Director, Strategy; Hybrid

Overview

The Director of Strategy is a highly visible role that will define, shape, and activate Ardent Mills’ long-term strategic direction. Reporting to the VP of Corporate Development & Strategy, this leader will drive corporate and business segment strategy, facilitate business transformation initiatives, and act as a trusted thought partner to the executive team. This role focuses on strategic planning, growth road mapping, performance transformation, and enterprise alignment.

The leader will selectively support M&A execution as needed, with emphasis on building and executing high-impact organic strategies for long-term competitiveness.

• Enterprise Strategy
  • Lead long-term and annual strategic planning processes, including functional strategies and focus area deep dives (e.g., adjacencies, new geographies).
  • Own the tracking, analysis, and reporting of progress against the ongoing 5-year strategy, ensuring visibility and accountability across the organization.
  • Serve as project leader for complex cross-functional initiatives, managing workplans and cross-functional teams from diagnosis to implementation
    • Conduct analysis and synthesize data to answer critical business questions; develop frameworks, insights, and recommendations.
    • Develop business cases, success metrics, and performance tracking for key initiatives.
  • Analyze external trends, customer needs, and market dynamics to anticipate disruptions and identify growth opportunities
    • Translate complex data and insights into compelling narratives and strategic recommendations.
  • Deliver high-quality internal work products, including Board materials, key presentations, and executive scorecards.
• Strategic Planning and Performance Management
  • Lead the annual operating planning cycle, aligning corporate goals with business unit objectives and investment priorities.
  • Establish clear metrics, milestones, and performance dashboards to track strategic progress and impact.
  • Partner with finance and other functions to embed strategy into business reviews, investment decisions, and resource allocation.
• Growth and Transformation Initiatives
  • Lead high-impact, cross-functional initiatives that enable innovation, operational transformation, or commercial acceleration.
  • Drive structured problem-solving efforts to unlock value, enhance competitiveness, or expand capabilities.
  • Support strategic partnerships, innovation pilots, and internal ventures aligned with Ardent Mills’ growth agenda.
  • Collaborate with Corporate Development on evaluating acquisition or partnership opportunities that support enterprise strategy
    • Contribute to strategic diligence, business case development, modeling and integration planning as needed.
• Executive Engagement and Communication
  • Serve as a thought partner to the VP and senior leadership team on critical strategic questions.
  • Prepare board and executive-level materials that synthesize strategy insights and highlight enterprise performance.
  • Facilitate executive workshops and strategy offsites to ensure alignment and buy-in.
  • Foster a culture of analytical rigor, innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

• Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree strongly preferred
• 10+ years of experience in management consulting and/or corporate strategy-related roles with a demonstrated track record of increasing impact and responsibility
• Experience with food, CPG, or manufacturing sectors strongly preferred
• Proven track record of leading enterprise strategy efforts and delivering measurable business outcomes
• Experience with M&A execution activities preferred (e.g., business case development, valuation and modeling, due diligence management and integration planning)
• Experience presenting to and influencing senior executives and cross-functional stakeholders

• Strategic acumen:
  Identify macro trends, distill insights, and formulate actionable strategies
• Enterprise thinking:
  Connect business-level insights to company-wide priorities
• Influence and alignment:
  Build relationships across levels and functions to drive consensus and action
• Analytical rigor:
  Use data, frameworks, and modeling to guide decisions
• Executive…