There's a new job on Wall Street that can pay you up to $2 million.
The so-called head of AI operations is quickly becoming one of the most popular roles among private equity firms, says Deepali Vyas, global head of fintech and applied intelligence at Korn Ferry. told Insider. PE firms are keen to hire leaders with experience in AI and machine learning. The goal is to increase efficiency and reduce costs for portfolio companies.
“This is not a typical investigation that a private equity firm would do,” Vyas said. But we know these technologies are rapidly being adapted across all industries, so “we have to make these moves.” Vyas has placed executive and leadership talent at some of the world's largest financial companies, including Blackstone and he JPMorgan. She declined to disclose specific client cases due to her non-disclosure agreement.
Mr. Vyas, who specializes in hiring for data science, predictive AI and generative AI roles, said last month he placed two AI operations executives at a well-known PE firm.
In the weeks since hiring these people, other companies are “approaching us and saying, 'We have to do the same,'” she said, adding that midsize and large companies are now He said he is working on at least 10 more assignments for similar talent between the two companies. PE company. She said companies pay between $500,000 and $2 million, including base salary and bonuses. These are for Vice President and Managing Director level hires.
PE firms have recently started adopting cloud and AI technologies, viewing it as a differentiator for their business. Unlike other Wall Street firms that invest billions of dollars in their own technology stacks, PE firms are upgrading the technology of their portfolio companies.
PE firms aren't just looking for this type of talent in leadership positions. PE giant Blackstone recently posted job openings for engineers to join its artificial intelligence management program. The program is a two-year rotational program that places data scientists and engineers across Blackstone's portfolio companies to improve AI capabilities. This position requires just three years of experience and a bachelor's degree, and the expected annual salary, not including bonuses and other benefits, is between $120,000 and $140,000.
The demand for portfolio companies to leverage AI is the next step in the recent trend of PE firms relying on technologies such as public cloud and automation to reduce costs and accelerate portfolio companies' business.
Boston-based Thomas H. Lee Partners moved one of its portfolio companies, an online real estate marketplace, to the cloud, saving 50% in annual IT infrastructure costs. In fact, cloud is a big part of acquiring companies' strategies to acquire acquisition targets. Meanwhile, his Swedish PE giant EQT leverages its in-house AI platform, Motherbrain, to help companies source candidates for specific executive hires.
