Field CTO

The Field CTO is the highest-ranking technical sales level within AHEAD. In the role, you will serve in multiple functions including cooperation with the AHEAD Sales and Presales leadership to manage the technical go-to-market and account strategies for our most valued clients as well as providing valued leadership through go-to-market and enablement activities, coupled with partner relationships, and keeping an eye towards emerging technologies and trends with a focus on AI initiatives and client program advancement. 

In this role, you are a senior thought leader within the technical organization, responsible for providing valued input to marketing programs, enabling others within the organization, writing white papers/blogs and providing other thought leadership, assisting the solutions development organization, presenting at industry events and executive briefings and consulting for AHEAD clients. We expect a Field CTO for AI to possess or acquire expert knowledge across our Enterprise AI Program including AI strategy, AI Governance, overall operating model, AI and data security, data-centric enterprise infrastructure, and data-readiness programs. A Field CTO for AI, should command a solid understanding of data science methods and tools, spanning both traditional analytics and Generative AI. A Field CTO for AI should be skilled in translating the emerging challenges of our clients and building relationships. They should be comfortable with change, be able to actively listen and read a room, be excellent at storytelling, and have a professional persona and polish.

The successful Field CTO will have excellent communication skills, be a dynamic speaker with the ability to pivot in customer interactions and display a sense of confidence while still being personable and likeable. The candidate must have an established reputation and experience with driving product and services sales, focusing on client outcomes, across a wide range of technologies. While not a requirement, the successful candidate typically has practical experience from employment across at least two of the following: customer IT leadership, enterprise AI program leadership, manufacturer presales, and partner/channel presales. 

The successful Field CTO uses excellent sales and/or presales experience, in partnership with account teams, to help build cohesive account strategies for strategic current and prospective clients. You will help teams identify potential solutions, technologies, and vendors, and provide guidance on successful sales strategies. 

Education is critical to your success at AHEAD. You are expected to continually educate not only yourself, but also our clients and your team resources. We also want the Field CTO to gain understanding of broad industry trends and to spend time with your peers within our strategic partners to understand emerging industry trends and vendor plans to provide this feedback back through the organization to influence AHEAD’s future direction. 

Roles and Responsibilities

• Understand and articulate AHEAD's value and vision to our clients, partners, and teammates 
• Assist strategic sales teams in qualifying sales opportunities and aligning AHEAD’s portfolio to client technical challenges, decision making process and investment approaches 
• Drive account team efforts to become more strategic within current clients 
• Assist account teams with identifying high-value, strategic activities and relationship building in support of acquiring new strategic clients 
• Work with our partner ecosystem to demonstrate thought leadership, solution alignment, and brand development 
• Support efforts to advance alignment with research, venture capital, and development partnerships 
• Facilitate Executive and Visioning Experiences with clients and partners 
• Qualify and help position consulting engagements and services 
• Provide coaching and mentoring to team resources to enhance their solution knowledge, technical acumen, and presales skill sets 
• Prioritize opportunities and efforts on maximizing total impact on team productivity and profit 
• Provide feedback to improve internal efficiencies 
• Collaborate with Practice General Managers to provide input and suggestions for new solutions and offerings 
• Present regularly at AHEAD events, user groups, conferences, and forums 
• Support and participate in technical communities 
• Attend strategic war room sessions to align with "big deal" and strategic account planning to provide an additional perspective 

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in computer science, engineering, statistics, mathematics, or equivalent 
• Advanced degree in data science or related field preferred 
• 10+ years Presales or IT Leadership experience is required 
• Previous practical experience leading AI/ML or data strategy preferred 
• Previous experience in research and high-performance computing is a plus 
• Strong industry expertise in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, financial services, research is a plus 
• Extensive knowledge/experience in multiple areas across: AI/Data Strategy, Cloud Data Platforms, Accelerated Computing Platforms (including HPC), Data Science, Model Operations 
• Ability to translate business requirements into data-driven and AI-enabled solutions 
• Professional communication, presentation, analytical, and problem-solving skills 
• Experience working as a technical lead in a sales campaign 
• Tenaciously customer-focused and outcome-driven 
• Ability to work under critical conditions and influence others to achieve results 
• Strong interpersonal skills with excellent presentation skills 
• Must be independent, self-motivated, a self-starter and possess a good working attitude 
• Able to work well within a team and partner environment 
• Demonstrated social and self-awareness 
• Advanced content creation and demonstrated thought leadership skills are a plus 
• Existing relationships and personal brand in the geography aligned to the position are desirable and considered valuable