Vice President, Data & Analytics

Reporting to the Chief Information Officer, the Vice President, Data and Analytics is responsible for establishing and leading Lassonde’s enterprise data and analytics function across Canada and the United States. This role defines the data and analytics strategy, builds the operating model, and delivers the platforms, governance, and capabilities that position data as a strategic company asset.

This is a foundational executive role. The successful candidate will collaborate with the Executive Leadership Team and business leaders to validate priorities and use cases, define program scope and pace, and build a trusted data foundation aligned with Lassonde’s long‑term growth strategy.

Job advantages

• A competitive salary with opportunities for advancement and career development.
• Access to a group insurance plan & a pension plan with employer contributions.
• Telemedicine & employee and family assistance programs.
• Recognition & wellness programs for employees.
• Company organized activities.

Key activities

Strategy and Stakeholder Engagement:

• Define the enterprise data and analytics strategy (vision, drivers, and outcomes) in collaboration with the CIO, the Executive Leadership Team, and business domain leaders.
• Engage stakeholders across Supply Chain, Commercial, Finance, R&D, and Operations to validate priority use cases and translate them into data products with clear value cases and owners.
• Own the data and analytics portfolio: demand intake, prioritization, sequencing, capacity allocation, and retirement of low‑value initiatives, anchored to enterprise outcomes.
• Establish the value realization framework for data and analytics initiatives, including benefits tracking, KPIs tied to business outcomes, and post-implementation reviews.
• Communicate the business impact of data and analytics initiatives to the Executive Leadership Team and Board of Directors.
• Establish the enterprise data and analytics function, including charter, operating model, RACI, and federated governance bodies.
• Build, lead, and develop a North American team across governance, MDM, data engineering, BI, analytics, and AI.
• Manage the function’s budget, vendor strategy, sourcing models, and KPIs.
• Lead the change agenda that supports adoption of new data practices, tools, and standards.
• Drive the development of a data‑driven culture across Lassonde, including skills, behaviors, and data and AI literacy.
• Act as a strategic enabler for enterprise transformation programs and provide trusted data and decision support to the Executive Leadership Team and Board of Directors.

Data Foundations & Platforms:

• Partner with the business to identify, prioritize, and sequence the master data domains where governance will deliver the highest value.
• Define the Data Governance Playbook, business glossary, critical data elements, and data ownership and stewardship workflows.
• Implement data quality standards and monitoring; embed governance into daily operations.
• Define and evolve the target data architecture: ingestion, data lake, cloud data warehouse, data catalog and lineage, semantic layer, observability, and data marketplace.
• Modernize the business intelligence estate, rationalize the reporting portfolio, and enable self‑serve access to trusted KPIs.
• Support the integration of Canadian and U.S. data environments.

Advanced Analytics, AI & Trust:

• Build and manage the portfolio of analytics and AI products that compound the value of the data foundation across business functions.
• Develop the talent and operating practices required to industrialize analytics and AI, including MLOps and lifecycle management.
• Operationalize the enterprise AI governance standards (responsible AI, model risk, data privacy).
• Partner with Cybersecurity and Infrastructure on data security, data classification, access governance, and the resilience of data and analytics platforms.
• Lead the data and analytics regulatory and compliance program in collaboration with Legal, Privacy, Cybersecurity, and Compliance, including Quebec Law 25, PIPEDA, U.S. state privacy regimes, and the emerging AI regulatory landscape.
• Oversee the ethical and responsible use of data and algorithms; ensure data used for financial and legal reporting is reliable, traceable, and consistent.

Required training and experience

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant discipline (computer science, engineering, business administration, data science, or related field); advanced degree (MBA, MSc, or equivalent) an asset.
• Minimum 15 years of progressive experience in data, analytics, and technology, with at least 5 years in senior leadership.
• Experience in CPG, food & beverage, or manufacturing.
• Proven track record in building or transforming enterprise data and analytics functions across multi-site, multi-country operations.
• Demonstrated success delivering MDM, data governance, BI modernization, and analytics or AI programs with measurable business outcomes.
• Experience operating in a publicly traded environment, including internal controls, audit readiness, and Board-level communication.
• Strategy or management consulting experience is an asset.

Skills sought

• Bilingual (French/English), both written and spoken – essential for communication with English-speaking colleagues, clients, and suppliers across provinces and internationally.
• Strong leadership presence with the ability to influence cross‑functional stakeholders.
• Proven ability to establish a new function, recruit and develop talent, and operate effectively in evolving environments.
• Pragmatic, outcome‑driven communication; able to translate among executive, business, IT, and quantitative audiences.
• Strong change leadership in complex organizations.
• Deep working knowledge of modern data architecture (data lake, cloud data warehouse, integration, catalog and lineage, semantic layer, data marketplace), MDM, data quality, and enterprise BI platforms (e.g. Cognos, Power BI, or equivalent).
• Familiarity with the breadth of enterprise source systems that generate data across a manufacturing and CPG business, spanning operations, supply chain, commercial, finance, and HR.
• Strong understanding of analytics and AI/ML and the practical patterns required to deploy them safely at scale.

Specific conditions to the position:

• Must be legally authorized to work in Canada.
• Ability to travel within Canada and the United States as required based on business needs.