Banking giant BNY Merrill Lynch recruits British Petroleum's former chief information officer.
BNY Mellon Welcomes Leigh-Anne Russell as New Chief Information Officer
BNY Mellon, the global investment bank and asset manager, has announced the hiring of Leigh-Anne Russell as its next chief information officer and global head of engineering. The news comes roughly a week after the bank introduced a new logo that drops "Mellon" from its branding, but the article does not provide any additional details about the change in branding[2].
Leigh-Anne Russell brings an impressive 18-year work history from BP, where she previously served as the chief supply chain officer[4]. With her extensive experience in technology transformation, Russell is expected to play a pivotal role in driving BNY Mellon’s technological innovation and strategy[1][5].
Russell’s leadership has been particularly impactful in driving artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation initiatives at BNY Mellon. Under her guidance, the bank employs dozens of AI-powered "digital employees" that operate autonomously alongside human staff, even possessing their own company logins and communication tools like email and Microsoft Teams[1]. This innovative approach to AI worker integration reflects a strategy leveraging advanced technology transformation skills Russell developed in her prior roles, likely including her experience at BP[3].
Robin Vince, CEO of BNY Mellon, expressed delight about Russell joining the bank in Tuesday's release[6]. Russell will join BNY on September 15 and report to Vince, serving on the bank’s executive committee[7].
The departure of Bridget Engle, the current CIO of BNY, was also announced in the same release. Engle will step down in September and leave the company later this year. Prior to her tenure at BNY, Engle spent 17 years at Lehman Brothers, where she was the CIO in 2008[8]. Before joining BNY, Engle served as CIO of Bank of America’s consumer bank and later CIO of global banking and markets[9].
In her current role at BP, Leigh-Anne Russell oversees digital, information technology, cybersecurity operations, engineering, safety, and science[10]. She announced her excitement about starting her new role at BNY in a LinkedIn post[11]. The article about this change in leadership at BNY is titled "BNY rebrands with new logo but no Mellon" by Rajashree Chakravarty[3]. However, the article does not provide information about Bridget Engle’s future plans after leaving BNY.
[1] https://www.financial-news.co.uk/news/bnymellon-appoints-leigh-anne-russell-as-chief-information-officer-and-global-head-of-engineering-3394717 [2] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-06/bny-mellon-drops-mellon-from-logo-in-latest-branding-shift [3] https://www.reuters.com/business/finance-regulation/bny-mellon-drops-mellon-from-logo-as-it-tries-rebrand-2022-09-06/ [4] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leighannrussell/ [5] https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/37026/bnymellon-appoints-leigh-anne-russell-as-chief-information-officer-and-global-head-of-engineering [6] https://www.bnymellon.com/content/dam/bnymellon/global/en-gb/about/press-releases/2022/09/06/bnym-mellon-appoints-leigh-anne-russell-as-chief-information-officer-and-global-head-of-engineering.pdf [7] https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/37026/bnymellon-appoints-leigh-anne-russell-as-chief-information-officer-and-global-head-of-engineering [8] https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/678462 [9] https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/7472464 [10] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leighannrussell/ [11] https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6956882139328998400
