We are the champions, my friend, and we’ll keep on fighting till the end.
It’s the lyrics from Queen for a country with a king. The UK government, and not a monarch, has made a power move in the global AI race.
It has appointed two industry veterans—Harriet Rees from Starling Bank and Dr Rohit Dhawan from Lloyds Banking Group—to spearhead AI adoption across financial services.
With three-quarters of UK financial firms already using AI technology and experts predicting strong economic value by 2030, this move signals the government’s determination to maintain the nation’s edge as a global financial hub while ensuring rapid AI deployment happens safely.
These AI Champions, who are “unpaid,” will report directly to Economic Secretary Lucy Rigby, charged with accelerating secure AI deployment at scale. Their mandate? Help firms capitalize on opportunities while maintaining consumer protection and financial stability—identifying where innovation can move faster and tackling barriers that hold firms back from scaling AI solutions.
Dynamic duo
As you’d expect, both have plenty of useful experience.
Rees is Group Chief Information Officer at Starling, overseeing data, engineering, information security, and product development. Since joining in 2018 to establish Starling’s Data Science function, she has gone on to shape and deliver the Group’s technology strategy, with responsibility for information and technology assets and ensuring operational resilience at scale. She also helps shape the future of AI in financial services as Co-Chair of the Bank of England’s AI Taskforce and a member of the AI Consortium.
Dr Dhawan is Group Director and Head of AI & Advanced Analytics at Lloyds Banking Group, a position he has held since 2024. He leads the Group’s AI, machine learning, and advanced analytics strategy and roadmap, heading multidisciplinary teams spanning data science, behavioural science, machine learning engineering, and AI ethics. His work focuses on transforming customer experience and operational processes, and he is also a member of the AI Consortium.
A global movement
This UK initiative reflects a worldwide trend of governments racing to establish AI leadership positions. Cities and nations globally are appointing specialized AI officers to navigate this technological transformation responsibly.
Last month, Seattle hired Lisa Qian as its first-ever AI officer, charged with developing citywide AI strategy across 39 city departments.
Also in December, Louisville, Ky., named Pamela McKnight as its inaugural Chief AI Officer after her nearly 30-year career at Intel, where she led AI upskilling efforts that generated over 30,000 engagements with generative AI tools in just six months.
Two days ago (Jan. 19), the World Economic Forum unveiled fresh research showing companies worldwide are turning AI into measurable real-world impact. Organizations are achieving remarkable results—from cutting energy usage by up to 95% through AI-powered energy market systems to reducing treatment costs by nearly 80% in healthcare applications.
The momentum is undeniable. Annual AI investment by governments has surged into the billions—Canada pledged $2.4 billion, France committed €109 billion, and Saudi Arabia announced a $100 billion initiative called “Project Transcendence.”
Onwards
The success of the UK’s AI Champions will likely influence how other nations structure their own AI governance frameworks, making this initiative a potential model for responsible AI adoption worldwide.
With firms needing to transform services for consumers while managing unprecedented technological change, the stakes for getting this balance right are high.
UK MPs warn regulators’ hands-off stance on AI in finance risks consumer harm, fraud, and systemic shocks as adoption outpaces oversight.
