NatWest has appointed Dr Maja Pantic as its first chief AI research officer to advance the bank’s AI capabilities, drive research and innovation, and support its strategic focus on bank-wide simplification.
Maja brings deep AI research expertise and is currently serving as professor of affective and behavioural computing at Imperial College London, having previously been founding research director of Samsung AI Research Centre in Cambridge, and AI scientific research director at Meta London.
In her new role, Dr Pantic will focus on accelerating AI use cases, such as the use of multimodal AI (including voice or video) to combat deepfakes and generative AI to advance responsible AI controls.
She will also lead research and innovation to provide a forward-looking view on AI advancements, how they impact the banking industry, and anticipate future shifts in behaviour and technology.
In addition, Dr Pantic will progress the use of AI for bank-wide simplification by accelerating the use of AI tools and automation to enable colleagues to be more productive and efficient.
The appointment builds on recent momentum in NatWest’s AI transformation, including its collaboration with OpenAI, the roll-out of the bank's internal GenAI platform to all colleagues, and the implementation of virtual assistant tools like Cora+ and AskArchie+.
Earlier this year, NatWest Group made a minority investment in Serene, an early-stage AI platform dedicated to tackling financial vulnerability.
Scott Marcar, CIO of NatWest Group, said: “It’s not the first time I’ve said that AI is helping us to be a simpler NatWest and to transform our customers’ experiences as we become even more of a trusted partner in the moments that matter most. Maja’s appointment is another important and exciting milestone; her unique skills and experience will help us adapt and meet customers’ changing needs faster, and more effectively, whilst complementing our team’s existing capabilities.”
Dr Maja Pantic commented: “My career decisions have always been guided by two things: the opportunity to make an impact and the chance to learn. Joining a business like NatWest – given the vital role it plays in the lives of the customers and communities it serves – will not only give me the opportunity to work at the forefront of technological shifts in the banking industry at an immense scale, but to learn from leaders who instil a culture of learning and innovation throughout the bank.”
