Vice President, Data and Analytics (Chief Data Officer)

Job Summary:

Reporting to the EVP and Chief Information and Digital Officer, a CEO direct report, the VP, Data and Analytics (“Chief Data Officer”) is a key member of the Sysco global technology leadership team. They will lead a global enterprise team responsible for driving and supporting Sysco’s agenda through more effective use of data. The role is both strategically and tactically important to Sysco with tremendous influence and visibility throughout the entire global organization.

The VP, Data and Analytics has primary responsibility to lead the data strategy, execution and maintenance of our data platforms (structured and unstructured), reporting and analytics capabilities, data science and automation capabilities as well as partnering on the broader data governance mandates. They will also oversee the data steward program tasked with ensuring both the quality and fitness for purpose of Sysco’s data assets. They will identify opportunities to monetize data and/or differentiate Sysco in the market. Additionally, they will assist in driving key data based innovative solutions such as our artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI (GenAI) strategies. The VP, Data and Analytics will build cross-functional partnerships across global business leaders, geographically dispersed technology teams and functional teams to identify the most valuable opportunities in the practical implementation of data programs.

More specifically, they will drive strategy and results in the “three legs of the data stool” with more immediate or initial focus on:

• Data Platforms and Engineering: Innovate, consolidate and modernize both structured and unstructured data platforms while harmonizing data to drive more conformity for consistent usage. The acquisitive nature of Sysco combined with the abundance of data (SKUs, customers, suppliers, …) and our cross-sell, upsell opportunities puts a premium on accelerating laser focus in these areas. They will also work closely with their peer VP, Infrastructure and Operations partner to ensure effective data backups and restoration is consistent with best practices (inclusive of disaster recovery and business continuity).
• Data Governance: Working with the Board of Directors, Executive Leadership Team (ELT), CISO and business/technology peers, they will help ensure effective data protection (safeguarding information), data privacy (when/how data is used) and data governance. Specific to data governance, this includes both the standards and policies that apply to how data is gathered, stored, processed, accessed and disposed of as well as the meaning and relationships of the data, i.e., data dictionaries, date lineage, etc.
• Data Analytics and Value Creation: Consolidate disparate reporting and turn into forward-looking, predictive, and prescriptive intelligence fed by cutting edge AI and GenAI capabilities. Find new revenue streams via data. Ensure consistent use of KPIs that improve and streamline the management of Sysco. GenAI has created new opportunities that enhance the utilization of structured data, but more importantly unstructured data, and the deep learning algorithms/foundation models that GenAI is spawning. They will help drive Sysco’s broader automation strategy inclusive of even broader use of data science, machine learning, AI and Gen AI. Report the impact of data against a P&L lens.

In addition, responsible for creating and leading cost-out efficiencies for reinvestment while also building a labor strategy that recruits, retains and develops talent while providing rich career paths. Is a transformation leader who is the “data expert” skilled in technology yet having high equally important financial and business acumen; is an enthusiastic and collaborative professional with a strong and diverse skill set focused on strategy and portfolio management; has proven senior leadership experience in a highly dynamic setting; and is naturally inquisitive and has a passion for solving challenges. The leader’s organizational, communication, and influence skills are second to none and they enjoy defining and executing programs that usher in new levels of productivity and success for our organization and its associates. Additionally, embodies business acumen across sales and marketing, supply chain, finance and other functions and has seasoned accomplished leadership skills to identify, retain, coach and develop colleagues into high-performing teams.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Leadership and Team Management:

• Recruit, retain and develop talent while providing strong leadership that fosters a collaborative and innovative work environment.
• Set clear goals and objectives for the team; measure performance; and ensure alignment with organizational priorities.
• Foster a culture of continuous learning and development to enhance analytic and data expertise.
• Manage resource plans, operating and project budgets while measuring the value of the team’s results.

Data Strategy

• Develop and implement a strategic roadmap partnered with business and technology leaders that is in alignment with the broader business objectives and priorities.
• Identify opportunities to leverage data and analytics to drive business value, improve operational efficiency, and enhance customer experiences.
• Stay abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in analytics to drive innovation and competitive advantage.

Data Governance

• Co-lead/drive a data governance program and committee focused on data usage, retention and quality. Keep the business leadership informed and engaged.
• Co-drive risk mitigation strategies related to data inclusive of data protection and privacy, IP protection and compliance while properly managing risk regarding data hallucinations and the integrity of data conclusions.
• Oversee the Data Steward program whose participants will not only be evangelists of proper data use but also help ensure the quality and compliance of our data.

Data Platforms, Engineering and Architecture

• Consolidate and modernize all data platforms inclusive of data warehouses, structured and unstructured data solutions, master data management platforms, business intelligence / data analytics solutions and more.
• Deliver new capabilities that improve data hydration, reduce data storage costs and data duplication while also accelerating the usability of data across the organization.
• Participate in key projects inclusive of, but not limited to, M&A projects, FSMA-204 compliance, and more. Deploy resources to PODs as is necessarily for projects

Automation, Data Science, Machine Learning, AI and GenAI

• Align technologies with use cases that drive maximum business value.
• Create and scale solutions, models and methodologies that improve customer experiences, generate demand, enable improved assortments and merchandising, optimize pricing algorithms, assist in sales and customer retention, optimize supply chains and operations and more.
• Drive experimentation, perform data research and analysis, and perform simulations that allow for improved modeling of options and levers to more effectively lead Sysco.
• Work with business stakeholders, software engineers, architects and 3rd party partners to deliver AI and Gen AI solutions that deliver business value.

Reporting, Analytics, Visualization and Business Intelligence

• Drive the discovery of – and reduction of and optimization of – our existing dashboards while standardizing key performance indicators (KPIs) for the various business stakeholders and constituency groups. Continuously look for better ways to optimize analytic processes and methodologies.
• Move from static reporting to more predictive, prescriptive, and insight-driven data / dashboards.
• Embrace and help deploy federated models that support the concept of citizen developers inclusive of low-code/no-code solutions.

Innovation

• Incubate ideas and experiment via partnerships and co-innovation (vendors, universities, VC and PE firms, …) while also crowdsourcing concepts from employees, customers, and suppliers.
• Track venture capital and private equity investing and trends to ensure Sysco is properly leveraging new innovations.
• Work with peers and technology partners to understand trends and actions in data, AI, etc. Examples include understanding the trends in full stack solutions (end user apps with proprietary solutions or models) vs end-user applications (with native data and AI capabilities) vs infrastructure tooling (building our own platforms and tools). Understand and drive strategies around proprietary data models vs open-source, etc.

Education Required:

Bachelor's Degree in an analytical field (e.g., Technology, Mathematics, Business, Engineering) or relevant degree with proven industry experience

Education Preferred:

MBA or another advanced degree (highly preferred)

Experience and Attributes Required:

General

• Proven and relevant experience (typically 15+ years) in data, data platforms, data science, analytics, business intelligence, or related roles.
• Transformational leader with a process improvement mindset, a focus on continuous improvement and organizational change management experience.
• Has built cultures that embrace change and growth while rewarding results. Proven ability to “move the needle” in large, complex matrixed organizations.
• Quickly grasps the key business drivers in an industry or organization and across geographic boundaries.