Innovation Strategy & Operations – Strategy & Governance Lead Executive Director

Morgan Stanley (MS) is a global financial services firm that, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, advises, and originates, trades, manages and distributes capital for, governments, institutions and individuals. It is headquartered out of New York City, with regional offices and branches throughout the U.S. and the principal offices in London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other world financial centers.

With revenues in excess of $50Bn, offices in more than 42 countries and with more than 75,000 employees it provides investment banking, investment management services, securities and wealth management services to individuals, corporations, financial institutions, and government with a standard of excellence.

Since their founding in 1935, MS has consistently delivered excellence to its clients underpinning their core values (putting client first, doing the right thing, leading with exceptional ideas and giving back) in all that they do.

MS has a strong commitment to a culture of inclusion which is evident through their constant focus on recruiting, developing, and advancing individuals based on their skills and talents. The firm provides a superior foundation for building a professional career - a place for people to learn, to achieve and grow. They believe in fostering an atmosphere where innovation and process excellence are encouraged. MS has a footprint which maximizes the use of their operations experts globally and provides rewarding career choices and opportunities to train and develop people.

About Morgan Stanley Firmwide Innovation

Firmwide Innovation Group was formed in 2022 as a partnership between Firm Strategy & Execution and Innovation aligning our deep expertise and strong relationships in technology and financial services sectors to identify and assess industry trends and disruptors, explore partnerships, investment and acquisition opportunities; enhance client engagement; and strengthen our infrastructure and capabilities.

The Innovation Group, led by the Head of Innovation and COO of Technology, is a global organization with resources in London, Budapest, Mumbai, Bangalore, New York, Baltimore and Montreal. In addition to regional leadership, there are five dedicated functions to support the Firm’s innovation goals. The Innovation Strategy & Operations function aligns the Firmwide innovation strategy and governance, oversees the Firmwide Innovation governance, drives engagement and measures the impact of the Firm’s innovation efforts and supports experimentation at scale through the global Innovation Labs.

Role Information

The Innovation Strategy & Governance Lead will work closely with the head of the Department to build out the Innovation Strategy & Operations function which formed at the end of 2022.

Our Strategy & Governance Lead will partner with innovation leadership across the Firmwide Innovation group, business development and our business and technology innovation leaders to define our firmwide view of our innovation strategy. As part of this effort, this role will also evaluate the alignment of the Firm’s innovation activities and investments to this overall strategy.

He/she will also drive continuous refinement of the Firmwide Innovation group operating model including partnering with the group leadership to refine their operating models and define/align on the interactions and collaborations across the teams to ensure effective partnership and deployment of resources.

From a governance perspective, the lead will also be responsible for supporting our senior executive Firmwide Innovation Council and the design/management of additional innovation working groups (as needed) to drive visibility and alignment on innovation activities across Morgan Stanley. The role will also be responsible for driving the response to the information needs for MS governance and leadership bodies, including but not limited to the Technology Operating Committee, Operating Committee and Board.

In addition, the Innovation Strategy & Governance lead will partner with Technology IP Legal on our Patent Accelerator program, driving eligible concepts through the process, driving recognition and co-managing the governance of our patent renewals.

This role will require close collaboration with the leads within the Innovation Strategy & Operations group to be successful in delivering the above as well as influencing of senior leaders outside of our team to achieve our common goals.

This role reports into the Global Head of Innovation Strategy & Operations, also based in New York City.

Professional Experience/Skills & Competencies

The successful candidate will have:

10+ year experience in a Financial Services or Consulting Services with Financial Services/FinTech focus

Strong delivery record of partnering with business to define and execute an innovation strategy with a particular focus on technology enabled strategies (e.g., Cloud, Data, Digital Assets/Blockchain, AIML, etc.)

Proven track record of collaborating with multiple local / global stakeholders and aligning effective relationships across multiple regions/businesses.

Experience in defining and managing governance at an executive level and ability to align and influence the group to deliver on the defined outcomes

Outstanding communication skills with a refined ability to tailor the message to the right audience. Examples of external public speaking welcomed

Leadership Attributes

Agility - Excellent leadership and team-working skills in an environment where priorities and goals can quickly change and evolve

Collaboration – Bias towards collaboration with clients and colleagues across the enterprise to achieve shared success

Empathy - Building strong relationships with internal clients and colleagues at all levels within the organization and being seen as a trusted partner. Create safe and empowering environments

Responsiveness & Accountability – Strong sense of ownership, responsiveness and ensure team delivers exceptional work in a timely manner

Talent Management – Experience in attracting and retaining high potential talent in a dynamic work environment

Giving Back – Commitment to contributing to society or our Firm’s culture either through philanthropy, mentorship or active engagement with our employee networks and initiatives

Innovation – Lead with exceptional ideas bringing together diverse perspectives and opportunities to drive innovation for our businesses

Morgan Stanley's goal is to build and maintain a workforce that is diverse in experience and background but uniform in reflecting our standards of integrity and excellence. Consequently, our recruiting efforts reflect our desire to attract and retain the best and brightest from all talent pools. We want to be the first choice for prospective employees.

It is the policy of the Firm to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, age, sex, sex stereotype, gender, gender identity or expression, transgender, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, disability, marital and civil partnership/union status, pregnancy, veteran or military service status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Morgan Stanley is an equal opportunity employer committed to diversifying its workforce (M/F/Disability/Vet).

Expected base pay rates for the role will be between 180,000 and 260,000 per year at the commencement of employment. However, base pay if hired will be determined on an individualized basis and is only part of the total compensation package, which, depending on the position, may also include commission earnings, incentive compensation, discretionary bonuses, other short and long-term incentive packages, and other Morgan Stanley sponsored benefit programs.

Posting Date

Apr 10, 2023

Primary Location

Americas-United States of America-New York-New York

Education Level

Bachelor's Degree

Job

Management

Employment Type

Full Time

Job Level

Executive Director