Enterprise Architecture Council Charter

1 Purpose & Scope

The Enterprise Architecture Council (EAC) is established as the supreme architectural governance body within Aevum Zenth Conglomerate. This charter defines the council's authority, operating framework, and decision-making protocols to ensure cohesive technology strategy, interoperable systems, and optimized capital allocation across all business divisions.

Scope of Authority:

• Enterprise-wide technology strategy & roadmap alignment
• Architecture standards, reference models, and compliance enforcement
• Cross-divisional integration initiatives & shared service platforms
• Major capital expenditure (> $50M) technology approval
• Security, data governance, and regulatory compliance architecture

1.1 Mandate & Boundaries: The council does not replace divisional engineering leadership but provides the architectural guardrails, prioritization framework, and conflict resolution mechanism necessary for a conglomerate operating across 47 distinct industries. All initiatives impacting shared infrastructure, data lakes, or inter-divisional APIs require EAC review.

2 Council Composition & Governance

The EAC is structured to reflect the conglomerate's multidivisional nature while maintaining decisive central authority. Membership is appointed by the Chief Executive Officer upon recommendation of the Chief Technology Officer and Chief Enterprise Architect.

Quorum requires 14 of 20 voting members. Proxy voting is permitted only for Divisional Architects during pre-approved leave periods. The Chair may appoint subject-matter experts to advisory seats on a per-meeting basis without voting privileges.

3 Roles & Responsibilities

The EAC exercises authority across five core responsibility domains. Divisional leads are accountable for implementing approved architectures within their operational boundaries.

1. Strategic Alignment: Maintain the 5-year enterprise technology roadmap. Ensure divisional initiatives map to corporate strategic pillars and prevent redundant platform development.
2. Standards & Patterns: Author and maintain the Aevum Zenth Architecture Framework (AZAF), including approved technology stacks, integration patterns, security baselines, and data classification standards.
3. Investment Governance: Review and approve technology capital expenditures exceeding $50M. Evaluate ROI, strategic fit, and architectural impact before routing to the Investment Committee.
4. Risk & Compliance: Ensure all architectures meet regulatory requirements (SOX, GDPR, HIPAA, ITAR, etc.) across 62 operating jurisdictions. Mandate security-by-design and zero-trust principles.
5. Conflict Resolution: Serve as the final arbiter for inter-divisional technology disputes, platform ownership conflicts, and integration priority disagreements.

4 Decision-Making Framework

To balance speed with governance, the EAC utilizes a tiered decision model. All proposals must be submitted via the Architecture Governance Portal 14 days prior to review cycles.

Decisions are recorded in the Architecture Decision Log (ADL) with rationale, alternatives considered, and expected sunset/review dates. Overrides require written justification from the Chair and subsequent approval by the Executive Steering Committee.

5 Operating Procedures

The EAC maintains rigorous operating cadences to ensure consistent governance across global time zones. All meetings are recorded, minuted, and distributed within 48 hours.

• Standing Review Cycle: Monthly plenary sessions (first Wednesday), quarterly strategic offsites, and ad-hoc emergency sessions for critical security or compliance incidents.
• Submission Protocol: All architecture proposals require a standardized brief (SBR) including business case, technical architecture, dependency map, security assessment, and compliance checklist.
• Review & Feedback: Working groups draft recommendations. The plenary votes. Rejected proposals may be resubmitted within 90 days with revised architecture addressing council feedback.
• Enforcement: Divisional CTOs are responsible for implementing approved architectures. Non-compliance triggers an escalation pathway to the Chief Risk Officer and Executive Steering Committee.

6 Reporting & Compliance

Transparency and accountability are foundational to the council's mandate. The EAC reports directly to the Executive Steering Committee and maintains open audit trails for all governance actions.

Reporting Cadence:

• Quarterly Architecture Health Reports to the Board Technology Committee
• Bi-annual compliance audits conducted by Internal Audit Division
• Real-time dashboard access for executive leadership (metrics: adoption rate, exception backlog, compliance score, technical debt index)

Violations of architectural standards are classified by severity (Minor, Major, Critical) and tracked through the Compliance Management System. Repeated violations may result in budgetary holds or architectural sanctions until remediation is complete.

7 Amendments & Review

This charter is a living document subject to structured review and amendment procedures to reflect evolving business strategy, regulatory landscapes, and technological paradigms.

• Annual Review: The charter undergoes mandatory comprehensive review each January. Updates require 66% council approval and CEO sign-off.
• Emergency Amendments: In cases of regulatory shifts or critical infrastructure incidents, the Chair may issue temporary directives valid for 30 days, pending formal charter amendment.
• Version Control: All changes are tracked via the Document Governance System. Superseded versions are archived but remain accessible for audit purposes.