Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank names chief AI officer
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), a leading Islamic financial institution, has appointed Pedro Uria-Recio as its new Chief AI Officer, thus strengthening the bank’s leadership and capabilities as it advances its Vision 2035 strategy.
The appointment reflects ADIB’s commitment to embedding Artificial Intelligence across the organisation as one of the principal transformation enablers of Vision 2035.
In his new role, Pedro will lead the next phase of ADIB’s AI strategy, accelerating the responsible deployment of AI across the Bank to enhance customer experiences, strengthen risk management, improve operational efficiency, and equip colleagues with advanced tools and insights.
His mandate will also focus on building the capabilities, governance and infrastructure required to scale AI responsibly across the Group, supporting ADIB’s Vision 2035 to become the world’s most innovative Islamic bank, while continuing to make banking simpler, faster, and more personalised for customers.
Pedro brings more than 20 years of experience across technology, data, and Artificial Intelligence. Prior to joining ADIB, he served as Chief Data & Artificial Intelligence Officer at CIMB Bank in Malaysia, where he led the organisation's AI strategy and spearheaded the deployment of generative AI, agentic AI, and advanced analytics solutions across Southeast Asia.
He has also held senior leadership roles at True Corporation, Axiata Group and McKinsey & Company, advising leading organisations on technology, digital transformation, and innovation.
Welcoming him into the fold, Group CEO Mohamed Abdelbary said: "Pedro’s appointment reinforces our commitment to Vision 2035 and reflects the scale of our ambition for the future of ADIB."
"Artificial intelligence is not simply a technology initiative; it is one of the principal transformation enablers of our strategy and our ambition to become the world’s most innovative Islamic bank," he stated.
"Our objective is to embed AI across ADIB in ways that deliver tangible value: making banking simpler, faster, and more personalised for our customers, giving our colleagues better tools
and insights, strengthening decision-making and risk management, and improving the way we operate," he added.
According to him, Pedro will bring deep expertise and a proven track record of translating AI, data and technology into measurable business and customer outcomes.
“His leadership will be instrumental as we accelerate AI adoption across the Bank responsibly and at scale, while preserving the trust, human judgement and accountability that remain fundamental to banking,” he added.
Pedro holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BSc in Telecommunications Engineering.
On his new role, Pedro said: “I am delighted to join ADIB at a defining stage of its transformation. Vision 2035 sets a clear and ambitious direction for the Bank, and AI will be one of the key enablers of delivering that ambition.”
“My focus will be on turning that potential into tangible outcomes for customers, colleagues, and the Bank: deploying AI responsibly at scale, building strong internal capabilities and creating solutions that make banking more intelligent, personalised, and efficient,” he added.
