Director-Strategic Planning

Job Description

At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. From delivering differentiated products to providing world-class customer service, we operate with a strong risk mindset, ensuring we continue to uphold our brand promise of trust, security, and service.

As part of Team Amex, you'll experience this powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career. Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.

The Team

The Enterprise AI Transformation Office sits at the center of one of the company’s most important strategic priorities: harnessing AI and automation to fundamentally transform how we operate, serve customers, and create long-term enterprise value.

This program is designed to deliver outsized impact across three critical audiences:

• Customers: Elevate experiences to be more personalized, seamless, and differentiated — delivered consistently and at scale.
• Colleagues: Simplify and automate internal processes so teams can focus on driving the most important business outcomes.
• Shareholders: Reimagine how we work and what we deliver — leveraging AI and automation to improve performance, increase efficiency, and drive sustainable enterprise value.

The Enterprise AI Transformation Office will lead enterprise-wide measurement and governance, cultivate a future pipeline of transformation opportunities, and modernize core business enablement processes (e.g., TLM, New Product Development, Model Governance). We will redesign these processes to eliminate friction and automate where possible — without compromising strong risk management and governance — enabling the enterprise to move with speed and confidence.

AITO is leading an enterprise-wide effort to reimagine and modernize core risk and governance processes for an AI-enabled organization, working across all lines of defense, legal, regulatory, and technology partners to enable faster, simpler, and more consistent approval and enablement pathways.

The Role

The Enterprise AI Transformation Office will lead the design and execution of business enablement and governance modernization efforts across the enterprise.

The Director will lead enterprise AI transformation by driving strategy, risk management and governance modernization, and cross-functional program delivery. This role will partner closely with leaders across Product, Technology, Risk, and business units. They will bring together multiple product and technology teams to establish common standards, align roadmaps, improve user experiences, and drive consistent execution across the AI transformation portfolio.

As the Enterprise AI Transformation Office evolves, this role may also support additional enterprise AI strategic priorities beyond risk management and governance modernization.

Responsibilities

Strategy and Innovation

• Lead complex cross-functional transformation programs supporting risk management and governance modernization initiatives.
• Unify enterprise product strategy across AI initiatives by partnering with multiple cross-functional teams to align priorities, roadmaps, and delivery approaches.
• Drive the development of enterprise product standards, common design principles, and user experience guidelines that enable consistency across AI capabilities.
• Partner with Product and Technology leaders to connect disparate product roadmaps into a cohesive enterprise vision and prioritized execution plan.
• Drive thought leadership/creative problem solving to accelerate technological innovation for the enterprise and drive progressive improvement.

Delivery and Execution Management

• Drive program decisions and progress to enable timely delivery of roadmaps.
• Review technology solutions and capabilities and monitor program health, risks, dependencies, and key decisions while proactively driving issue resolution and executive escalation.
• Leverage strong product management and technical expertise to evaluate product strategies, technology architectures, delivery approaches, and roadmap sequencing across multiple teams.
• Drive consistency in product planning, prioritization, and user experience across enterprise AI initiatives.
• Ensure program and products meet business and customer needs and adhere to internal business and external regulatory requirements

Stakeholder Management

• Partner with stakeholders across the enterprise including Product, Technology, Control Management, and Business Unit teams to drive alignment and coordinated execution.
• Foster alignment across diverse stakeholder groups while balancing business objectives, governance requirements, and enterprise priorities.
• Develop materials to support executive leadership discussions, governance forums, and strategic decision-making.

Other

• Contribute to the evolution of the Enterprise AI Transformation Office by supporting additional strategic initiatives as enterprise priorities expand.

Qualifications

• Experience leading large-scale enterprise transformation, strategic PMO, product management, technical program management, consulting, or strategy initiatives.
• Deep product management and technology expertise, with experience shaping product strategies, product operating models, and cross-product governance across multiple teams.
• Demonstrated success leading highly cross-functional programs across Product, Technology, Risk, Compliance, Legal, and business organizations.
• Strong understanding of governance, operational risk, regulatory, or control environments within financial services or similarly regulated industries.
• Ability to evaluate technical capabilities and product roadmaps, identify opportunities for standardization, and drive enterprise-wide consistency without direct ownership of individual products.
• Experience translating complex strategic initiatives into structured execution plans and governance frameworks.
• Strong executive presence with exceptional stakeholder management, communication, and influence skills.
• Excellent program management, organizational, and problem-solving capabilities.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity, build alignment across matrixed organizations, and drive execution through influence rather than direct authority.
• Experience supporting AI, technology transformation, or enterprise modernization initiatives preferred.

Employment eligibility to work with American Express in the United States is required as the company will not pursue visa sponsorship for these positions.

About us

At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. From delivering differentiated products to providing world-class customer service, we operate with a strong risk mindset, ensuring we continue to uphold our brand promise of trust, security, and service.

As part of Team Amex, you’ll experience our powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career. Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.

About

We back you with benefits that support your holistic well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones' physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally:

• Competitive base salaries
• Bonus incentives
• 6% Company Match on retirement savings plan
• Free financial coaching and financial well-being support
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits
• Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need
• 20+ weeks paid parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender, offered for pregnancy, adoption or surrogacy
• Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location)
• Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program
• Career development and training opportunities

For a full list of Team Amex benefits, visit our Colleague Benefits Site.

American Express is an equal opportunity employer and makes employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, disability status, age, or any other status protected by law. American Express will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest or conviction records, in accordance with the requirements of applicable state and local laws, including the California Fair Chance Act, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance. For positions covered by federal and/or state banking regulations, American Express will comply with such regulations as it relates to the consideration of applicants with criminal convictions.
We back our colleagues with the support they need to thrive, professionally and personally. That's why we have Amex Flex, our enterprise working model that provides greater flexibility to colleagues while ensuring we preserve the important aspects of our unique in-person culture. Depending on role and business needs, colleagues will either work onsite, in a hybrid model (combination of in-office and virtual days) or fully virtually.
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The below represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we’ll consider your location, experience, and other job-related factors.​