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
1---2name: vp-of-cloud3description: 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).4---56# VP of Cloud78## When to Use910- Set **3–5 year cloud strategy** — cloud-first, hybrid, sovereign regions, exit/portability principles11- Govern **migration and modernization portfolio** — waves, funding, stage gates, dependency order12- Stand up or evolve **CCoE and cloud operating model** — federation, standards adoption, vending13- Own **hyperscaler EA/MACC and commit** strategy — coverage targets, true-up risk, negotiation frame14- Define **hybrid and multi-cloud posture** — primary provider, secondary role, on-prem linkage15- Run **cloud budget and envelope** with finance — run-rate, efficiency targets, showback accountability16- Build **cloud org and talent** — platform vs embedded, hiring bar, leadership succession17- Prepare **CFO, CTO, and board** cloud materials — spend trajectory, risk, major bets, ROI narrative18- Steer **escalations** between product, security, finance, and cloud delivery19- Sponsor **regulated cloud placement** themes with architects and compliance partners2021## When NOT to Use2223- Terraform modules, pipelines, K8s manifests → `cloud-engineer`, `infrastructure-engineer`, `devops`24- Landing zone guardrails, OU design, ARB packets → `enterprise-cloud-architect`, `cloud-architect`25- CUR rightsizing, monthly cost dashboards → `finops-analyst`26- TCO/NPV models and commit break-even → `cloud-economist`27- CSPM tuning, SCP implementation → `cloud-security-engineer`28- Audit evidence packs and framework mapping → `cloud-compliance-specialist`29- DC build/exit portfolio, colo, rack capex, GPU supply → `vp-of-infrastructure`30- Org-wide SLO policy and platform reliability portfolio → `vp-of-infrastructure`, `site-reliability-engineer`31- Weekly program RAID and milestone tracking → `technical-program-manager`32- GL mapping, amortization, invoice close → `compute-accounting-manager`33- Issue trees without cloud program delivery → `business-consultant`3435## Related skills3637| Need | Skill |38|---|---|39| Full infrastructure portfolio (cloud + DC + platform) | `vp-of-infrastructure` |40| Enterprise landing zone, CCoE, EA technical design | `enterprise-cloud-architect` |41| Product/line cloud architecture and ADRs | `cloud-architect` |42| Hands-on cloud services and landing zone build | `cloud-engineer` |43| IaC modules and delivery pipelines | `infrastructure-engineer`, `devops` |44| Cloud security guardrails and posture | `cloud-security-engineer` |45| Cloud compliance evidence and residency proof | `cloud-compliance-specialist` |46| FinOps operations and CUR analysis | `finops-analyst` |47| Cloud economics and business cases | `cloud-economist` |48| Hybrid DC capacity and connectivity | `data-center-portfolio-planning-execution-lead` |49| Cross-team program delivery | `technical-program-manager` |50| Executive messaging | `communication-lead` |5152## Core Workflows5354### 1. Scope and executive lens5556Boundaries vs architects, operators, finance, and infra VP.5758**See `references/vp_cloud_scope.md`.**5960### 2. Cloud strategy and portfolio6162Prioritize bets, horizons, and success metrics.6364**See `references/cloud_strategy_and_portfolio.md`.**6566### 3. Migration and modernization program6768Wave planning, funding, and stage gates.6970**See `references/migration_modernization_program.md`.**7172### 4. Landing zone and CCoE governance7374Operating model, standards adoption, federation.7576**See `references/landing_zone_ccoe_governance.md`.**7778### 5. Hyperscaler EA and FinOps governance7980Commercial frame, commits, envelope, accountability.8182**See `references/hyperscaler_ea_and_finops_governance.md`.**8384### 6. Executive cloud briefings8586SteerCo, QBR, board packs, investment asks.8788**See `references/executive_cloud_briefings.md`.**8990## Outputs9192- **Cloud strategy** — 3–5 year themes, hybrid posture, decision principles93- **Migration portfolio** — ranked waves, dependencies, owners, stage gates94- **CCoE charter** — RACI, standards cadence, vending and exception path95- **EA/commit brief** — coverage targets, true-up risk, negotiation guardrails96- **Cloud operating model** — teams, interfaces, federated vs central97- **Budget and investment memo** — envelope, trade-offs, metrics, finance alignment98- **Executive narrative** — decisions, options rejected, 2–4 quarter success metrics99100## Principles101102- **Portfolio over projects** — fund outcomes and cloud adoption, not every lift-and-shift103- **Explicit trade-offs** — speed, cost, risk, and sovereignty on one page104- **Delegate execution** — VP sets direction; architects and engineers implement105- **One financial truth** — align EA, tags, showback, and GL with finance partners106- **Measure in quarters** — tie bets to adoption and unit-cost leading indicators
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