Milena Kumurdjieva in

Milena Kumurdjieva

Sharpshooter · DISC type CD
Managing Director, Data and AI at Air Canada
📍 Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Milena is the Managing Director of Data and AI at Air Canada, leading the charge in embedding AI into the companys core operations. With nearly two decades of prior experience at Canadian Tire Corporation, she is an expert in transforming AI strategies into production-ready, enterprise-scale systems. Milena holds a certification from The Judy Project for executive women.

She is a people-first leader, passionate about building high-performing teams and fostering communities of practice. Her leadership style focuses on empowering teams to translate their collective intelligence into tangible value, and she has spoken at various industry events, including the Toronto Global Forum, on the topics of AI and automation.

Unique fact: Milena has been told that she works exceptionally well with geniuses.

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Experience
20 Years
Current Role
Managing Director, Data and AI
Job Level
Mid-senior
Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Personality Overview

How Milena shows up

Rigorous & Demanding
ROI Driven
Fast But Analytical

They like to be in a position where they can control the conversation and terms. They like to act fast and expect others to do the same. They are not focused on building rapport and relationships.

Priorities

Topics Milena cares about

Scaling AI Systems
Her entire career, from Canadian Tire to Air Canada, has focused on bridging the gap from AI algorithms and proofs-of-concept to full-scale production and adoption.
Responsible AI
A consistent theme in her profile and recent posts, she co-authored an article on the necessity of responsible AI for business success and focuses on safe GenAI deployment.
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Career

Work history

1-2026
Managing Director, Data and AI
Air Canada
1-2024 - 1-2026
Associate Vice President, Applied AI and Automation
Canadian Tire Corporation
8-2021 - 12-2023
Associate Vice President, Advanced Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Automation Enablement
Canadian Tire Corporation
9-2019 - 8-2021
Associate Vice President, Intelligent Automation
Canadian Tire Corporation
4-2017 - 9-2019
Senior Program Manager
Canadian Tire Corporation
In the press

Media appearances

No media yetWe could not find public media appearances for this person.
Education
1-2022 - 12-2026
PhD Candidate
Institute of Information and Communication Technologies (IICT) - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
M.S.
University of Plovdiv "Paisii Hilendarski"
Social presence
in
Behavioral profile

DISC profile (public)

C

Calculativeness (C)

Calculativeness (C) reflects the degree to which a person is likely to be cautious, systematic and analytical. Those scoring high tend to emphasise quality and accuracy.

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