VP - Finance Technology, Strategy, & Innovation

Job Title VP - Finance Technology, Strategy, & Innovation Job Description Summary Wakefield is seeking an accomplished Finance technology executive to serve as Vice President-Finance Systems, Strategy, & Innovation — a global leadership role with enterprise-wide responsibility for advancing the strategy, modernization, and performance of the company’s Finance technology landscape. Reporting to the SVP & CIO, Enterprise Technology, this leader will act as the primary technology partner to the CFO organization and will shape the digital, data, and AI-enabled agenda supporting Finance transformation at global scale. This mandate requires a commercially minded, transformation-oriented leader who can operate with credibility in senior Finance and C-suite forums while translating enterprise priorities into scalable, resilient technology solutions. The successful candidate will bring the strategic range to define a multi-year roadmap, the delivery discipline to execute complex programs, and the executive presence to influence across a highly matrixed global organization. This is a pivotal opportunity for a leader who blends Finance domain fluency, enterprise technology depth, AI-enabled innovation, and global operating experience. The VP will be expected to elevate the partnership between Finance and Technology, strengthen governance and operational excellence across a complex multi-vendor portfolio, and position the Finance function for the next generation of digital capability. Job Description Key Responsibilities Finance Technology Vision & Planning Develop and maintain a compelling, multi-year Finance Systems roadmap that aligns to Cushman's enterprise architecture, ERP modernization program, and corporate AI strategy Own the strategic response to critical platform milestones including the OneStream EPM Planning go-live, OneStream Consolidations go-live, Workday Financial Data Model redesign, and HFM/Essbase historical data migration to Databricks Bronze Lead investment prioritization across the ~50+ application Global Finance portfolio — balancing innovation, risk reduction, and operational continuity in a globally complex environment Partner with Enterprise Data, Governance & Risk functions to ensure Finance technology decisions align to Cushman's broader platform strategy and data governance standards Drive rationalization and consolidation of the Finance system portfolio with a bias toward capability, scalability, and cost efficiency AI, Innovation, & Continuous Improvement Serve as a thought partner to Finance leadership on how AI reshapes the Finance operating model — advancing how the function operates, not merely adding tools Lead identification, validation, and delivery of AI and intelligent automation use cases across the Finance function — including FP&A forecasting agents, variance analysis automation, close management intelligence, and spend analytics Drive embedded AI capability within core Finance platforms including Workday Financials, OneStream EPM, and the Finance Data Lake (Databricks), governed through appropriate intake and risk frameworks Champion responsible, governance-aligned AI adoption in partnership with the Enterprise AI Governance Council and Cushman's AI ethics and compliance framework Ongoing partnerships with all Finance leaders to drive continuous improvement across the entire ecosystem. Partner with Databricks Professional Services and internal Data Engineers on Finance Data Lake buildout — ensuring structured data readiness for AI and analytics use cases C-Suite & Senior Stakeholder Engagement Serve as the primary technology relationship owner for the CFO, Divisional CFOs, Global Controller, Global FP&A leadership, and Finance Operations — operating as a trusted advisor and peer, not a service provider Operate as a peer and thought partner to Finance executives — translating technology strategy into commercially framed business outcomes. Present Finance technology strategy, investment cases, and program status in clear, business-framed narratives that include cross functional dependencies and wholistic enterprise outcomes for CFO and other C-suite forums Drive consensus across competing functional priorities with directness and transparency, ensuring Finance technology resources are allocated to highest-impact work Represent Enterprise Technology in Finance-led governance forums, steering committees, and Finance AI Council meetings Build stakeholder trust through consistent delivery credibility, proactive communication, and genuine understanding of Finance business objectives Team Leadership & Organizational Development Lead, develop, and scale a high-performing global team of Finance Systems professionals spanning business analysis, platform management, delivery, Workday configuration, Innovation, and AI strategy Operate within a bimodal organizational model — maintaining and developing delivery capability while simultaneously building strategic and innovation capacity within the team Foster a culture of accountability, innovation, and continuous learning — setting high performance expectations while investing in team growth and AI literacy Build and maintain a talent pipeline for critical Finance technology roles; invest in succession planning and upskilling across the team Delivery Governance & Operational Excellence Oversee program delivery across all Finance technology initiatives — from ERP enhancements and AI use case launches to major platform go-lives — ensuring governance, risk management, and milestone discipline Partner with the VP, People Systems to ensure data model alignment and seamless integration across Workday Finance and HCM platforms Maintain SOX compliance and Finance security model integrity across all in-scope systems; serve as Technology's primary liaison to Internal Audit on financial controls and access governance Manage all Finance technology vendor relationships including Workday, O