Dive Brief:
- HSBC elevated longtime employee David Rice to be the global banking firm’s first chief AI officer effective April 1. In addition, the bank expanded CTO Mario Shamtani’s role to strengthen its technology foundation by modernizing core platforms and building a central AI platform for employee access to models, according to a press release.
- Rice’s appointment and Shamtani’s added focus on platform modernization comes amid a wider push to deploy and scale AI across HSBC. The bank aims to equip staff with generative AI tools to simplify processes and deliver a more customized experience to customers, the release said.
- “Our ambition here is simple — we will empower our colleagues to use AI to create a personalized experience for each customer, deliver it safely, in real time and at scale, while keeping human judgement, decision-making and accountability at the core,” Georges Elhedery, group CEO at HSBC, said in the release.
Dive Insight:
HSBC’s chief AI officer appointment is the latest signal of AI’s effect on the financial services industry and of the firm’s commitment to capitalize on the technology.
The move comes on the heels of naming generative AI one of its biggest investment areas to bolster process reengineering, customer experience and employee assistance. The bank has already enabled 85% of its employees with generative AI productivity tools, Elhedery said during HSBC’s Q4 2025 earnings call in February.
Rice, who has spent the last 18 years at HSBC and most recently served as chief operating officer for HSBC’s corporate and institutional banking business, sees the strategic role as being critical to the company’s longevity and future success, according to the release.
The pursuit of AI transformation is happening globally. In the U.S., banks are expected to double their AI investments in 2026, according to data from Finastra, a global financial technology company. During its February earnings call, Elhedery said the bank is already using AI to redesign processes and rolling out contact center tools to improve the customer experience.
“Our customer relationships are built on trust,” Elhedery said during the earnings call. “AI strengthens how we act on that trust, personalizing service at scale.”
Customer demand for more tailored services is driving HSBC’s AI adoption goals, Elhedery said in the release on the new appointment. The chief AI officer “will be instrumental in helping us realize our ambition in this area,” he said.
Customer experience is driving technology strategy at other financial institutions. Country Bank earlier this month named a new CTO to help improve efficiency and innovation for bank customers and employees.
Meanwhile, UBS Group CEO Sergio Ermotti detailed the company’s AI investments geared toward improving client experiences during the company’s Q4 2025 earnings call in February. UBS is another financial institution that recently introduced its first chief AI officer. Daniele Magazzeni started in that role Jan. 1.
