Chief Digital Officer

AgCarolina Farm Credit is seeking a strategic, enterprise-minded Chief Digital Officer to lead organization-wide transformation, strengthen execution of strategic priorities, and advance digital, data, artificial intelligence, automation, technology, and continuous improvement capabilities across the Association.

Headquartered in Greenville, North Carolina, AgCarolina Farm Credit is a member-owned agricultural lending cooperative serving agriculture and rural communities across 46 counties in central, eastern, and southeastern North Carolina. As part of the nationwide Farm Credit System, AgCarolina combines the strength and resources of a national agricultural finance network with local ownership, decision-making, and relationships.

About the Role

Reporting to the President and Chief Executive Officer and serving as a member of the executive leadership team, the Chief Digital Officer will translate enterprise strategy into a coordinated portfolio of transformation initiatives. This newly created executive role will help establish AgCarolina’s transformation operating model, including governance, prioritization, decision rights, performance measures, and capabilities needed to sustain meaningful change over time.

The CDO will work across organizational boundaries to simplify how work gets done, improve member and employee experiences, strengthen operational performance, and support responsible modernization in a regulated, mission-driven cooperative environment.

Key Responsibilities

- Lead AgCarolina’s enterprise transformation vision, roadmap, governance framework, and continuous improvement approach.

- Partner with the CEO and executive leadership team to translate strategy into prioritized initiatives, accountable owners, milestones, resource requirements, and measurable outcomes.

- Redesign critical business processes to improve speed, quality, efficiency, member and employee experience, scalability, cost, and control.

- Provide executive leadership for the responsible use of digital capabilities, data, artificial intelligence, automation, and technology to improve business performance.

- Oversee technology operations, infrastructure, systems, architecture, cybersecurity, resilience, vendor management, and related capabilities.

- Establish disciplined practices for transformation governance, execution, performance reporting, benefits realization, risk alignment, and change adoption.

- Serve as an enterprise integrator across business units, functions, technologies, and stakeholders, building alignment around priorities, tradeoffs, resources, timing, and accountability.

Ideal Candidate Profile

The successful candidate will be an accomplished senior executive with experience leading significant enterprise transformation in a complex, regulated, financial services, agricultural finance, cooperative, or similarly sophisticated operating environment. This leader will bring strategic perspective, operational discipline, technology fluency, change leadership, and a demonstrated record of execution.

Qualifications

- Progressive executive or senior leadership experience in enterprise transformation, operations, strategy execution, technology, process improvement, or related disciplines.

- Success leading large-scale, cross-functional transformation programs from strategy through implementation and benefits realization.

- Experience redesigning complex business processes and building sustainable continuous improvement disciplines.

- Strong understanding of modern technology environments, digital transformation, data, AI, automation, cybersecurity, and technology risk.

- Experience overseeing or partnering closely with IT operations and infrastructure functions.

- Ability to develop business cases, prioritize investments, allocate resources, and measure transformation outcomes.

- Experience leading organizational change and building workforce readiness for major business and technology initiatives.

- Strong understanding of governance, risk management, regulatory expectations, and internal controls in a regulated environment.

- Ability to influence and align senior executives and stakeholders across organizational boundaries.

- Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree or relevant executive/professional credentials preferred.

For confidential consideration, please contact:

Margaret Bonanno-Paa, SHRM-CP
Director of Talent Acquisition
Stanton Chase International
m.bonanno-paa@stantonchase.com