Vice President, Infrastructure & Operations

Position Purpose:
The Vice President of Cloud Infrastructure & Operations (VP I&O) is responsible for steering the strategic direction and operational excellence of the organization's cloud infrastructure ecosystem providing seamless service to our business customers across all verticals and a world class end user experience to our associates. This role demands comprehensive expertise in managing cloud environments and infrastructure technologies, including Azure, M365, Cloud Networking, end user compute, and others while ensuring robust security, optimized performance, and regulatory compliance. With a focus on fostering innovation, collaboration, resilience, and security, the leader will drive infrastructure automation, application migration, and cost management initiatives, while cultivating strategic vendor and stakeholder relationships to support the company's growth and operational objectives.
This leader should drive improvements in the end user experience through leveraging AI-enabled processes, tools, and capabilities. This is a strategic executive role responsible for delivering infrastructure platforms and operational capabilities that enable digital transformation, support AI adoption, and drive competitive advantage—while maintaining operational excellence and managing enterprise risk. The VP I&O bridges technical expertise with business acumen, positioning infrastructure as a strategic enabler of enterprise objectives. This role demands equal fluency in technical architecture, platform engineering, financial stewardship, talent transformation, and stakeholder engagement at the C-suite level.
Key Responsibilities:
• Introduces innovative, differentiating infrastructure and operations capabilities that enhance our overall competitive capabilities and enhance employee productivity.
• Defines, develops, and manages a comprehensive and integrated IT Service Management (ITSM) landscape, based on best-practice processes, disciplines, and AI-enabled toolsets to improve user experience.
• Drives alignment of I&O strategies to the organization’s environmental, growth and governance goals.
• Develops and controls the annual I&O budget to ensure that it's consistent with the overall strategic objectives of IT and the enterprise and is within plan. Creates a culture of continuous cost optimization.
• Collaborates with the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) to ensure I&O contributes to, embraces, and applies security strategy.
• Directs the development of an I&O sourcing strategy and provides executive oversight for strategic vendor and partner relationship management.
• Develops the maturity of I&O to improve efficiency, deliver new innovations and increase collaboration with other IT and business areas (e.g., through Agile, DevOps, platform, and product approaches).
• Drives the adoption of (and commitment towards) service improvements through a programmatic approach to continuous improvement which also measures impact and shares results.
• Establish and uphold comprehensive cloud security frameworks, ensuring regulatory compliance and proactively addressing security threats to protect sensitive data and intellectual property.
• Forge and nurture strategic partnerships with vendors and stakeholders to enhance infrastructure capabilities and support innovation, while leading contract negotiations to drive operational excellence.
• Cultivate a high-performance culture within infrastructure & operations team, fostering collaboration and innovation to achieve organizational goals and drive continuous improvement in operational outcomes.
• Embraces and introduces AI capabilities throughout the I&O landscape including end user experience, IT Ops, ITSM, Service Desk, and all areas of the team.
• Align infrastructure roadmaps with enterprise digital transformation priorities, including AI/GenAI adoption, cloud optimization, and regulatory requirements.
• Build credibility with executive leadership through flawless execution, transparent communication, and demonstrated linkage between infrastructure decisions and business value, risk reduction, and operational resilience.
• Integrate observability and resilience governance, ensuring observability investments demonstrably improve detection, diagnosis, incident recovery, and service availability.
• Build a future-ready I&O workforce by evolving talent strategy from traditional org structures to modern roles that support AI-driven automation, cross-skilling, and scalable resources.
Direct Manager Direct Reports:
Reporting Structure:
The Vice President of Infrastructure and Operations reports directly to the Chief Information Officer.
Direct Reports:
The Vice President of Infrastructure and Operations directly supervises a team of senior leaders responsible for cloud operations, network architecture, infrastructure security, application migration, service desk, infrastructure operations, end user experience and vendor management. This team is instrumental in executing strategic initiatives and maintaining operational excellence across the organization's cloud and infrastructure environments.
Travel Requirements:
The Vice President of Cloud Infrastructure and Operations may be required to travel domestically and internationally, as necessary, to meet strategic objectives, engage with global vendors, oversee infrastructure projects, and participate in industry conferences or leadership meetings.
Physical Requirements:
The Vice President of Cloud Infrastructure and Operations primarily involves work in a standard office environment and requires the ability to perform tasks that are typically associated with office-based positions. This includes frequent communication and interaction with team members and stakeholders, both on-site and remotely, necessitating clear and effective verbal and written communication skills. The position involves long periods of sitting and operating a computer, including using a keyboard and mouse, viewing a computer monitor, and handling digital documents. Additionally, occasional light lifting and carrying of materials, such as laptops or documents, may be required. Reasonable accommodations will be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role, ensuring equal opportunities and an inclusive work environment compliant with ADA standards.
Working Conditions:
The Vice President of Cloud Infrastructure and Operations is designed within a dynamic and adaptable working environment, reflecting our commitment to flexibility and productivity. The position supports a hybrid work model, allowing for a strategic blend of office-based engagements at our corporate headquarters, as well as remote work opportunities, thereby fostering both collaborative innovation and independent, focused execution. This leadership role operates within a high-energy, fast-paced environment, where priorities shift swiftly to align with evolving business needs and technological advancements. The position demands a decisive, deadline-driven approach, as you will be expected to navigate complex challenges, deliver strategic outcomes without compromising quality, and consistently drive excellence in cloud infrastructure operations.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field; a Master’s degree is preferred.
- Extensive experience in a senior leadership role within cloud infrastructure operations in a complex, global organization.
- Demonstrated expertise in managing cloud environments, including Azure or Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and optimizing cloud networking architecture through technologies such as Zscaler..
- Comprehensive understanding of cloud security frameworks, compliance requirements, and risk management principles.
- Strong proficiency in application migration strategies, cost optimization techniques, and cloud governance best practices.
- Leadership experience with Azure Active Directory, Office 365, SharePoint, Teams, Identity and Access Management (IAM) solutions, and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) administration.
- Familiarity with managing distributed branch SD-WAN networks and WiFi capabilities.
- Exceptional leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to drive consensus and inspire teams to achieve ambitious goals.
- Business acumen & strategic thinking: Ability to translate enterprise strategy into infrastructure roadmaps, align technical decisions with business priorities, and articulate infrastructure value in business and risk language.
Preferred Qualifications:
· Master's degree in Business Administration, Information Technology, or a related discipline, complementing technical expertise with strategic business acumen.
· Professional certifications relevant to cloud technologies and security, such as AWS Certified Solutions Architect, Google Cloud Professional Cloud Architect, or Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), enhance credibility and showcase commitment to continuous learning.
· Proven experience in steering digital transformation initiatives, specifically related to cloud adoption and modernization, resulting in measurable improvements in organizational efficiency and agility.
· In-depth knowledge of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and edge computing, demonstrating the ability to integrate these advancements into cloud infrastructure strategies to