Great day at FStech’s ‘Future of AI in Financial Services’ conference in London - a full agenda of ideas, provocations and honest conversations about what it really takes to lead in an age of AI.
As a bank director, I’m deeply curious about the opportunity AI presents, not just to reshape operations, but to create better outcomes for customers. I loved that so much of the conversation focused on purpose and how AI can help our industry deliver fairer, smarter, more responsive services.
And as chair of a People & Culture Committee, I was equally encouraged by the focus on people - building the skills and confidence to work differently, and helping teams move up the value chain as AI takes on the more repetitive work.
What stood out most was how consistently the speakers linked innovation to trust. Jeff Valane, CFA from HSBC spoke about the “AI-native bank” - not as a technology goal, but as a mindset shift. Governance, data, culture and strategy must all evolve together if we’re to build organisations that learn as fast as the world around them.
The discussion on Agentic AI was fascinating too. We’re moving into an era where AI won’t just respond, it will reason - sensing, planning, acting and reflecting. It’s a huge opportunity, but it also asks leaders to think carefully about how autonomy, ethics and accountability work in practice.
There was a strong theme around capability. Every panel, in one way or another, came back to culture - that AI fluency, curiosity and critical thinking will matter far more than coding. The most valuable roles will be the ones that blend human judgment, creativity and empathy with intelligent systems and push humans up the value chain, with AI taking over the mundane work.
Finally, Starling Bank’s story brought it all to life: AI confidence spreading from the ground up, not the top down. A reminder that innovation happens when people feel trusted to explore and experiment.
For me, the takeaway was clear: AI maturity is really about leadership maturity.
Technology may change how we work, but people and purpose will always define why we work and who benefits.
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