Vice President, Data & AI Strategy

JOB SUMMARY

The Vice President, Data & AI Strategy is a senior leader responsible for shaping and advancing Choice Hotels’ enterprise artificial intelligence and data strategy, translating emerging capabilities into measurable business value. The role owns the enterprise AI strategy, AI use-case portfolio, data strategy, value realization, AI adoption and literacy, and emerging technology agenda. The Vice President partners across Product, Technology, Process Innovation & Transformation, Finance, and business leadership to prioritize investments and connect AI capabilities to a governed, scalable data foundation. This leader drives transformation through influence, ensuring AI investments improve business outcomes, guest and franchisee value, and how associates work. The role also builds and leads a senior, high-impact team of data and AI professionals.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Set the enterprise AI strategy. Own and continually evolve the enterprise AI strategy and roadmap, translating strategic priorities into a sequenced investment agenda spanning near-term opportunities and longer-term capabilities.
• Lead the enterprise AI use-case portfolio. Establish a disciplined approach for sourcing, evaluating, prioritizing, and retiring AI opportunities based on economic value, feasibility, data readiness, strategic differentiation, and measurable outcomes.
• Own and advance enterprise data strategy. Direct the strategic data capabilities required to enable AI at scale, including the data governance operating model, data catalog, semantic capabilities, data architecture, standards, and risk-based data practices.
• Deliver measurable business value. Build rigorous business cases for AI investments, establish success measures with Finance and business owners, and create accountability for realized benefits rather than technology deployment alone.
• Drive AI adoption and enterprise transformation. Lead AI literacy, adoption, change management, and enablement efforts that translate new capabilities into meaningful changes in roles, workflows, skills, behaviors, and operating practices across associates, franchisees, and hotel operations.
• Influence enterprise priorities. Serve as the Data & AI strategic voice in partnership with Product, Technology, and Process Innovation & Transformation, influencing investment and business decisions without necessarily having direct authority over the teams responsible for execution.
• Advise executive leadership on AI and data. Translate complex AI and data topics into clear strategic choices for senior executives, challenging assumptions and helping leaders distinguish substantive opportunities from technology hype.
• Monitor emerging technologies and market developments. Maintain a strong external network and informed perspective on generative AI, agents, machine learning, and adjacent emerging technologies, assessing their implications for distribution, guest experience, franchisee value, and Choice Hotels’ competitive position.
• Build and lead high-performing talent. Attract, develop, engage, and retain a high-impact team of senior AI and data professionals while establishing clear roles and accountabilities within a matrixed operating environment.
• Operate with Vice President-level enterprise leadership. Set functional vision and direction, make strategic resource and prioritization decisions, build collaborative cross-functional relationships, and operate independently against short- and long-term objectives. These expectations align with Choice Hotels’ Vice President management criteria.

QUALIFICATIONS

Employment Experience

• 14+ years of leadership and relevant functional experience, with experience leading AI, data, digital transformation, technology strategy, analytics, or related enterprise capabilities.
• Demonstrated experience shaping strategies that span multiple years and translating them into prioritized investments, operating plans, and measurable business outcomes.
• Significant experience partnering with executive-level stakeholders and influencing across functions in complex, matrixed organizations.
• Demonstrated record of leading organizational or business transformation, including changes to processes, customer experiences, operating models, workflows, or ways of working.
• Experience building, developing, and retaining high-performing teams, including senior or specialized talent.
• Industry or functional expertise in artificial intelligence, data, technology, transformation, or a closely related discipline. Choice Hotels’ VP-level framework calls for significant functional expertise and a high level of knowledge regarding functional and industry trends.

Technical Skills

• Strong working knowledge of generative AI, AI agents, machine learning, retrieval-augmented generation, model evaluation, and emerging AI capabilities.
• Strong understanding of enterprise data strategy and governance, including data catalogs, semantic layers, architecture considerations, standards, data quality, and risk-based governance.
• Demonstrated ability to build business cases and establish financial and operational measures for technology and transformation investments.
• Strong product-oriented approach, including problem definition, discovery, experimentation, minimum viable products, hypothesis testing, and evidence-based prioritization.

Additional Skills & Competencies

• Strategic business leadership: Connects AI and data investments directly to company strategy, customer and franchisee economics, operating models, and value creation.
• Executive influence and communication: Builds credibility with senior executives, communicates complex subjects clearly, and influences decisions across organizational boundaries.
• Financial and value orientation: Applies disciplined prioritization and focuses investment on opportunities capable of producing material, measurable business value.
• Transformation and change leadership: Understands the organizational, behavioral, role, workflow, and skill changes required to realize value from AI.
• Enterprise collaboration: Builds strong cross-functional relationships and successfully leads through influence in a matrixed operating model.

Education Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in business, technology, computer science, data science, information systems, engineering, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and work experience. Master’s degree preferred.

SALARY RANGE

The salary range for this position is $250,000 to $350,000 annually. In addition to the annual salary, this role is eligible for an annual bonus based on the terms of Choice's Management Incentive Plan (MIP), as well as annual awards of Choice Hotels International common stock through Choice’s Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTI Plan).

Choice prioritizes our associate wellbeing by offering a comprehensive benefits program that is both competitive and flexible to help you achieve your wellbeing goals - here are just a few:

• Competitive compensation and benefits, including medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Leave and paid time-off for holidays, vacation, personal, family, volunteer, sick, jury duty, bereavement, military, and religious observance
• Financial benefits for retirement and health savings
• Employee recognition programs
• Discounts at Choice hotels worldwide

About Choice

Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE: CHH), is one of the largest lodging franchisors in the world. With 7,500 hotels in 45+ countries and territories, we offer a range of high-quality lodging options in the upper upscale, upper midscale, midscale, extended stay, and economy segments. We’re the hotel company for those who choose to bet on themselves — the striver, the dreamer, the entrepreneur — because that’s who we are, too.

At Choice, we are united by the simple belief that tomorrow will be even better than today — for associates, our company, and our franchisees. At our worldwide corporate headquarters in North Bethesda, Maryland, at our technology center in Scottsdale, Arizona, and through our associates around the globe, every voice is heard and every idea is listened to, no matter what area of the company they come from. We are united in supporting the entrepreneurial dreams of our thousands of franchise owners, which propels us forward — giving our work at Choice a purpose larger than our business.

Our corporate office locations:

North Bethesda, MD — Located at Pike & Rose, our worldwide headquarters is less than 15 miles from Washington, D.C., one block away from the North Bethesda Metro station, with easy access to I-495, complimentary parking, electronic charging stations, restaurants and retail.

Scottsdale, AZ — Located at the northwest corner of Loop 101, the Scottsdale office is home to our technology, eCommerce and customer service organizations, with easy access to complimentary parking, electronic charging stations, restaurants and retail.

Minneapolis, MN — Select roles are based in our Minneapolis office on Highway 394, near the intersection with Highway 100, only five minutes from downtown.

Field/Remote — Select roles designated as field/remote will require associates to work from a home office, connecting virtually with Choice team members and leadership on Zoom, with possible required travel depending on the role.  

Choice’s Cultural Values

Welcome and Respect Everyone | Be Bold | Be Quick | Listen | Be Curious | Show Integrity

Choice’s Leadership Principles

Act with Intention | Lead with Authenticity | Grow & Deliver