Head of Product, Data and Agent Distribution

Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 311,100 - 477,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% 401(k) match up to 6%

Paid Sabbatical Program

Tuition reimbursement

Paid volunteering days

Job summary

Morningstar Credit Ratings, LLC is seeking a Head of Product, Data and Agent Distribution to drive the strategy and development of data and AI-powered products. This role requires a leader with over 15 years of experience in data products, a strong understanding of financial markets, and expertise in modern data distribution models.

The ideal candidate will lead product innovations, understand client workflows, and expand Morningstar's data ecosystem while fostering a high-performance team in a flexible hybrid work environment.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in senior management within financial markets or related fields.
• 15+ years in data products or API-based businesses.
• Deep experience with modern data distribution models.

Responsibilities

• Define and execute a strategy for data products and APIs.
• Expand Morningstar data into cloud platforms.
• Build a scalable, extensible data platform.
• Understand how clients consume data and innovate accordingly.
• Lead a globally distributed high-performance team.

Skills

Financial Markets or Investments Experience

Leadership in Data & Platform-Driven Business

Data Distribution & Platform Architecture Expertise

AI and Product Innovation

Commercialization & Customer Orientation

Job description

Mission

Morningstar’s mission is “Empowering Investor Success.” The Morningstar Direct Platform is our original and core product and largest revenue business that provides public‑market investors comprehensive data, research, insights, and analytics to enable that mission.

Overview

Scott Brown, the newly appointed leader of the Direct Platform, seeks a strategic hire to partner on accelerating the platform’s growth in the age of AI. The Head of Product, Data and Agent Distribution will lead the strategy, development, and monetization of Morningstar’s data and AI‑powered products focused on public markets, defining how data and agentic intelligence are built, packaged, and delivered across channels.

Key Responsibilities

• Data & Agentic Product Strategy: Define and execute a unified strategy for data products, APIs, and agentic capabilities for the Direct Platform business, owning the roadmap and development of agentic capabilities, and leading the transition from legacy data feeds to modern, AI‑powered distribution models.
• Distribution, APIs & Ecosystem Expansion: Drive expansion of Morningstar data into cloud data platforms (e.g., Snowflake, Databricks) and third‑party technology marketplaces, define and scale distribution through APIs, DaaS, LLM integrations, and partner platforms, and identify and execute build/buy/partner opportunities.
• Platform & Technical Leadership: Partner with engineering and product leaders to build a scalable, extensible data and agent platform, lead the roadmap for modernization, define standards for data architecture, APIs, and agent interfaces, and embed AI into data products and distribution.
• Customer & Market Understanding: Deeply understand how developers, enterprise platforms, and data‑driven clients consume and integrate data, translating usage patterns into product and platform innovation and designing products optimized for programmatic consumption.
• Team Leadership: Build and lead a high‑performing, globally distributed team, fostering a culture of ownership, accountability, and innovation, and acting as a connector across product, technology, data, partnerships, and commercial teams.

Ideal Experience

• Financial Markets or Investments Experience – 5+ years in senior management as a financial markets participant or a company catering to financial markets participants, with a strong understanding of market dynamics, asset classes, and client workflows.
• Leadership in Data & Platform‑Driven Business – 15+ years in data products, data platforms, AI products, or API‑based businesses in enterprise environments, with a proven record of owning and scaling a data‑ or platform‑driven revenue stream.
• Data Distribution & Platform Architecture Expertise – deep experience with modern data distribution models, including APIs, data feeds, and cloud data platforms (e.g., Snowflake, Databricks), and leading data migration from legacy delivery models.
• AI and Product Innovation – demonstrated experience building or leading AI‑powered or agentic products (e.g., LLM‑enabled applications, intelligent automation), with transformation experience a plus.
• Commercialization & Customer Orientation – proven ability to define and execute data monetization strategies, including pricing, packaging, licensing, and usage‑based models, and experience working with developers and data‑centric customer segments.

Capabilities

• Collaborating and Influencing – communicates the broader vision of Morningstar’s mission, sets expectations across the organization, and advocates for impactful changes.
• Leading Change – models high ethics, provides guidance and direction, and fuels organizational momentum.
• Driving Results – proactively improves processes, raises quality and productivity, and benchmarks performance against industry best practices.

Benefits and Compensation

• Financial Health: 100% 401(k) match up to 6% of salary, Company‑provided life insurance, Physical health benefits, Wellness incentives, and Tuition reimbursement.
• Emotional Health: Trust‑Based Time Off, Paid Sabbatical Program, Paid Family Caregiving Leave, Competitive Parental Leave, and Adoption Assistance.
• Social Health: Charitable Matching Gifts, Paid volunteering days, Employee Resource & Affinity Groups.
• Compensation: Total Cash Compensation Range $311,100.00–$477,000.00 (inclusive of annual base salary and target incentive).
• Hybrid Work Environment: Four days in‑office each week with flexible tools and resources for global collaboration.

Morningstar is an E‑Verify program participant. EEO is the Law: Morningstar is strongly committed to creating and preserving equal opportunity for all employees and applicants and will make all employment decisions without regard to race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, protected veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, genetic information, citizenship, gender identity and expression, parental status, or other legally protected characteristics.