The annual salary range for this role is $230,000-260,000 in San Francisco.
** Please note: This role requires the ability to work onsite in the San Francisco Forum office 3 days per week **
Interested applicants can submit their CV to WEFtech@russellreynolds.com.
The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the international organization for public-private cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) helps stakeholders harness the potential of technological advancements for the equitable and human-centered transformation of industries, economies, and societies. We provide a strategic and future-oriented platform designed to understand exponential technologies and guide their responsible adoption and global application. Our thematic priorities include understanding innovation, catalyzing industry transformation, improving governance, and building a positive future.
Why we are Recruiting
As Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other frontier and leading-edge technologies continue to drive the digital economy, we recognize their growing impact and influence on governments, enterprises, institutions, and individuals. While AI continues to converge with fields such as quantum computing, synthetic biology, robotics, and other disciplines, it introduces complex challenges, including issues related to data privacy, bias, responsible design, and risk mitigation.
Understanding the vast economic and societal potential of AI, along with the risks that accompany frontier technologies, the C4IR serves as a trusted platform. Our mission is to foster collaboration across businesses, governments, and civil society to address systemic challenges. The C4IR team aligns and collaborates with the Forum's global network of independent Centres. These independent Centres build on, benefit from, and actively contribute to the Forum's Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution initiatives.
The Head of Frontier Technologies is a key leadership position. In this role, you will have the opportunity to strengthen the Forum's position as the premier and trusted platform for systems leadership on the most critical emerging and frontier topics. Your responsibilities include leading and managing the C4IR teams in San Francisco office, delivering significant institutional flagship initiatives, such as the AI Governance Alliance, to achieve significant impact and influence. Additionally, you will establish the Forum as the primary resource for global, multi-stakeholder, agile, and industry-informed consensus-building on AI and other frontier technologies. You will connect and deepen engagement with the Bay Area constituents and the broader strategic ecosystem. Moreover, your role involves collaborating with other related World Economic Forum Centres, while contributing insights and modelling the Forum's principles and One Forum spirit.
Reporting Lines and Interactions
Although the role is based in San Francisco, it will report to the Head, AI, Data and Metaverse in Geneva. In this role, you will manage a team of staff and intersect with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
Responsibilities

• Build and lead global communities of senior leaders and experts from the most relevant stakeholders in the AI and frontier technologies ecosystem. Explore normative challenges and create impactful public-private partnership opportunities.
• Connect and deepen engagement with the Bay Area constituents and the broader technology ecosystems.
• Manage, coach, and develop C4IR teams in San Francisco. Nurture and promote a healthy, safe, and inclusive working environment for the sharing of ideas and solutions.
• Originate, build, and oversee strategic multistakeholder initiatives and partnerships with key stakeholders to address opportunities and challenges brought by AI and frontier technologies.
• Increase partner engagement by ensuring deeper integration into global initiatives, adoption of frameworks, stronger collaboration between partners, and advancement of new insights.

• Ensure the successful delivery of relevant C4IR events where network members actively contribute, in order to strengthen the C4IR agenda and community and advance initiatives.
• Foster collaboration with internal stakeholders to elevate initiatives and drive impact; engage governments and other constituents in the Centre's activities.

• Onboard and advise Fellows in developing recommendations on priority issue areas including regulations, societal implications, and novel institutional approaches.

Requirements and Experience

• Master's degree preferred in a relevant field such as business, policy, information systems management, etc.
• Minimum 10 years of professional experience in startup incubators, management consulting, technology business, government or international organizations in positions covering topics of AI and frontier technologies partnership, innovation, or business strategy.
• Staff management experience with culturally diverse, matrixed teams across time zones; abilities conducive to developing staff and maintaining a learning environment.
• Experience designing, developing, implementing, and monitoring complex multistakeholder projects and turning ideas into tangible action and impact.
• Demonstrated thought leadership on AI and frontier technologies, knowledge of key actors in these fields and the implications of their strategies in key areas; ability to anticipate key developments and initiatives.
• Excellent ability to manage relationships externally and internally.
• Collaborative, agile, and results oriented.

• Ability to write informative and insightful content, with experience creating digital content, research papers, academic articles, or similar.

• Strong verbal and written language skills in English; verbal proficiency in other languages would be an asset.

Vaccination requirement
The Forum LLC requires that employees be fully vaccinated with at least one booster against COVID-19 by their first day of employment. The Forum LLC will evaluate all requests for accommodation/exemption from this policy in keeping with federal, state, and local law.
Interested applicants can submit their CV to WEFtech@russellreynolds.com.
Why work at the Forum:
The Forum believes that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to improve the state of the world by building awareness and cooperation, shaping mindsets and agendas, and driving collective action. Join us and become a driver for positive change!