Managing Director, Head of Data and AI

Job Description

Ares is seeking a Managing Director–level executive to serve as Head of Data and AI, the firm’s senior-most leader accountable for data and artificial intelligence strategy, outcomes, and governance across the global enterprise.

As Ares enters its next phase of growth across Private Credit, Liquid Credit, Private Equity, Real Assets, Secondaries, and adjacent strategies, this role is responsible for defining and delivering a cohesive, enterprise-wide Data and AI vision that underpins the firm’s investment platform, client experience, operational scale, and risk management capabilities. This leader will ensure that data and AI are treated as foundational strategic assets — governed, trusted, and leveraged consistently across the firm to drive decision quality, efficiency, and competitive advantage.

Reporting to the CIO and Head of Technology, the Head of Data and AI operates as an executive business and technology leader, partnering directly with Investment leadership, the CIO, Product heads, Risk, Operations, Legal, Compliance, and Finance to translate firm priorities into data- and AI-enabled outcomes. This role owns the enterprise Data and AI operating model, including strategy, governance, data products, master data management, AI enablement, and value realization.

The Head of Data and AI provides strategic direction and executive oversight to the Data and AI Engineering organization, led by a peer Managing Director, while retaining accountability for platform outcomes, architectural coherence, and business impact. This leader sets the “what” and the “why,” establishes firm-wide standards and priorities, and ensures that engineering execution, data stewardship, and AI adoption are aligned to Ares’ long-term objectives.

The successful candidate brings deep experience of operating on a scale within complex, regulated financial services environments and is equally effective as a visionary, operator, and influencer. This role requires high executive presence, strong storytelling ability, and credibility to lead firm-wide changes ensuring that Data and AI become durable, trusted, and value-generating capabilities embedded across Ares.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIP:

Reports to: Partner, CIO

Supervises:

• Managing Director, Head of AI Engineering & Data Platforms
• Managing Director, Data Product & Master Data Management
• Data Governance & Stewardship Leadership
• AI Strategy & Enablement Leads

PRIMARY FUNCTIONS & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Enterprise Data & AI Strategy

• Define and own the multi-year enterprise Data and AI strategy, aligned to Ares’ investment priorities, growth objectives, and operating model.
• Establish a clear point of view on how data and AI drive investment alpha, operational leverage, client experience, and risk transparency.
• Translate firm strategy into a coherent portfolio of data platforms, AI capabilities, and data products, with clear business outcomes and success metrics.
• Act as the executive steward for Data and AI across the firm, ensuring alignment, consistency, and strategic focus.

Data Ownership, Governance & Master Data Management

• Serve as the firm’s executive owner of enterprise data, accountable for data quality, consistency, lineage, and trust.
• Lead Master Data Management (MDM) across all critical domains (e.g., legal entities, issuers, securities, funds, clients, products, properties), spanning institutional and wealth management businesses.
• Establish and enforce enterprise data governance frameworks, including stewardship models, ownership accountability, data policies, and standards.
• Partner closely with Legal, Compliance, Risk, and Operations to ensure data platforms support regulatory, reporting, and control requirements globally.

AI Strategy, Enablement & Responsible Adoption

• Define the firm’s AI vision and adoption strategy, balancing innovation with control, transparency, and responsible use.
• Oversee enterprise AI enablement, including governance models for model usage, vendor tools, and internally developed capabilities.
• Lead firm-wide build-vs-buy decisioning for AI technologies, ensuring alignment with long-term strategic differentiation.
• Ensure AI solutions are embedded across investment workflows, operations, legal, compliance, and corporate functions with measurable outcomes.

Platform Oversight & Engineering Partnership

• Provide executive oversight for enterprise Data and AI platforms, ensuring architectural coherence, scalability, and alignment with firm priorities.
• Partner with the Head of Data and AI Engineering to ensure delivery excellence while maintaining strategic separation between vision, outcomes, and execution.
• Collaborate with Infrastructure, Security, Architecture, and Application leadership to ensure platforms meet requirements for resilience, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance.
• Hold engineering organizations accountable for outcomes while empowering autonomy in execution.

Firm-Level Transformation & Value Realization

• Lead complex, cross-functional transformation initiatives where data and AI are central enablers.
• Define KPIs and success metrics tied to business impact, not just platform delivery.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership on the art of the possible with data and AI.
• Represent Data and AI at executive committees, governance forums, and partner discussions.

Leadership & Culture

• Build and lead a world-class Data and AI leadership team, spanning strategy, governance, products, and enablement.
• Foster a culture of data-driven decision-making, accountability, and innovation across the firm.
• Develop talent and succession plans to support long-term capability building.
• Serve as a visible senior leader championing responsible, effective use of data and AI.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Experience & Background

• 20+ years of progressive experience in data, analytics, and technology leadership roles.
• Significant experience leading enterprise Data and AI functions within large, complex, regulated financial services organizations.
• Proven ability to operate at the C-suite and Partner level, influencing strategy and driving enterprise change.
• Demonstrated success owning data governance, MDM, and AI enablement at scale.

Technical & Strategic Expertise

• Strong foundational understanding of modern data and AI architectures, sufficient to set direction and evaluate trade-offs.
• Experience governing cloud-based data platforms and AI ecosystems (Azure preferred).
• Deep appreciation for enterprise architecture, security, data governance, and regulatory expectations.
• Strong judgment in evaluating emerging AI technologies and vendor platforms.

Education

• Bachelor’s degree required, advanced degree preferred.

Engineering, Computer Science, or quantitative background strongly preferred.

Reporting Relationships

Compensation

$375,000 - $425,000

There is no set deadline to apply for this job opportunity. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the search is no longer active.