The opportunity
We are seeking a President to lead strategic direction, organizational development and business performance across ALEBEX AI and Alexander Innovation Centre (AIC). You will help determine where the organizations should compete, how they should grow and what capabilities they need, then lead the teams and execution required to deliver results.
The mandate combines AI commercialization with the development of a trusted innovation centre. For ALEBEX AI, the focus is paying customers, recurring revenue and useful AI products. For AIC, it is community and industry benefit through corporate learning, AI adoption, founder development and applied innovation, supported by a financially sustainable operating model.
Reporting to the Founder and Executive Chair, you will bring independent strategic judgment, sound financial discipline and hands-on leadership. You will work closely with technical and research leaders, build senior external relationships and develop an organization that can deliver consistently as it grows.
This is a full-time, on-site role based in our Vancouver, BC office, five days a week, with occasional travel.
What you will leadStrategy and organizational development
· Shape the long-term direction and annual business plans of both organizations. Assess markets, customer needs, competitive positioning and growth opportunities, and make clear choices about priorities and investment.
· Translate strategy into an effective organization: define leadership responsibilities, build required capabilities and establish practical plans, milestones and performance reviews.
Commercial growth and recurring revenue
· Lead go-to-market strategy, business development, sales, marketing and customer success. Win key strategic customers and partnerships, convert suitable pilots into paid deployments, and grow retention and recurring revenue.
· Develop commercially sound pricing and offers, reliable forecasts and a disciplined pipeline. Ruthlessly prioritize opportunities that create measurable customer value and sustainable margins.
Sales and deal-making
· Act as chief revenue officer: build pipeline, run executive-level sales, negotiate and close.
· Package the strategic offerings for large buyers: competitive enterprise pricing, annual commitments, SLAs, security documentations and outcome-based contracts.
· Scale accounts in different verticals / market segments nationally.
· Recruit and lead a sales, solutions and customer-success team with clear quotas, KPI and forecasting discipline.
Financial and operational leadership
· Own business planning, budgets, financial forecasts and profit-and-loss performance for each organization. Manage cash, resource allocation and investment priorities, with clear accounting for shared resources.
· Build repeatable operations and management reporting. Keep growth plans aligned with delivery capacity, service quality, contractual obligations and the governance of each organization.
Leadership responsibilities
Product strategy and applied research
· Partner with technical and research leaders to shape product and applied research roadmaps, assess investment choices and turn validated capabilities into products, services and industry partnerships.
· Bring customer and market evidence into prioritization. Align commercial commitments with technical feasibility and delivery capacity, and support responsible AI adoption with credible, evidence-based claims.
Corporate training and industry adoption
· Develop AIC corporate AI training and adoption services around real employer and industry needs. Build repeatable offerings with clear learning outcomes, practical applications and reliable delivery.
· Secure organizational clients, develop instructors and delivery partners, and manage programme economics, client satisfaction and repeat business. Help customers progress from learning to useful implementation.
Founder and community ecosystem
· Develop a focused founder ecosystem through programmes, mentorship and partnerships that help founders validate ideas, build products and connect with relevant customers and expertise.
· Strengthen AIC as a credible place for community learning, industry collaboration and applied innovation. Measure participant progress and practical benefits alongside the resources needed to sustain each programme.
Government relations and funding
· Build sustainable relationships with government, economic development bodies, universities, industry associations and funding organizations. Develop partnerships that advance the strategies of ALEBEX AI and AIC.
· Lead a disciplined funding pipeline, including suitable grants, sponsored programmes and collaborative research opportunities. Coordinate applications, partner commitments and reporting while building a diversified financial base supported by earned revenue.
People and execution
· Recruit, develop and lead a capable management team. Set clear objectives, coach leaders and create a culture of accountability, collaboration, sound judgment and continuous improvement.
· Coordinate work across commercial, product, technical and programme teams. Resolve competing priorities, identify delivery risks early and ensure agreed decisions translate into action.
Public leadership and reputation
· Represent both organizations with customers, partners, government, industry forums and the media. Communicate their distinct purposes and achievements clearly, and build trust through strong delivery and responsible public communication.
What you will bring
· A record of senior leadership in B2B AI, software or technology commercialization, with demonstrable responsibility for strategy, growth, financial performance and organizational development.
· Evidence of winning paying customers, building recurring revenue and turning early commercial traction into a more repeatable business.
· A record of personally closing seven-figure enterprise and/or government contracts, ideally in AI, SaaS, communications, contact centre or digital services.
· Established sustainable relationships with Canadian government (federal, BC or other provinces, municipalities, health authorities) and large Canadian enterprises, and a working knowledge of public procurement (RFPs, standing offers, supply arrangements).
· Strong and sustainable financial and operational judgment, including budgeting, forecasting, resource allocation and the ability to build effective teams within real constraints.
· The ability to work credibly with technical and research leaders on product direction, delivery trade-offs and commercialization. You can understand complex AI offerings and explain their value and limitations clearly.
· Experience building senior relationships across different segments of customers, strategic partners and public-sector stakeholders. Familiarity with Canadian and British Columbia innovation and funding programmes is valuable.
· Strong professional English communication, negotiation and public-speaking skills, including the ability to represent the organizations confidently with executives, government audiences and media.
· A practical, entrepreneurial leadership style: comfortable making strategic decisions, developing people and remaining directly involved in strategic key customers, partnerships and execution.
· Experience in corporate education, industry AI adoption, innovation centres, founder programmes or applied research partnerships would be an advantage. We value evidence of results and the judgment to balance commercial growth with community and industry benefit.
What success will look like
You will establish a clear baseline and align measurable objectives with the Founder and Executive Chair. Success will be assessed through business performance, organizational strength and the quality of outcomes for customers and the wider ecosystem.
· A results oriented, focused, resourced strategy for each organization, with clear priorities, capable leaders and consistent execution.
· Successfully close different types of ALEBEX customers, high recurring revenue and retention, and commercially viable product and partnership growth.
· Repeatable AIC training and adoption programmes that deliver useful client outcomes, repeat business and sound programme economics.
· Demonstrable founder progress, valuable community participation and productive industry and applied research partnerships.
· Stronger financial sustainability, reliable forecasts, well-managed funding obligations and a reputation supported by evidence of excellent work.
Compensation: The base salary for this role ranges from CAD $200,000 to $240,000, complemented by a competitive performance bonus and a comprehensive benefits package.
