Danske Bank Welcomes Dr. Fiona Browne as New Head of AI to Drive Innovation

Danske Bank UK has confirmed the appointment of Dr Fiona Browne as its first Head of Artificial Intelligence, a move designed to accelerate how AI is developed and used across the organisation. The role is expected to strengthen the bank’s ability to apply AI to day-to-day banking, support colleagues internally, and improve customer-facing experiences as digital services become the default for many users.

Danske Bank’s push toward AI-led banking

While Danske Bank is widely known as a major Nordic financial services group founded in 1871, its UK and Northern Ireland operations continue to invest in technology-led transformation to stay competitive in a fast-changing market. With banks under pressure to modernise everything from onboarding to servicing and security, AI is increasingly being treated as a core capability rather than a side project.

For Danske Bank UK, the new leadership hire signals a deeper commitment to building practical, production-ready AI solutions and embedding them across teams—especially as the industry balances innovation with trust, privacy, and regulatory expectations.

Who is Dr Fiona Browne?

Dr Browne joins Danske Bank from fintech firm 9fin and brings more than 18 years of experience spanning artificial intelligence, machine learning, industry delivery, and academia. Before this appointment, she also served as Chief Technology Officer at Datactics, where she led the delivery of AI-driven solutions for banking and government clients.

Her background also includes teaching data analytics and applied AI as a lecturer in Computing Science at Ulster University, along with research work across areas such as bioinformatics, aerospace, and the built environment. In addition, she has held a research fellow position at Queen’s University Belfast, worked as a senior software developer at PathXL, and contributed to the Bank of England’s AI Public-Private Forum focused on responsible AI adoption.

What her role will cover at Danske Bank UK

In her new position, Dr Browne will lead a newly established AI centre of excellence based in Belfast and work alongside Danske Bank UK’s Head of Data & Analytics, Lyndsay Shields. The bank has positioned this as part of a broader investment in AI and data, backed by a wider data strategy and supporting technologies intended to create measurable value for customers and internal teams.

From the bank’s leadership perspective, Danske has already been applying AI and has been exploring generative AI use cases, including efforts around upskilling and adoption—but it sees significant room to expand how AI is used at scale. Dr Browne has also highlighted that she is joining at a time when the bank is investing heavily in digital development and wants to apply generative AI in a responsible way.

It is also worth noting that this appointment is specific to Danske Bank’s UK and Northern Ireland operations; Finextra reports that Kasper Tjørntved Davidsen continues as Head of AI within the wider Danske Bank group.

Why AI leadership matters in modern banking

AI is reshaping banking because it can help automate repetitive processes, surface insights from large datasets faster, and support more personalised services—without requiring customers to navigate complex workflows. As AI becomes more embedded in customer journeys, banks also need stronger governance, clearer accountability, and leadership that can translate AI potential into compliant, measurable outcomes.

For Danske Bank UK, appointing a dedicated Head of AI—and pairing that role with a new centre of excellence—suggests a focus on scaling AI in a structured way, rather than relying on scattered experimentation.