name: vp-of-cloud
description: |
Guides VP-level cloud program leadership—multi-year cloud strategy and migration/modernization
portfolio, landing zone and CCoE operating model at org scale, hyperscaler enterprise agreement
and commit governance, hybrid/multi-cloud posture, cloud center of excellence and talent, and
board/CFO/CTO cloud narratives.
Use when setting cloud direction, prioritizing migration waves, governing EA/MACC and cloud spend
envelope, designing federated cloud org model, steering CCoE and standards adoption, preparing
executive or board cloud updates, or adjudicating product vs platform vs security cloud trade-offs—not
for Terraform/K8s implementation (cloud-engineer, infrastructure-engineer), landing zone technical
design (enterprise-cloud-architect, cloud-architect), monthly CUR FinOps (finops-analyst), TCO/NPV
modeling (cloud-economist), full infra portfolio including DC capex (vp-of-infrastructure), or GL
close (compute-accounting-manager).
VP of Cloud
When to Use
- Set 3–5 year cloud strategy — cloud-first, hybrid, sovereign regions, exit/portability principles
- Govern migration and modernization portfolio — waves, funding, stage gates, dependency order
- Stand up or evolve CCoE and cloud operating model — federation, standards adoption, vending
- Own hyperscaler EA/MACC and commit strategy — coverage targets, true-up risk, negotiation frame
- Define hybrid and multi-cloud posture — primary provider, secondary role, on-prem linkage
- Run cloud budget and envelope with finance — run-rate, efficiency targets, showback accountability
- Build cloud org and talent — platform vs embedded, hiring bar, leadership succession
- Prepare CFO, CTO, and board cloud materials — spend trajectory, risk, major bets, ROI narrative
- Steer escalations between product, security, finance, and cloud delivery
- Sponsor regulated cloud placement themes with architects and compliance partners
When NOT to Use
- Terraform modules, pipelines, K8s manifests →
cloud-engineer, infrastructure-engineer, devops
- Landing zone guardrails, OU design, ARB packets →
enterprise-cloud-architect, cloud-architect
- CUR rightsizing, monthly cost dashboards →
finops-analyst
- TCO/NPV models and commit break-even →
cloud-economist
- CSPM tuning, SCP implementation →
cloud-security-engineer
- Audit evidence packs and framework mapping →
cloud-compliance-specialist
- DC build/exit portfolio, colo, rack capex, GPU supply →
vp-of-infrastructure
- Org-wide SLO policy and platform reliability portfolio →
vp-of-infrastructure, site-reliability-engineer
- Weekly program RAID and milestone tracking →
technical-program-manager
- GL mapping, amortization, invoice close →
compute-accounting-manager
- Issue trees without cloud program delivery →
business-consultant
Related skills
| Need | Skill |
|---|
| Full infrastructure portfolio (cloud + DC + platform) | vp-of-infrastructure |
| Enterprise landing zone, CCoE, EA technical design | enterprise-cloud-architect |
| Product/line cloud architecture and ADRs | cloud-architect |
| Hands-on cloud services and landing zone build | cloud-engineer |
| IaC modules and delivery pipelines | infrastructure-engineer, devops |
| Cloud security guardrails and posture | cloud-security-engineer |
| Cloud compliance evidence and residency proof | cloud-compliance-specialist |
| FinOps operations and CUR analysis | finops-analyst |
| Cloud economics and business cases | cloud-economist |
| Hybrid DC capacity and connectivity | data-center-portfolio-planning-execution-lead |
| Cross-team program delivery | technical-program-manager |
| Executive messaging | communication-lead |
Core Workflows
1. Scope and executive lens
Boundaries vs architects, operators, finance, and infra VP.
See references/vp_cloud_scope.md.
2. Cloud strategy and portfolio
Prioritize bets, horizons, and success metrics.
See references/cloud_strategy_and_portfolio.md.
3. Migration and modernization program
Wave planning, funding, and stage gates.
See references/migration_modernization_program.md.
4. Landing zone and CCoE governance
Operating model, standards adoption, federation.
See references/landing_zone_ccoe_governance.md.
5. Hyperscaler EA and FinOps governance
Commercial frame, commits, envelope, accountability.
See references/hyperscaler_ea_and_finops_governance.md.
6. Executive cloud briefings
SteerCo, QBR, board packs, investment asks.
See references/executive_cloud_briefings.md.
Outputs
- Cloud strategy — 3–5 year themes, hybrid posture, decision principles
- Migration portfolio — ranked waves, dependencies, owners, stage gates
- CCoE charter — RACI, standards cadence, vending and exception path
- EA/commit brief — coverage targets, true-up risk, negotiation guardrails
- Cloud operating model — teams, interfaces, federated vs central
- Budget and investment memo — envelope, trade-offs, metrics, finance alignment
- Executive narrative — decisions, options rejected, 2–4 quarter success metrics
Principles
- Portfolio over projects — fund outcomes and cloud adoption, not every lift-and-shift
- Explicit trade-offs — speed, cost, risk, and sovereignty on one page
- Delegate execution — VP sets direction; architects and engineers implement
- One financial truth — align EA, tags, showback, and GL with finance partners
- Measure in quarters — tie bets to adoption and unit-cost leading indicators