Chief IT Officer

The Chief IT Officer (CITO) is the organization’s most senior technology executive, responsible for unifying enterprise IT operations and AI-driven innovation under one strategic mandate. The CITO owns the full technology stack — from infrastructure, cybersecurity, and communication systems to AI agents, automation pipelines, and LLM-powered products — ensuring all platforms are secure, scalable, and future-ready. Reporting directly to the CEO, this role drives organization-wide digital transformation across the SAP, IT, and Digital departments.

Key Responsibilities

IT Infrastructure, Security & Operations

• Infrastructure, Connectivity & Device Management
• Architect and manage enterprise LAN/WAN, cloud platforms, VPNs, wireless networks, and all end-user hardware (computers, mobile devices, scanners, peripherals).
• Ensure 99.99% uptime across offices, plants, and remote environments with proactive lifecycle management.
• Oversee communication and collaboration platforms: email (Outlook/Exchange/Gmail), MS Teams, Slack, Zoom, and VoIP/IP telephony.

Cybersecurity, Physical Security & Compliance

• Define and enforce cybersecurity policies: endpoint protection, firewalls, intrusion prevention, access control, and data protection compliance.
• Conduct regular IT security audits and manage physical security systems including CCTV and access control.
• Establish AI governance and data privacy standards, ensuring all technology deployments meet regulatory and ethical requirements.

IT Support, Asset & Vendor Management

• Lead a centralized helpdesk with structured ticketing, SLA monitoring, and root-cause analysis; drive support automation for faster resolution.
• Oversee full IT asset lifecycle — procurement, tracking, utilization, and retirement — with real-time inventory and periodic audits.
• Manage all technology vendors (infrastructure, cloud, cybersecurity, AI platforms); negotiate contracts and monitor SLA performance.

Artificial Intelligence, Automation & Digital Products

• AI Agents, Automation & LLM Solutions
• Design and deploy intelligent agents, copilots, chatbots, workflow automation assistants, and RAG pipelines.
• Fine-tune, prompt-engineer, and continuously optimize LLM solutions; manage vector databases and embeddings (Pinecone, Weaviate, FAISS, Chroma).
• Automate document understanding using OCR, NLP, and large language models.

ERP/Enterprise AI Integration & Predictive Analytics

• Integrate AI/ML capabilities with ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite) to streamline operations.
• Build predictive analytics models supporting finance, procurement, and sales; develop dashboards and SaaS platforms for business intelligence.
• Lead or oversee Odoo implementation projects including module configuration, customisation, data migration, and user adoption across departments.

AI Product Development & Cloud Deployment

• Build scalable backend APIs (FastAPI/Flask/Node.js) and modern frontends (React/Next.js/Vue.js) for AI-enabled products.
• Deploy, monitor, and maintain AI solutions on cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP) with DevOps best practices (Docker, CI/CD, Kubernetes).
• Track model performance and drive continuous improvement based on production feedback.

Strategy, Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Technology Roadmap & Executive Reporting
• Define and maintain a unified technology roadmap spanning IT infrastructure and AI/automation initiatives, aligned with organizational growth.
• Provide regular executive reporting on infrastructure performance, AI project status, risk posture, and digital transformation milestones.

Team Building & Cross-Departmental Enablement

• Build and lead a high-performing team of network engineers, system administrators, cybersecurity specialists, AI/ML engineers, and DevOps professionals.
• Define KPIs, career development plans, and role structures to foster a high-performance technology culture.
• Collaborate with SAP, IT, and Digital departments to enable seamless ERP operations, access management, and innovation initiatives.

Skills & Competencies

Functional Skills

• Enterprise networking (LAN/WAN, VPN, cloud)
• Cybersecurity governance & compliance
• Communication & collaboration platforms
• IT asset & device lifecycle management
• IT support systems & SLA management
• Vendor negotiation & contract management
• SAP / ERP infrastructure support (incl. Odoo)

Behavioral Competencies

• Python (advanced); TensorFlow, PyTorch, LangChain
• LLM APIs: OpenAI, Hugging Face, Anthropic
• RAG pipelines & vector databases (Pinecone, FAISS, Weaviate)
• OCR / Document AI tools
• Backend: FastAPI / Flask / Node.js
• Frontend: React.js / Next.js / TypeScript
• Cloud: AWS / Azure / GCP | DevOps: Docker, CI/CD, Kubernetes
• Databases: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB

Qualifications & Experience Education Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.

Experience 12+ years of progressive experience in IT operations and/or AI/ML, with at least 5 years in a senior leadership role.

Proven expertise in enterprise networking, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, and AI/ML product development. Demonstrated experience delivering AI-powered applications and automation solutions at scale.

Familiarity with:

• SAP, Odoo and ERP infrastructure requirements
• Multi-agent systems
• Voice AI
• Computer Vision
• Advanced Prompt Engineering
• UI/UX sensibility for AI products.

Certifications CISSP, AWS/Azure Architect, ITIL 4, SAP Technology Associate, AWS/Azure AI Specialty