AI Transformation Lead

AI Transformation Lead | Retail | NRW - Hybrid | €120-150k + | C1 GermanAI Futures has been engaged to find an AI Transformation Lead for one of Germany’s major retail groups - a business operating at scale across physical and digital channels, with the size, complexity, and ambition to make AI transformation a genuine strategic priority rather than a proof-of-concept exercise.The companyA major German retail organisation with operations spanning hundreds of locations, millions of customer interactions, and a supply chain and commercial infrastructure that generates data at a scale most companies will never reach. The business has committed to AI as a core part of how it operates - embedded in merchandising, pricing, demand planning, customer experience, store operations, and digital commerce. The AI Transformation Lead role sits at the centre of that commitment: responsible for turning strategy into delivery, and delivery into lasting organisational capability.The roleYou will lead the organisation’s AI transformation - defining how AI is prioritised, governed, and embedded across the business. This is not a research or advisory role. You will own a portfolio of AI initiatives across commercial, operations, and customer-facing functions. Drive adoption with business leadership who are accountable for results; and you will build the internal capability - people, processes, tooling - that makes AI-driven ways of working stick.The scope is broad. The impact is real. You will be working with business units that move billions in revenue, on problems - pricing optimisation, inventory intelligence, customer personalisation, store operations - where the ROI of getting AI right is material and visible.What you’ll doDefine and own the AI transformation roadmap across the retail group - identifying the highest-value use cases across merchandising, pricing, demand forecasting, supply chain, customer experience, and digital commerce, and sequencing delivery for maximum business impactDrive delivery of AI initiatives end to end - from use case definition and prioritisation through to production deployment and adoption, working in close partnership with Data, Engineering, and Product teamsBuild AI literacy and capability across the organisation - developing leaders, equipping business units to work effectively with AI tools and outputs, and embedding AI-first ways of working into how the business operatesAct as the internal authority on applied AI for the business: advising the executive team, translating technical possibilities into commercial decisions, and providing clear governance frameworks for responsible AI useLead a cross-functional AI transformation team and manage senior stakeholders across commercial, operations, digital, and technology - aligning competing priorities around a coherent programmeDefine the metrics and reporting frameworks that make transformation visible - tracking adoption, ROI, and business impact in a way that drives accountability and investment confidenceRepresent the organisation’s AI agenda externally where relevant - with technology partners, industry peers, and in the growing conversation around AI in European retailWhat you’ll bringA track record of leading AI or digital transformation at scale in a retail, consumer goods, or closely adjacent industry - you have done this before in an organisation with real operational complexity, not just in a lab or consulting contextDeep understanding of retail business models: pricing and promotion, inventory and demand, customer lifetime value, omnichannel commerce, and the data infrastructure that sits beneath all of itThe ability to operate credibly at both C-suite and engineer level - you can present transformation strategy to a supervisory board and then walk into a data science team meeting and engage on model designExperience building and leading cross-functional teams through significant organisational change - you understand how to bring people with you, not just move fast and lose themPractical familiarity with the AI and ML tooling used in retail environments - recommendation engines, demand forecasting models, pricing optimisation, computer vision in store operations, LLM-based customer service and searchStrong commercial instincts: you think in revenue impact, margin improvement, and customer outcomes - not just in model accuracy metricsDesirableExperience with large-scale B2C retail operations - particularly high-SKU environments such as electronics, home improvement, wholesale, or beauty/lifestyleFamiliarity with the European retail technology landscape - ERP and POS modernisation, composable commerce, customer data platforms, and the AI tooling built on top of themExperience working with or at a major European retailer undergoing digital transformationLocation & PackageNRW - hybrid, location flexible. Travel sometimes required. €120-150k + performance bonus structureSenior leadership roleAI Futures have been engaged exclusively for this search.If this sounds like an exciting challenge to you please apply below.AI Futures | Filling the AI Skills Gap ®