Director Of Strategic Initiatives

Otodata is a Montreal-headquartered provider of remote tank monitoring hardware, connectivity and software, serving propane, fuel and lubricant distributors across North America and expanding internationally. The business designs and manufactures its own monitors, sells on a recurring hardware-plus-service model, and holds leading positions with many of the largest propane distributors in the US and Canada.
Otodata was acquired by GI Partners in 2026. Since close, the CEO and leadership team have worked with GI to define a value creation plan (VCP), with a redesigned go-to-market model at its centre alongside a set of further strategic and operational initiatives. The DSI will actively lead and support these initiatives and establish the governance that keeps the whole programme on track.
Position summaryThe Director of Strategic Initiatives leads the execution of Otodata's value creation plan, reporting to the CEO. The role has two halves. First, the DSI personally manages 1-2 major strategic projects including the new go-to-market strategy. Second, the DSI runs the governance of the overall VCP programme, so the CEO, executive team and GI Partners have one clear view of priorities, progress and risks.
The role suits someone who has run go-to-market transformations end to end, is comfortable operating at both the strategic and the hands-on level and wants to be the CEO's thought partner on whatever the business needs next.
Key responsibilitiesRoughly ~70% of the role is leading strategic projects;
the balance is VCP governance and CEO thought partnership.
1. Go-to-market transformation (primary focus)Lead the implementation of Otodata's redesigned go-to-market model, working with the VP Sales, Revenue Operations and Marketing.
Operationalise the customer segmentation and tiering model: finalise account thresholds using tank and consumption data, assign named account ownership for enterprise accounts, and define field, inside sales and digital coverage for mid-market and long-tail accounts
Stand up the inside sales function and redesign the handoffs between field reps, inside sales, technical support and customer success, including a time-and-motion study of rep activity to free selling capacity
Design and roll out a renewals and lifecycle programme
Work with Finance and HR to restructure sales compensation
Translate the international GTM model (Europe and Latin America) into country plans, rep profiles and the governance between US-based product leads and in-country generalist reps
Partner with Revenue Operations to establish the data baselines, pipeline definitions and KPI dashboards that tie commercial activity to revenue and EBITDA outcomes
Turn the adjacency strategy into resourcing plans, role specifications and launch sequencing
Own the GTM workstream governance: weekly working group, monthly SteerCo, decision log and action tracker
2. Product and technology roadmap supportSupport the VP Product and Engineering in strengthening the product development operating model.
Help convert the three-year product vision and annual product strategy into a prioritised, sized and resourced roadmap, balancing maintenance load against innovation
Support the stand‑up of product management processes: opportunity sizing, segment and regional tagging of the pipeline, feasibility scoring and stage‑gates
Act as the connector between the commercial team's growth priorities and R&D's capacity and sequencing
3. VCP governance and programme managementRun the management operating system for the value creation plan.
Maintain the VCP initiative tracker with owners, status, milestones and value realised
Run the monthly VCP review cadence and prepare materials for the Monthly Operating Review, SteerCos and quarterly Board
Partner with GI Partners' Portfolio Operations team on two‑way communication around initiative structure, prioritisation, execution and reporting
Identify risks and interdependencies early, elevate, and remove obstacles
4. CEO thought partnership
Serve as a neutral, objective sounding board to the CEO on strategy, organisation, talent and stakeholder matters
Anticipate issues before they reach the executive team or Board and bring options, not just problems
Take on ad hoc strategic projects as the business evolves, for example pricing studies, market diagnostics, M&A diligence or integration support
Support Board and investor materials, owning the strategic narrative and initiative status sections
Qualifications and experienceRequired
A demonstrated track record of leading a go-to-market or commercial transformation from design through to delivered results.
7 to 12 years of experience combining strategy consulting and operating roles.
Strong programme management skills: comfortable running several cross-functional initiatives at once, setting governance, holding owners to milestones and managing dependencies
Highly analytical: able to build business cases, size opportunities, model compensation and unit economics, and tie initiatives to EBITDA
Executive-level communication, written and verbal, with the credibility to work directly with a CEO, executive team, Board and investors
Hands-on by preference.
Preferred
Experience in a private equity-backed company, or on PE-sponsored engagements, with familiarity with sponsor reporting rhythms and value creation plans
B2B recurring-revenue or hardware-plus-service business models;
industrial, IoT, telematics or distribution-sector exposure is helpful but not required
Exposure to carve-outs, separations or integrations, including dependency mapping and transitional service arrangements
MBA or equivalent
Working proficiency in French is an asset
Competencies and personal attributes
Combines disciplined execution with strategic thinking;
creates alignment across functions without formal authority
Operates well in a fast-paced, lean environment where structure has to be built rather than inherited
Pragmatic problem solver: breaks down ambiguous problems, anticipates roadblocks, prioritises and sets the pace
Influences with gravitas across field sales reps, the executive team and the Board alike
Learner mindset: curious about the business, the customers and the technology;
humble about prior misses
Collaborative and low-ego;
comfortable implementing designs owned by others and giving credit to the functional leaders
Highest integrity in handling confidential financial, personnel and strategic information
Comfortable with regular travel and periods of in-person presence in Montreal, particularly during the first 90 days
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