HSBC has appointed its first ever Chief AI Officer, centralising leadership for adoption of the technology across the whole business.
Long-term insider David Rice begins the position on 1 April. HSBC plans to make generative AI tools available to all staff, with a focus both on simplifying back-end processes and equipping customer service agents.
Rice was previously Chief Operating Officer for HSBC’s Corporate and Institutional Banking business. He has been at the bank for 18 years, holding various operating leadership positions across North America, Europe and Asia.
Georges Elhedery, Group CEO, HSBC said: “Our customers increasingly expect their bank to deliver services uniquely aligned to their specific needs, and fast. That’s why we’re building a bank that is designed for the future.
“AI plays a key role in how we get there.
“Our ambition here is simple – we will empower our colleagues to use AI to create a personalised experience for each customer, deliver it safely, in real time and at scale, while keeping human judgement, decision-making and accountability at the core. David will be instrumental in helping us realise our ambition in this area.”
Rice said: “AI is going to play an ever-increasing role in HSBC’s future plans, so I am thrilled to take on this new role to help us drive forward our transformation agenda.”
The appointment comes as the financial services giant also expands the remit of its Chief Technology Officer, Mario Shamtani, to focus on building the foundations that will enable AI.
At the other Big Four banks in the UK, the most closely equivalent position to Rice’s is at Lloyds where Rohit Dhawan has been Group Head of AI since July 2024. Barclays seemingly does not have an equivalent role, with the responsibility presumably falling under its traditional IT functions, while NatWest has a Chief AI Research Officer.
