How Will Citi's AI Strategy Evolve Under Griffiths?

Citi appointed David Griffiths as its Group Head of Artificial Intelligence on May 6, 2026, elevating its most senior technology executive into a dedicated AI leadership role as the bank moves to unify its AI strategy across businesses and operations.

The appointment was announced by Anand Selva, Citi's Chief Operating Officer, who described the move as bringing "clearer focus and acceleration" to the bank's AI strategy by unifying its end-to-end AI operating model.

Griffiths joins the Chief Operating Office leadership team in his new role and will work closely with Tim Ryan, Head of Technology and Business Enablement, to align AI innovation with Citi's broader technology agenda and firmwide priorities.

Griffiths spent the past two years as Citi's Chief Technology Officer, a period he described as foundational.

"We've built a firm-wide AI platform with the world's leading frontier labs, rewired core operational processes, and embedded AI into the businesses themselves," he said in a statement. "The results are real and measurable across the bank."

According to the LinkedIn post, Griffiths is not moving into a technology reporting line. He is joining the Chief Operating Office, meaning AI strategy at Citi now sits at the operational leadership level.

That mirrors the approach Walmart took when it placed Daniel Danker's AI Acceleration role at the executive council level alongside business teams rather than within its technology division.

For Citi, the move reflects a recognition that the harder problem is no longer building AI capability, it is deploying it consistently across a global bank's businesses, operations, and client-facing functions.

Griffiths' background as CTO positions him to manage both sides of that challenge. He understands the technology stack and the operational model it needs to integrate with.

"Our new organisation unites Technology and Operations under a single, unified AI mandate: to develop AI responsibly and work hand-in-hand with our businesses to embed it into everything we do," Griffiths said.

The appointment adds Citi to a growing list of major financial institutions formalizing senior AI leadership roles in 2026.

HSBC named David Rice as its first Chief AI Officer in April 2026. UBS appointed Daniele Magazzeni as its first CAIO effective January 1, 2026. Citi's structure differs since Griffiths' role sits within the COO office rather than as a standalone CAIO, but the direction is consistent across the industry.