As the newly appointed Group Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Standard Chartered, Guillermo Veiga steps into the role at a pivotal moment for the global banking sector. With rapid advances in AI, cloud infrastructure, and data-driven innovation reshaping how financial services operate and engage with clients, the bank is sharpening its focus on technology as a strategic differentiator across all its business lines — from wealth and retail banking to corporate and investment banking.
Veiga sits down for a wide-ranging Q&A with The Digital Banker, outlining his top technology priorities, embedding a culture of continuous learning and drawing on insights from his previous leadership roles.
The Digital Banker: As the newly appointed Group CIO, what are your immediate priorities in terms of tech strategy across the bank’s wealth and retail, and corporate and investment banking divisions?
Veiga, Standard Chartered: As Group CIO, my immediate focus is on enabling scalable and secure growth across all business segments. We are aligning our technology platforms to deliver consistent experiences, improve responsiveness, and unlock new business models. This includes simplifying where it brings speed, while also investing in resilient architecture, AI-enabled operations, and cloud-native services. It is not just about transformation, but about execution. We are building a global team culture that promotes collaboration, engineering excellence, and agility, helping the bank grow sustainably and better serve clients across markets.
With your background in driving digital innovation and infrastructure resilience, where do you see the biggest opportunities for improving the bank’s CX globally?
The greatest opportunity lies in what clients do not see: resilient infrastructure, reusable capabilities, and real-time intelligence that enable seamless and reliable journeys. Consistency across channels, speed of execution, and service dependability are all rooted in strong foundations. We are investing in shared services and modular platforms so that innovation in one market can be scaled across others. Our focus is to enable trust and control, providing intuitive experiences powered by invisible yet dependable technology. Ultimately, great client experience comes from getting the basics right.
What are some lessons from your past roles that you are bringing into this new position to help lead the transformation here?
One clear lesson is that technology change only works when people are engaged and believe in it. At Amazon, Cisco and Santander, I learned the importance of aligning teams around purpose and measurable outcomes. Transformation demands strong execution, but also transparency, adaptability, and humility. At Standard Chartered, we are creating an inclusive, innovative and client-centric culture where global platforms combine with local agility, where engineers are empowered, and delivery models evolve with client needs. Today’s leadership requires enabling others while keeping business impact at the centre. To be the best cross-border and affluent bank to our clients, our workforce composition, including the skills and engagement of our people, is a strategic source of competitive advantage and we are committed to developing a workforce that is future ready.
With the presence of ever-evolving technologies such as AI, cloud computing and data analytics, how do you decide which technologies to invest in across the bank?
We prioritise technologies that are secure, scalable, and deliver measurable value for our clients and the business. Cloud and data are core foundations, and AI can be a powerful tool when applied thoughtfully. Our investment approach is disciplined: we focus on use cases that enhance client outcomes, improve operational efficiency, or increase strategic flexibility. Every decision is guided by our business objectives, risk appetite, and long-term ambitions. For us, innovation is not about chasing trends, but about delivering sustainable, impactful solutions.
How are you prioritising developing your colleagues’ skills for future strategic value and enabling careers to keep pace with rapid technological innovation?
To keep pace with our strategic priorities, evolving client expectations and ongoing transformation, we stay committed to a skills-led approach. We believe that talent development is essential to long-term success. That is why we are embedding upskilling into daily work across AI, cloud, engineering, and cybersecurity. Our SC Axess Academy, AI Learning Hub and AI-enabled internal Talent Marketplace platform democratise tech, data and AI knowledge building by providing all colleagues access to immersive learning opportunities, AI experts and internal job opportunities.
These efforts aim to ensure that our workforce transformation is closely linked to our business growth and digital transformation. Our programmes combine structured learning and coaching with practical delivery and internal mobility. The goal is to build systemic future-focused skills anticipated to keep pace with digital disruption while fostering leadership mindsets. For example, with our increasing focus on enhancing our Affluent client proposition in Wealth & Retail Banking, we are investing in delivering upskilling, reskilling and redeployment journeys for colleagues to enable them to access critical future roles as the business segment grows. In Corporate & Investment Banking, we are focusing on sustainability capabilities and sales skills in line with our cross-border proposition.
I believe that when we invest in people, we accelerate business performance. Growing careers and growing the company go hand in hand, and strong teams are the foundation of everything we do in technology.
