UBS revamps leadership with tech, AI in mind – CIO Dive
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The Swiss bank appointed its first chief AI officer, the latest financial services company to create an executive role dedicated to AI adoption.
The financial services industry continues to view AI as a significant change agent, accelerating investment in both talent and technology.
Earlier this month, Evident Insights’ annual report documented a more than 25% increase in AI talent among 50 of the largest global financial firms. Use cases are also on the rise, Evident found. In August, the analyst firm reported that the same cluster of firms doubled the number of new AI use cases compared with the last half of 2024.
UBS is among the cohort of banks boosting use cases, and stated in a July Q2 2025 earnings call that it is advancing its “transformational AI initiatives” with more than 280 AI use cases already live, an increase of 10% quarter over quarter.
But global financial services firms are increasingly making another change: naming a decision-maker to lead AI strategy. UBS is the latest financial institution to signal the effect AI is having on the industry through a C-level appointment.
In September, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank named Shameek Kundu as its chief AI officer. In August, Metropolitan Commercial Bank tapped Ali Abedini as its first CAIO. Earlier in June, Danske Bank appointed Kasper Tjørntved Davidsen as CAIO and head of generative AI, and NatWest announced Maja Pantic as its chief AI research officer. Along with UBS, the companies indicated that advancing AI capabilities to help meet customer needs and drive innovation are top priorities.
The structural and operational changes financial institutions are exploring is an indication of how much AI is changing commerce and the fear firms have of customers “bypassing bank-owned digital platforms to complete their banking tasks,” Zhi-Ying Barry, a principal analyst at Forrester, said in a recent blog post.
Barry’s observation was coupled with another potential trend in banking: the emergence of a blended chief data, digital and AI officer. She noted a spate of appointments in the past five months, describing it as “banking’s new power role.”
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When modernizing legacy IT systems, CIOs shouldn’t just keep an eye on risk. They should also connect changes to business goals.
With IBM, the United States Tennis Association is embedding the technology to improve the fan experience and boost productivity behind the scenes.
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