The uk government has appointed two senior industry figures as artificial intelligence champions for financial services, in a move designed to harness rapid adoption of artificial intelligence across the sector while keeping consumers and the financial system protected. The new champions, harriet rees of starling bank and dr rohit dhawan of lloyds banking group, will report directly to economic secretary lucy rigby and will focus on translating existing momentum in artificial intelligence deployment into practical, large scale delivery. Their mandate is to help firms seize opportunities quickly while maintaining trust, resilience and strong consumer protection, reinforcing the uk’s position as a global hub for financial services, technology and investment.
The treasury highlights that around three-quarters of uk financial firms already use artificial intelligence, with adoption having risen from just over half in recent years. Independent analysis suggests artificial intelligence could add tens of billions of pounds to the financial and professional services sector by 2030, and the government expects the technology to boost the economy, cut costs for firms and transform services for customers. The appointments are framed as part of a broader push to turn this widespread use into safe, scalable growth, with the champions tasked with exploring ways to accelerate responsible adoption, identify areas where innovation can move faster, and address barriers that are holding firms back.
Harriet rees serves as group chief information officer at starling, leading data, engineering, information security and product development, and previously founded the bank’s data science practice in 2018. She already helps shape the future of artificial intelligence in financial services as co-chair of the bank of england’s artificial intelligence taskforce and as a member of the artificial intelligence consortium. Dr rohit dhawan is group director and head of artificial intelligence and advanced analytics at lloyds banking group, a role he has held since 2024, where he oversees strategy and roadmaps for artificial intelligence, machine learning and advanced analytics, and leads teams spanning data science, behavioural science, engineering and artificial intelligence ethics. Both describe the roles as an opportunity to support thoughtful, responsible adoption of artificial intelligence and to help maintain the uk’s ambition to remain a global leader in financial innovation. The unpaid, direct ministerial appointments took effect from 20 January 2026, with established processes followed for declaring and managing any interests.
