Sovereign AI Strategy Lead for FSI

Equinix; Greater London; On-site; GBP 180,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

Equinix in London (UK) is seeking a Senior Director, Sovereign AI – FSI to lead the sovereign AI strategy for the financial services sector across EMEA and globally. You will shape vertical narratives, partnerships, and market engagement, turning regulatory and infrastructure insights into differentiated customer propositions.

You will collaborate with Product, Marketing, Channel, and Customer Success, translating complex regulatory and technical dynamics into practical outcomes, and establish

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in technology, enterprise digital infrastructure, sovereign cloud, or sovereign AI programs.
• Experience working within an FSI institution or leading a major FSI technology program in a large consulting organization.
• Deep understanding of European regulatory and assurance frameworks, including EUCS, NIS2, DORA, GDPR, the EU AI Act, SecNumCloud, BSI C5, NCSC frameworks, national equivalents, and infrastructure-procurement requirements.
• Strong familiarity with the CLOUD Act and European data-sovereignty concerns relating to US-jurisdiction infrastructure.
• Demonstrated ability to build market propositions, influence complex enterprise buying processes, and translate technical and regulatory requirements into commercial value.
• Bachelor’s degree in related field; MBA preferred.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead Equinix’s sovereign AI strategy for FSI across EMEA, with global relevance, and convert market, regulatory, and customer requirements into a clear commercial roadmap.
• Develop differentiated FSI vertical narratives, value propositions, use cases, ROI tools, and competitive positioning that enable field teams and partners to monetize sovereign AI opportunities.
• Own the agentic AI infrastructure narrative for regulated FSI environments, including the infrastructure, governance, security, data-residency, and interoperability requirements of agent-to-agent workloads.
• Deliver three priority regulatory outputs: a DORA Articles 28 and 30 due-diligence pack; an EU AI Act-aligned sovereign AI reference architecture for regulated industries; and a CLOUD Act response brief for European customers navigating US-jurisdiction risk.
• Build the sovereign AI reference architecture and blueprint demonstrating how Equinix’s neutral, operator-agnostic infrastructure addresses AI-sovereignty requirements and differentiates from hyperscaler-operated facilities.
• Translate EUCS, NIS2, DORA, GDPR, the EU AI Act, SecNumCloud, BSI C5, NCSC frameworks, national equivalents, and infrastructure-procurement requirements into practical guidance for customers, partners, and field teams.
• Develop and execute sovereign AI partner strategies with systems integrators, consulting firms, technology providers, and other ecosystem partners that influence or carry Equinix into FSI procurement processes.
• Engage strategic customers, regulatory institutions, industry alliances, and partners to identify market opportunities, shape demand, and strengthen Equinix’s position within the European sovereign AI ecosystem.
• Navigate complex institutional procurement cycles, multi-stakeholder decision processes, and political dynamics across regulated markets.
• Contribute to the Knowledge Spine FSI vertical sprint, producing field-ready sovereign AI use cases, ROI tools, reference materials, and competitive positioning.
• Serve as an Equinix spokesperson at industry events, partner summits, executive customer forums, and industry-alliance events.
• Lead C-level conversations with FSI customers, regulatory institutions, and strategic partners, credibly articulating what sovereign AI requires and how Equinix enables it.
• Align Product, Marketing, Channel, Digital Infrastructure Operations, Business Development, Customer Success, Sales, and regional teams around a coherent sovereign AI strategy and execution plan.
• Turn complex technical, regulatory, and market inputs into clear priorities, decision frameworks, and customer-facing outcomes.

Skills

Sovereign AI programs

Executive stakeholder mgmt

Regulatory knowledge

FSI experience

Strategic partnerships

Education

Bachelor’s degree in CS/AI/IS/Business

MBA or advanced degree preferred

Job description

Equinix in London (UK) is seeking a Senior Director, Sovereign AI – FSI to lead the sovereign AI strategy for the financial services sector across EMEA and globally. You will shape vertical narratives, partnerships, and market engagement, turning regulatory and infrastructure insights into differentiated customer propositions.

You will collaborate with Product, Marketing, Channel, and Customer Success, translating complex regulatory and technical dynamics into practical outcomes, and establish