San Francisco-based Wells Fargo appointed Tracy Kerrins as head of consumer technology and leader of the bank’s new generative AI team, according to a July 30 release. 

Kerrins, who joined Wells Fargo in 2019, has been CIO for consumer technology and enterprise functions technology.

“Our new generative AI team will work closely with our data and technology platform management teams, as well as each business, on identifying and delivering on the potential of generative AI responsibly,” Chief Executive Charlie Scharf said in the release. Kerrin’s background and experience will help the bank develop and deploy the technology, Scharf said. 

Wells Fargo also appointed Bridget Engle as its head of technology, according to the release. Engle has more than 30 years of experience managing global technology organizations in complex financial institutions, including BNY and Bank of America, the release stated. 

As Wells names new tech leaders, CIO of Consumer Technology Steve Hagerman moves to Truist as chief information officer effective in October. 

Lloyds Bank selects Dhawan as director of AI

Lloyds Bank appointed Rohit Dhawan as director of AI and advanced analytics, according to an Aug. 5 release.

Dhawan will lead the AI center of excellence, bringing together experts in data science, behavioral science, ML engineering, advanced analytics and AI ethics departments, according to the release.

Dhawan will report to Chief Data and Analytics Officer Ranil Boteju and will help shape the overall AI strategy at the $1.9 trillion bank, the release stated. 

Prior to joining Lloyds, Dhawan was head of data and AI strategy at Amazon Web Services and a consulting director for Accenture, according to his LinkedIn profile. 

Lloyds declined to provide comment to BAN regarding Dhawan’s appointment. 

Fingerprint Cards AB selects Eastaugh

Biometric payments provider Fingerprint Cards AB has selected David Eastaugh as its chief strategy and technology officer, according to an Aug. 5 release.

Eastaugh brings 25 years of experience to Goteborg, Sweden-based Fingerprint Cards AB, most recently serving as senior director of software engineering at data and analytics company LexisNexis, according to his LinkedIn profile. 

Eastaugh will be tasked with developing products for payments, access product group and identity verification to enhance cybersecurity and user experience, the release stated. 

“With zero-trust security frameworks becoming standard and requiring regular user authentication, the inherent vulnerability of passwords is evident,” Adam Philpott, president and CEO of Fingerprint, said in the release. “We aim to replace passwords with more reliable biometric authentication. This will enhance cybersecurity and user experience across various applications, including access control and secure online transactions.” 

Torpago taps Chris Boncimino to lead business operations

Payments provider Torpago named Chris Boncimino as its head of business operations earlier this month.  

Boncimino previously was a senior vice president at Visa and director of product strategy and architecture at PayPal, according to a Torpago release.

“My first order of business at Torpago is to position the company for rapid scaling,” he told Bank Automation News. “I’ll be focusing on refining our go-to-market strategies, expanding our partnerships and ensuring our operational infrastructure can support the rapid scaling that’s ahead.” 

The commercial card business is expected to grow at a rate of more than 9% in the coming years, he told BAN. The growth is “driven by new payment needs, mandates for better spend management and increased adoption among businesses looking for more efficient payment solutions,” he said.  

Skipify names new COO

Skipify appointed Sam Shrauger as its chief operating officer in July. 

Shrauger previously worked at Airbnb Payments, where he was responsible for the development and implementation of a global payments strategy, and at Visa, where he was senior vice president of digital and consumer products, Shrauger told BAN.

“My approach to innovation focuses on making consumers’ lives easier by understanding the fundamental problems they are seeking to solve from their perspectives and their needs around this,” he said in the release.  

Shrauger is spending his first four to six weeks as COO getting to know the team and the product at Skipify, he said, noting that he is closely monitoring “advanced technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning.” 

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