As wealth advisors increasingly embrace the use of artificial intelligence, Zurich-headquartered Swiss private bank UBS has hired a chief AI officer to drive its AI strategy.

UBS has appointed Daniele Magazzeni (pictured) as chief artificial intelligence officer to advance the firm’s AI strategy, boost innovation and increase adoption of new technologies, effective 1 January 2026. Magazzeni will be based in London, reporting to Mike Dargan, group chief operations and technology officer.

Magazzeni brings a knowledge of AI research as well as expertise in the deployment and scaling of impactful AI solutions, the firm said in a statement. He is  joining UBS from JP Morgan, where he served as chief analytics officer for both the EMEA region and the Commercial and Investment Bank, driving their global analytics agenda across markets, banking, payments and securities services. His responsibilities included advancing AI capabilities, fostering a culture of innovation and ensuring robust AI governance, the firm continued. Prior to that, he was associate professor of artificial intelligence at King’s College London.

A number of investment managers have a head of AI, for example Morgan Stanley's US-based Jeff McMillan is head of AI. McMillan has led the rollout of secure generative AI platforms and delivered a number of production AI solutions across institutional securities, wealth management, operations, HR, legal and marketing.

As UBS’s chief artificial intelligence officer, Magazzeni will lead the firm’s AI strategy, aiming to reshape business capabilities to improve the client experience and enhance employee productivity. He will also head the chief AI office, which is responsible for ensuring the deployment of AI-powered tools and processes at scale, maintaining standards, and building strong technological foundations across the organisation.

“Artificial intelligence is a top priority for UBS,” Dargan said. “As chief artificial intelligence officer he will further optimise our use of traditional, generative and agentic AI capabilities to transform our end-to-end operations and deliver cutting-edge solutions to our clients.”

Earlier this year, UBS launched several large-scale transformational AI initiatives, called Big Rocks, which are designed to have an impact across the firm and increase the efficiency of processes and systems. The initiatives are delivering valuable outcomes. UBS has over 300 live use cases and AI-powered tools are being rolled out to all employees, including M365 Copilot, and its in-house AI Assistant Red.

A number of wealth advisors, bankers and others in the industry are using AI in their work. For example, in a recent US private bank and trust companies report, Cerulli Associates said that advisors and home-office executives at banks have increased their use of AI for assisting with data reviewing and directly in portfolio construction and asset allocation.