Senior Director, Sovereign AI – FSI

Who are we?

The Senior Director, Sovereign AI – FSI will lead Equinix’s sovereign AI strategy for the financial services industry (FSI), shaping vertical narratives and value propositions, ecosystem partnerships, and market engagement across EMEA and globally. The role will serve as the strategic authority on EMEA FSI AI-sovereignty trends and market opportunities, translating evolving regulatory and infrastructure requirements into differentiated, monetizable customer propositions.

Working beyond the sales organization, this leader will collaborate with Product, Marketing, Channel, Digital Infrastructure Operations, Business Development, Customer Success, strategic partners, and regulatory stakeholders to establish Equinix as a leader in sovereign AI for the EMEA FSI market. The role requires a credible external voice, strong commercial judgment, and the ability to turn complex regulatory, technical, and political dynamics into practical customer outcomes.

Key Responsibilities:

Sovereign AI strategy and monetization

• Define and lead Equinix’s sovereign AI strategy for FSI across EMEA, with global relevance, and convert market, regulatory, and customer requirements into a clear commercial roadmap.
• Develop differentiated FSI vertical narratives, value propositions, use cases, ROI tools, and competitive positioning that enable field teams and partners to monetize sovereign AI opportunities.
• Own the agentic AI infrastructure narrative for regulated FSI environments, including the infrastructure, governance, security, data-residency, and interoperability requirements of agent-to-agent workloads.

Regulatory deliverables and reference architecture

• Deliver three priority regulatory outputs: a DORA Articles 28 and 30 due-diligence pack; an EU AI Act-aligned sovereign AI reference architecture for regulated industries; and a CLOUD Act response brief for European customers navigating US-jurisdiction risk.
• Build the sovereign AI reference architecture and blueprint demonstrating how Equinix’s neutral, operator-agnostic infrastructure addresses AI-sovereignty requirements and differentiates from hyperscaler-operated facilities.
• Translate EUCS, NIS2, DORA, GDPR, the EU AI Act, SecNumCloud, BSI C5, NCSC frameworks, national equivalents, and infrastructure-procurement requirements into practical guidance for customers, partners, and field teams.

Ecosystem partnerships and market engagement

• Develop and execute sovereign AI partner strategies with systems integrators, consulting firms, technology providers, and other ecosystem partners that influence or carry Equinix into FSI procurement processes.
• Engage strategic customers, regulatory institutions, industry alliances, and partners to identify market opportunities, shape demand, and strengthen Equinix’s position within the European sovereign AI ecosystem.
• Navigate complex institutional procurement cycles, multi-stakeholder decision processes, and political dynamics across regulated markets.

Thought leadership and industry influence

• Contribute to the Knowledge Spine FSI vertical sprint, producing field-ready sovereign AI use cases, ROI tools, reference materials, and competitive positioning.
• Serve as an Equinix spokesperson at industry events, partner summits, executive customer forums, and industry-alliance events.
• Lead C-level conversations with FSI customers, regulatory institutions, and strategic partners, credibly articulating what sovereign AI requires and how Equinix enables it.

Cross-functional leadership

• Align Product, Marketing, Channel, Digital Infrastructure Operations, Business Development, Customer Success, Sales, and regional teams around a coherent sovereign AI strategy and execution plan.
• Turn complex technical, regulatory, and market inputs into clear priorities, decision frameworks, and customer-facing outcomes.

Skills, Experience & Qualifications

The successful candidate will bring:

• Extensive experience in technology, enterprise digital infrastructure, sovereign cloud, or sovereign AI programs.
• Experience working within an FSI institution or leading a major FSI technology program in a large consulting organization.
• Deep understanding of European regulatory and assurance frameworks, including EUCS, NIS2, DORA, GDPR, the EU AI Act, SecNumCloud, BSI C5, NCSC frameworks, relevant national equivalents, and regulated-infrastructure procurement requirements.
• Strong familiarity with the CLOUD Act and European data-sovereignty concerns relating to US-jurisdiction infrastructure.
• Demonstrated ability to build market propositions, influence complex enterprise buying processes, and translate technical and regulatory requirements into commercial value.
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Information Systems, Business, or a related field; an MBA or advanced degree is preferred.

Skills and Attributes

This role requires:

• Technical fluency in AI infrastructure, data residency, and sovereign-cloud architectures, sufficient to hold credible conversations with FSI CTOs, chief AI officers, security leaders, and regulators.
• Executive stakeholder management and customer engagement.
• Strategic partnerships and alliance management.
• Cross-functional leadership in a complex, matrixed, international environment.
• Strong commercial judgment, market-shaping capability, and the ability to influence without direct authority.
• Fluent English is essential. French, German, or another major European language is a significant advantage.

Equinix is committed to ensuring that our employment process is open to all individuals, including those with a disability.  If you are a qualified candidate and need assistance or an accommodation, please let us know by completing this form.

Equinix is an Equal Employment Opportunity and, in the U.S., an Affirmative Action employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to unlawful consideration of race, color, religion, creed, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, place of birth, citizenship, sex, pregnancy / childbirth or related medical conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or domestic partnership status, age, veteran or military status, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, political / organizational affiliation, status as a victim or family member of a victim of crime or abuse, or any other status protected by applicable law. 

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