Bank of Ireland names Citigroup's global AI head Prag Sharma as its first Chief AI Officer
Bank of Ireland names Citigroup’s global AI head Prag Sharma as its first Chief AI Officer #
Bank of Ireland has named Prag Sharma, former head of artificial intelligence at Citigroup, as its first Chief AI Officer. Sharma is expected to take up the newly created position in October.
At Citigroup, Sharma established and led the bank’s Global AI Centre of Excellence, which delivered AI products across 96 countries. He most recently served as a director at the Citi Institute’s Future of Finance, a research unit focused on emerging technologies in financial services.
Before Citi, Sharma held roles in Ireland at Deloitte’s Advanced Analytics Consulting Practice and Accenture’s Integrated Markets Group, along with a programme management role at UCD’s Insight Centre for Data Analytics. He also co-founded a software analytics company during that period. Bank of Ireland described him as “an accomplished AI leader with deep technical knowledge and extensive global experience.”
Ciarán Coyle, Group Chief Operating Officer, said the hire was “critical” to the bank’s ambitions, noting that AI is a core pillar of its updated strategy running to 2028. “Prag brings the vision, leadership and expertise required to safely accelerate our AI transformation and unlock meaningful value across the Group,” Coyle said. He added that the appointment reflects the bank’s ambition to be “at the forefront of responsible AI innovation and adoption.”
Several European banks have moved in recent years to establish formal AI leadership at the executive level. The hire is intended to move Bank of Ireland beyond exploratory AI projects and embed the technology across its operations.
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