• Proven experience leading cross-functional transformation programs.

Experience Preferred:

• Strong understanding of AI/ML concepts and practical enterprise applications (not necessarily hands-on coding).

• Demonstrated ability to translate business problems into data and AI solutions.

• Six Sigma experience.

Licenses/Certifications Preferred:

• AI certifications; Six Sigma certifications

Technical Skills and Abilities

• Track record of delivering strong financial results with ability to deliver outcomes in a large, complex, and cross-functional organization.

• Strategic and Enterprise thinking with strong problem-solving skills and ability to solve and work through others to solve a wide range of problems.

• Digital and/or AI Transformation experience.

• Experience with Six Sigma and process redesign.

• Strong business acumen with a results-oriented mindset.

• Demonstrated Success in Data-Led Innovations.

• Ability to lead large, cross-functional teams through influence and manage through ambiguity in fast-evolving environments.

• Strong Collaborator that can drive large change management and culture building efforts.

• Strong executive-level communication.

• Ability to work collaboratively to create clear goals, accountabilities, and outcomes.

Additional Requirements

Language Requirements:

• English

Physical Demands:

• Reasonable accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this job.

Travel Requirements:

• 5-10% travel

Work Environment:

• Primarily office environment at Sysco’s Global Support Center.

Decision Making Authority

Decisions to be made independently without direction or supervision:

Decision-making authority tied to AI Transformation in business/functional area of focus.

Decisions made with review/approval of other individuals/leadership:

AI Transformation prioritization will be made through review with the Executive Leadership Team (ELT). Show full description