Standard Chartered Names New Data Chief to Drive AI Transformation
Source: iTnews Asia
Standard Chartered has appointed Shebani Baweja as Group Chief Data Officer, based in Singapore, to spearhead its enterprise-wide data strategy and accelerate AI-driven transformation across the bank's global operations.
Standard Chartered has appointed Shebani Baweja as its new Group Chief Data Officer (CDO), tasking her with shaping and executing the bank's enterprise-wide data strategy as it deepens its focus on AI-driven transformation. Based in Singapore, Baweja will lead the Group Data Office and report to Alvaro Garrido, the bank's COO for Technology & Operations and CIO for Information Security & Data.
Baweja brings over two decades of experience in technology, cybersecurity, and transformation leadership to the role. She joined Standard Chartered in 2008 and has since held several senior positions across Wealth and Retail Banking and Technology & Operations. Most recently, she served as the bank's Chief Information Security Officer. Her appointment reflects the growing convergence of data governance, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence within large financial institutions.
The move comes as banks across Asia-Pacific accelerate investments in data-led innovation and AI adoption to improve operational efficiency, client engagement, and risk management. Standard Chartered, which generates a significant portion of its revenue from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, has been positioning data and AI as core pillars of its technology transformation agenda. The creation of a dedicated Group CDO role reporting into the COO structure signals that data is now viewed as a strategic asset requiring C-level ownership rather than a back-office function.
Why it matters for Singapore: The appointment reinforces Singapore's role as a hub for AI and data leadership within global banking. Standard Chartered's decision to base its Group CDO in Singapore — a role with enterprise-wide remit — underscores the city-state's deep bench of tech talent and its strategic importance as a nerve centre for the banking group's digital transformation. For Singapore's financial sector, this is another signal that AI and data roles are increasingly being anchored here, creating high-value career pathways for local tech professionals in banking.