• Own and drive engineering productivity lift targets, measured through cycle time, code velocity, and defect reduction • Lead AI-driven cost reduction initiatives across IT and support functions • Conduct a full audit and rationalization of Rackspace's AI licensing footprint, eliminating duplicative programs and spend • Report quarterly on quantified productivity gains with results tied directly to compensation milestones • Define and launch 3–5 standardized AI sales plays segmented by vertical and workload within the first 6 months • Translate Rackspace's private cloud and AI runtime capabilities into packaged go-to-market motions • Embed AI positioning into key partner relationships including VMware, Palantir, Uniphore, and Rubrik • Equip the Sales organization with clear AI messaging, competitive framing, and active deal support • Establish tracking infrastructure for AI-influenced pipeline and revenue attribution • Monitor model releases, inference economics, developer ecosystem shifts, and AI governance developments on a continuous basis • Translate market shifts into concrete strategy adjustments within 30–60 days of identification • Advise the CEO, marketing leadership, and Board on AI competitive positioning and narrative • Drive AI messaging alignment across earnings communications, analyst relations, and partner narratives • Deliver a formal competitive brief to the CEO and Board on a quarterly cadence • Lead a lean AI Labs function with a bias toward speed and commercial relevance • Incubate 1–2 focused, defensible IP assets per year aligned to GTM priorities • Apply rigorous ROI discipline — kill low-return experiments quickly and reallocate resources • Ensure Labs output directly supports customer-facing revenue strategy, not standalone research