(EMEA) British banking and insurance holding company NatWest has appointed Dr Maja Pantic as its first Chief AI Research Officer, a newly created role aimed at advancing the bank’s AI capabilities, driving innovation, and supporting its simplification strategy.

Pantic is a prominent AI researcher and currently serves as Professor of Affective & Behavioural Computing at Imperial College London. Her previous roles include Founding Research Director at Samsung AI Research Centre in Cambridge and AI Scientific Research Director at Meta London, bringing with her a strong background in applied AI leadership.

In this position, she will focus on accelerating the use of advanced AI technologies, including multimodal AI to detect and counter deepfakes, and generative AI to support responsible AI development. She will also lead research to anticipate future shifts in technology and customer behaviour, while expanding AI-powered tools and automation to simplify operations and improve productivity across the organization.

CIO Scott Marcar described the appointment as a significant step toward transforming customer experiences and streamlining how the bank operates, stating: “Maja’s unique skills and experience will strengthen our ability to meet evolving customer needs while complementing our team’s strong capabilities.”

Pantic added: “I’m excited to contribute to large-scale AI innovation at NatWest and be part of a culture that values impact and continuous learning.”

Her appointment builds on NatWest’s growing AI momentum, including its work with OpenAI, the rollout of its internal GenAI platform, and tools like Cora+ and AskArchie+, which have already demonstrated improvements in customer satisfaction and efficiency.