Principal AI Transformation Strategist

Join the team that turns AI ambition into business‑defining reality! You will be one of the first hires in our newly established AI Center of Excellence, reporting directly to the VP Group AI (part of Group Management). This gives you significant strategic influence and visibility at the highest levels of the organization. In this role, you will shape how AI is adopted across a 1,500+‑person consultancy operating in five markets. You’ll work directly with customers—leading AI engagements and contributing to sales—while also driving internal enablement, ensuring a dynamic mix of responsibilities and impact. Columbus brings strong executive sponsorship for AI, an active AI community, and a clear strategic direction. This isn’t an innovation lab—it's a commercially focused team with a mandate to deliver tangible business value and revenue. What you will do Drive AI adoption, commercialization, and delivery excellence across Columbus by working at the intersection of customer engagements, internal enablement, and strategic AI development. The Principal AI Transformation Strategist is the operational engine of the CoE — translating AI strategy into tangible customer and business outcomes. You will lead and support AI customer engagements—from discovery and assessments to solution design and delivery. You’ll contribute to AI sales by bringing subject‑matter expertise into pre‑sales discussions, demos, and proposals. You’ll help build our internal AI muscle by creating reusable accelerators, playbooks, and delivery frameworks, while also driving training and capability‑building programs in partnership with the internal teams. Finally, you’ll collaborate with Business Line AI Directors to adapt CoE best practices to each business area. Requirements To be successful in this role we hope you bring the following: Strong business‑minded understanding of AI - not a deep technical specialist, but able to translate technology into clear customer and business value. One foot in tech and one in business! 8+ years in consulting, technology strategy, or enterprise architecture - with deep experience leading client engagements, not just internal projects Demonstrated AI/ML professional experience (3+ years) — you've led AI initiatives: enablement programmes, platform strategy, solution design, or delivery. A professional track record, not just personal interest Excellent communication skills , with the ability to simplify complex concepts and engage stakeholders at all levels. Genuine passion for AI , with a strong personal interest in the field - experience as a public speaker or community contributor is a plus. Please note - This position requires a valid VISA and residency in SE/NO/DK/UK. Application and the next step At Columbus, you can apply easily using your LinkedIn profile or CV – no lengthy forms to fill out and no cover letter required. As part of our recruitment process, we use logic and personality tests. We always take references before offering employment. Interviews are held on a continuous basis. If you have any questions, you’re welcome to contact the responsible recruiter, Daniel Sparrow. After the recruitment process is completed, we’ll send you a short question about your candidate experience. It only takes a moment to answer and helps us improve our process. About our AI Center of Excellence “ The reason behind establishing this Center of Excellence, the new role as VP Group AI, and our investments in new profiles is that we are extremely focused on delivering enterprise grade and responsible AI for our customers. The time for big visions and future scenarios is over. Customers are increasingly focused on concrete deliverables and return on investment in many of our conversations. Practical application is a major theme, and we want to meet that demand,” Søren Krogh Knudsen - Columbus CEO - Read more here! About Columbus Columbus is a consultancy that brings business and tech together, delivering digital value through human intelligence to enable customers to innovate and grow. With more than 1,500 employees, we guide our customers through their digital transformation and deliver lasting value within the food and beverage, manufacturing, retail, distribution, and life sciences industries. We advise, implement, and manage business-critical solutions within Cloud Services, ERP, Data & AI, Digital Commerce, Business Process Automation, Enterprise Information Management, Cybersecurity and more. With headquarters in Denmark and a global presence, we ensure local delivery of our services on a global scale. Let’s thrive, grow, and shape the future together! In the meantime, check us out on Instagram or Linked In STAY CURIOUS , COLLABORATE , BUILD TRUST , and DELIVER CUSTOMER SUCCESS