Dive Brief:
- JPMorgan Chase appointed Teresa Heitsenrether as chief data and analytics officer last week. She will lead AI adoption across the company, reporting to Daniel Pinto, president and COO at the firm.
- As leader of the newly formed data and analytics organization, Heitsenrether will oversee data use, governance and controls to help the company develop AI-powered tools and systems to improve productivity and enhance risk management.
- Alongside Heitsenrether's appointment, the company also moved three leaders and their respective groups to the new organization, including Drew Cukor, AI/ML transformation and engagement; Manuela Veloso, AI research; and Gerard Francis, Fusion data solutions.
Dive Insight:
Chief data and analytics officers across the firm will continue to report to their respective business units but will have additional accountability to Heitsenrether, a 35-year veteran at the financial services company.
As tech leaders wade through a deluge of AI tools and products hitting the market, boards and C-suites are taking a closer look at internal AI strategies and leadership functions to identify where the technology could bring benefits.
“The need for a chief data and analytics officer or a chief AI officer to not just be a great technologist, but also to be highly connected to business strategy and business stakeholders across organizations, has been a real noticeable shift,” said Brittany Gregory, engagement manager in the data, analytics and AI practice at Heidrick & Struggles.
Data and AI leadership roles aren’t particularly novel, though Gregory said conversations around these titles have increased as AI takes the spotlight during earnings calls and board meetings. One analysis of earnings call transcripts from S&P 500 companies found AI mentions reached a decade-high, with 110 businesses talking about AI, according to FactSet data.
Around 19% of S&P 500 companies in the financial services industry mentioned AI in their earnings calls, according to the study. The company analyzed earnings calls between March 15 and May 25.
JPMorgan Chase did not talk about AI efforts in its earnings call in April, but executives from the company spoke about technology strategies during the Morgan Stanley U.S. Financials, Payments and CRE Conference earlier this month.
Currently, the firm’s consumer and community banking organization is on a journey to move 50% of its data into the cloud by the end of the year and reach 80% by the end of next year, according to Jennifer Piepszak, co-CEO of consumer and community banking at JPMorgan Chase. The focus of the project is gaining efficiencies throughout the organization from operations to the top line.
“It's a game of inches, I would say, in terms of productivity, and it always will be,” Piepszak said during the conference, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript. “Every day, we will just get a little bit better and leverage tools like AI and ML to be able to do that.”
