Vice President, AI & Innovation

ROI Executive Search; California; On-site; USD 220,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

ROI Executive Search is partnering with a private US real estate firm to appoint a first-rate Vice President of AI & Innovation in Los Angeles. You will work closely with Asset Management, Acquisitions, Finance and Risk to define problems, build or select practical AI solutions, test quickly, and scale where value is proven.

You’ll start as a visible specialist leader and shape platform partnerships as the business grows.

Qualifications

• 10+ years in technology, data, digital transformation or innovation with senior AI/automation responsibility.
• 5+ years in real estate investment, asset management or owner-operator context.
• Experience moving AI/automation solutions into production with measurable business impact.
• Strong knowledge of modern AI, including agentic workflows and automation.
• Ability to build business cases, measure value, and stop non-viable work.
• Experience governance around AI: data access, security, human review, vendor controls and cost management.

Responsibilities

• Identify high-impact AI opportunities across Asset Management, Acquisitions, Finance, Risk and corporate functions.
• Lead or guide production-grade AI/automation initiatives with measurable outcomes.
• Collaborate with senior leaders to shape AI platform governance and capabilities.
• Drive cross-functional adoption, including non-technical teams, and ensure value realization.

Skills

AI leadership

Automation programs

Real estate experience

Governance for AI

Business case development

Vendor controls

Data governance

Microsoft 365

Fabric

SharePoint

Tools

Microsoft 365

Fabric

SharePoint

RealPage

Yardi

Job description

Los Angeles, California | Reports to the Chief Operating Officer

The Opportunity

We are partnering with a privately held US real estate investment and asset management company, with approximately $6 billion in assets under management, to appoint its first Vice President of AI & Innovation.

The business has already started experimenting with AI and has engaged external expertise to put enterprise infrastructure and controls in place. The next step is to turn that foundation into measurable business value: deciding where AI can improve decisions, remove repetitive work, increase capacity or reduce cost, and where it is simply not worth the investment.

This is not a strategy-only position, and it is not a traditional infrastructure CTO role. You will work directly with business leaders across Asset Management, Acquisitions, Finance, Risk and corporate functions to identify the right problems, build or select practical solutions, test them quickly and scale only what delivers. You will start as a highly visible specialist leader rather than inheriting a large team, and help shape the capabilities and partnerships the business needs as the platform grows.

What You Will Bring

• 10+ years in technology, data, digital transformation or innovation, including senior responsibility for AI and automation programs.
• 5+ years of experience in real estate, ideally within an investment, asset management or owner-operator business.
• Evidence of personally taking AI or automation solutions into production, and being able to explain the business result, cost and adoption.
• Strong working knowledge of modern AI, including agentic workflows and automation, not just personal productivity tools.
• Commercial discipline: you can build a business case, measure value and stop work when the economics do not support it.
• Experience putting practical governance around AI, including data access, security, human review, vendor controls and cost management.
• Comfort with Microsoft 365, Fabric and SharePoint. RealPage, Yardi or similar PropTech exposure is useful.
• A change leader who brings non-technical teams with them, and has the judgement to work directly with senior leadership and ownership.

Strong candidates may come from AI/Innovation leadership, Data & AI, Digital Transformation or CTO backgrounds where AI delivery has been a substantial part of the role.

Location

Los Angeles, California. This is a national search, and we welcome applications from candidates open to relocating.