Executive Director, CAAI and Booth AI Transformation

The University Of Chicago; Chicago, Northern (IL, KY); Hybrid; USD 230,000 - 250,000; Full time

Job summary

The Executive Director, AI Center and AI Transformation, is a newly created, dual‑mandate role at Chicago Booth School of Business. This position carries two complementary accountabilities: executive leadership of the Center for Applied AI (CAAI) and responsibility for Booth's AI transformation agenda in coordination with the CIO.

Success is measured by adoption of best‑practice AI initiatives across Booth, with a focus on literacy, governance, and equitable deployment, including Claude platform

Qualifications

• 10+ years of work experience in a related field.
• Bachelor's degree; MBA or related advanced degree preferred.
• Proven track record in change management, stakeholder engagement, and executive leadership.

Responsibilities

• Guides the Center's mission and vision as AI needs evolve, partnering with the Director.
• Serves as the senior external representative of the Center in academic, industry, and policy contexts.
• Champions the Center's interests in university forums and cross‑institutional AI initiatives.
• Mentors the Center leadership team and staff.
• Develops and stewards a multi‑year AI transformation strategy and metrics for adoption.

Skills

Leadership

Change management

Stakeholder engagement

Strategic thinking

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree

MBA or related advanced degree

Tools

Claude platform

Job description

Department

Booth Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence

About the Department

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business is the second-oldest business school in the U.S. and second to none when it comes to influencing business education and business practices. Since 1898, the school has produced ideas and leaders that shape the world of business. Their rigorous, discipline-based approach to business education transforms students into confident, effective, respected business leaders prepared to face the toughest challenges. Chicago Booth has the finest set of facilities of any business school in the world. Each of the four campuses (two in Chicago, one in London, and one in Hong Kong) reflects the architectural traditions of its environs while offering a state-of-the-art learning environment. Chicago Booth is proud to claim:

• an unmatched faculty
• degree and open enrollment programs offered on three continents
• a global body of nearly 56,000 accomplished alumni
• strong and growing corporate relationships that provide a wealth of lifelong career opportunities

As part of the world-renowned University of Chicago, Chicago Booth shares the University's core values that shape the distinctive intellectual culture. At Booth, they constantly question and test ideas, and seek proof. This extraordinarily effective approach to business leads to new ideas and innovative solutions. Seven of the Booth faculty members have won Nobel Prizes for these ideas - the first business school to achieve this accomplishment. For more information about the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, please visit: http://www.chicagobooth.edu/.

Job Summary

The Executive Director, AI Center and AI Transformation, is a newly created, dual-mandate role at Chicago Booth School of Business. This position carries two complementary accountabilities that together make it uniquely consequential, institutional executive leadership of the Center for Applied AI (CAAI), and School-wide responsibility for driving Booth's AI transformation agenda in close coordination with the CIO. In the AI Center capacity, the Executive Director serves as the executive steward of the Center partnering closely with the Director, Center for Applied AI, who leads the Center's day-to-day operations and programmatic excellence. In the AI Transformation capacity, the Executive Director is Booth's primary architect of enterprise AI adoption, mapping the landscape of existing initiatives, resolving gaps and overlaps, advancing AI literacy across faculty, students, and staff, and coordinating with Booth IT on Institution-wide AI deployments such as the Claude platform rollout. Success is measured by the degree to which the entire Booth organization confidently adopts best practice AI initiatives aligned with departmental objectives. This position is not eligible for employer-sponsored employment authorization.

Responsibilities

• Guides the evolution of the Center's mission and vision as AI and Booth's needs advance, partnering with the Director, who leads all Center operations, staff, and programs with day-to-day accountability
• Serves as the senior external representative of the Center in high-stakes academic, industry, and policy contexts, opening doors, deepening relationships, and elevating Booth's profile in the applied AI landscape.
• Champions the Center's interests in University-level forums, governance bodies, and cross-institutional AI initiatives, ensuring CAAI's voice is present where strategic decisions are made.
• Serves as a mentor to the Center leadership team and staff.
• Develops and stewards a multi-year AI transformation strategy grounded in Booth's educational mission; defines school-wide goals and success metrics for AI adoption and advises the Dean's Office and CIO on emerging AI trends, opportunities, and risks.
• Maps, catalogues, and critically assesses existing AI-related initiatives across Booth; identifies gaps and overlaps to enable coordinated, accountable adoption without duplicating the efforts of existing units.
• Leads an enterprise-wide change management effort that actively brings all audiences to AI usage, addressing concerns about academic integrity, equity, and job displacement, and building broad-based confidence in AI's role at Booth.
• Designs and oversees AI literacy and enablement programs tailored to the distinct needs of faculty, students, and staff; identifies early adopters, builds feedback loops, and executes a communications strategy through town halls, listening sessions, and targeted outreach, that keeps all constituencies informed and empowered.
• Works with the existing AI Awareness and Training team to advance AI literacy at Booth.
• Serves as main point of contact on developing and coordinating all teaching and classroom AI initiatives in conjunction with the Dean's Office and Faculty Services.
• Integrates enterprise AI pilots into the broader strategic plan; partners closely with Booth IT and, through Booth IT, coordinates with University ITS on institutional deployments such as the Claude platform rollout.
• Develops and stewards AI use across research, teaching, and administration, addressing academic integrity, data privacy, and equity, closely coordinating with key partner departments at Booth.
• Provides strategic leadership for a Center with senior management and serves as a liaison to academic departments, professional organizations and administrative units of the University.
• Manages multiple related teams.
• Establishes department priorities, is responsible for the management of the center budget, allocates resources and executes strategic plans.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications

• Education: Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
• Work Experience: Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 10+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.
• Certifications: ---

Preferred Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor's degree. MBA or related advanced degree.
• Experience: Progressive leadership experience with demonstrated success driving organizational change in complex, multi-stakeholder environments. Background in or with higher education.
• Preferred Competencies Demonstrated ability to translate enterprise AI capabilities and technical team outputs into practical, accessible programs for non-technical audiences; hands-on familiarity with AI platforms such as Claude or comparable enterprise tools.
• Proven track record in change management, including successfully engaging skeptical constituencies; background in innovation, entrepreneurship, consulting, or digital transformation.
• Exceptional stakeholder engagement, facilitation, and communication skills — written, verbal, and presentation — to build trust and consensus across academic faculty, IT professionals, and administrators without direct authority.
• Executive-level relationship management and fundraising experience; comfortable representing an institution in high-profile external settings.
• Strategic thinker with strong execution instincts; comfortable in ambiguity, managing competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Professional demeanor including tact, discretion, and a service-oriented approach.

Working Conditions

This position is currently expected to work a minimum three days per week in the office.

Job Family Metadata

• Job Family Administration & Management Role Impact People Manager
• Scheduled Weekly Hours 37.5
• Drug Test Required
• No Health Screen Required
• No Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
• No Pay Rate Type Salary
• FLSA Status Exempt
• Pay Range $230,000.00 - $250,000.00

Benefits

• Benefits Eligible Yes The University of Chicago offers a wide range of benefits programs and resources for eligible employees, including health, retirement, and paid time off.

Posting Statement

The University of Chicago is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or expression, national or ethnic origin, shared ancestry, age, status as an individual with a disability, military or veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law.

For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form. All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history. A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment. Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case‑case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

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The University of Chicago is an urban research university that has driven new ways of thinking since 1890. Our commitment to free and open inquiry draws inspired scholars to our global campuses, where ideas are born that challenge and change the world. Students in the College develop critical, analytic, and writing skills in our rigorous, interdisciplinary core curriculum. Through graduate programs, students test their ideas with UChicago scholars, and become the next generation of leaders in academia, industry, nonprofits, and government.

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