Director, AI Product & Business Partner - Distribution

Director, AI Product & Business Partner - Distribution Position Responsibilities: 1. Domain Leadership & Strategy • Lead the Distribution Domain Squad and act as the primary AI partner to Distribution leadership. • Develop and maintain the Distribution AI and analytics roadmap aligned with business strategy and growth objectives. • Identify, prioritize, and sponsor high-value AI and analytics use cases that improve sales productivity, lead generation, customer engagement, advisor effectiveness, and distribution performance. • Partner with senior business stakeholders to define opportunities, investment priorities, success metrics, and expected business outcomes. • Establish a culture of data-driven decision making across Distribution functions. 2. Business Partnership • Build strong relationships with Distribution executives, sales leaders, and channel heads. • Translate business challenges into AI and analytics opportunities with clear value realization plans. • Act as a trusted advisor to business leaders on AI, advanced analytics, Generative AI, and emerging technologies. • Drive executive-level discussions on AI strategy, prioritization, risks, and expected business impact. 3. AI Product Ownership & Value Realization • Own the Distribution AI product portfolio and roadmap. • Lead end-to-end delivery of AI and analytics initiatives from opportunity identification through deployment and business adoption. • Work closely with business and technology stakeholders to define product vision, requirements, success metrics, and delivery priorities. • Ensure solutions are embedded into business processes and decision-making workflows. • Define and track KPIs to measure adoption, business value, productivity gains, revenue uplift, and customer impact. • Drive realization of tangible business benefits and communicate outcomes to senior management. 4. Advanced Analytics & AI Solutions • Apply advanced analytics, machine learning, and Generative AI to address Distribution business challenges, including: • Sales productivity and advisor effectiveness • Lead generation and propensity modelling • Customer segmentation and personalization • Cross-sell and upsell opportunities • Customer retention and persistency improvement • Distribution performance management • AI-powered sales and advisor assistants • Evaluate emerging AI capabilities and identify opportunities to scale successful solutions across the enterprise. 5. Governance & Risk Management • Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, model governance standards, responsible AI principles, and enterprise AI controls. • Partner with Risk, Compliance, Legal, and Technology teams to ensure appropriate oversight throughout the AI solution lifecycle. • Support model monitoring, performance tracking, and ongoing governance activities. 6. Squad Leadership • Lead a Distribution Domain Squad comprising data scientists and AI engineers, together with relevant cross-functional delivery partners, to deliver measurable business outcomes. • Drive squad planning, prioritization, and execution against the Distribution AI roadmap. • Foster close partnership with Distribution leadership and cross-functional stakeholders to accelerate adoption of AI solutions. • Promote a culture of customer focus, business value realization, and continuous improvement. • Develop squad capabilities in AI, analytics, and business consulting while creating a high-performing delivery environment. Required Qualifications: • Bachelor's degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Engineering, Actuarial Science, Economics, Business Analytics, or a related discipline. • Master's degree preferred. • 10+ years of experience in AI, data science, advanced analytics, digital product management, or related fields. • Proven track record of partnering with senior business leaders and influencing strategic decisions. • Experience leading cross-functional teams and delivering business transformation initiatives. • Demonstrated success delivering AI, analytics, or digital products that generated measurable business outcomes. • Previous experience within life insurance, wealth management, banking, or financial services strongly preferred. • Strong understanding of insurance distribution channels, sales management, and customer acquisition strategies preferred. • Strong knowledge of machine learning, predictive analytics, optimization techniques, and statistical modelling. • Experience with Generative AI, LLMs, AI agents, and enterprise AI solutions. • Working knowledge of Python, SQL, and modern analytics platforms. • Experience working with large-scale enterprise data environments. • Strong understanding of AI governance, model risk management, and responsible AI practices. • Ability to translate technical concepts into business language for executive audiences. • Excellent business acumen with a demonstrated ability to connect AI investments to business outcomes. • Strategic thinking and commercial acumen. • Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills. • Excellent communication and executive presentation skills. • Ability to lead cross-functional teams in complex organizational environments. • Strong execution focus with a demonstrated ability to deliver measurable business value. • Self-starter with a passion for driving business transformation through AI. When you join our team: • We’ll empower you to learn and grow the career you want. • We’ll recognize and support you in a flexible environment where well-being and inclusion are more than just words. • As part of our global team, we’ll support you in shaping the future you want to see. About Manulife and John Hancock Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. To learn more about us, visit https://www.manulife.com/en/about/our-story.html . Manulife is an Equal Opportunity Employer At Manulife/John Ha