Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank has created a new executive position and named Pedro Uria-Recio as its first Chief AI Officer, the bank announced on 21 August 2026, as part of its Vision 2035 transformation strategy.
The role is newly created rather than a succession, with the bank describing it as central to embedding artificial intelligence across its operations. Group Chief Executive Officer Mohamed Abdelbary said artificial intelligence was not simply a technology initiative but one of the principal enablers of the ambition of the bank to become the most innovative Islamic bank in the world, adding that the experience of Uria-Recio in translating artificial intelligence and data into measurable business outcomes would help accelerate adoption while maintaining governance and accountability.
Two decades in data and AI leadership
Uria-Recio joins Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank with more than two decades of experience in artificial intelligence, data and technology leadership. He was most recently Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer at CIMB Bank in Malaysia, where he led the deployment of generative artificial intelligence, agentic artificial intelligence and advanced analytics across the banking group. He has also held senior leadership positions at True Corporation and Axiata Group, both in the Southeast Asian telecommunications sector, and at McKinsey and Company, where he advised organisations on technology, digital transformation and innovation.
He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a degree in telecommunications engineering, a combination the bank said reflects both the commercial and technical dimensions of the role.
An artificial intelligence mandate at scale
Uria-Recio will focus on scaling artificial intelligence responsibly across the bank, building the governance, infrastructure and internal capabilities it says it needs for long term adoption. The appointment builds on an existing digital banking push at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, which says more than 94 percent of its transactions are now conducted through digital channels. The bank serves more than 2.7 million customers and added 125,000 new customers in the first half of 2026, and it said continued investment in technology, artificial intelligence and talent would support the next phase of growth under Vision 2035.
Uria-Recio said Vision 2035 sets a clear and ambitious direction for the bank and that artificial intelligence will be one of the key enablers of delivering that ambition, adding that his focus would be on deploying it responsibly at scale and building solutions that make banking more personalised and efficient for customers and colleagues. Abdelbary said the goal was to embed artificial intelligence in ways that strengthen decision making and risk management as well as day to day customer service.
