Leading with AI: From Ethics to Enterprise Impact
Adrienne Heinrich, AI COE Head, Senior Vice President, Union Bank of the Philippines
Adrienne Heinrich, AI COE Head, Senior Vice President, Union Bank of the Philippines
As Senior Vice President of the AI Center of Excellence, I lead our enterprise-wide AI strategy with a clear focus on innovation, governance and impact. My role is to ensure that AI is not just a technical capability but a strategic enabler. I work closely with cross-functional teams to embed ethical, scalable AI solutions into core operations, while fostering a culture of experimentation and continuous learning. Talent development, responsible adoption and alignment with business goals are central to my leadership. The AI COE under my guidance is both a catalyst and a compass for AI transformation.
Equipping Diverse Leaders for the Next Era of Intelligent WorkTo move from theory to operational, scalable responsible AI, organizations must embed governance and ethical principles directly into the AI development lifecycle shifting from ad hoc compliance to standardized, cross-functional processes such as centralized policy frameworks, clear approval checkpoints and continuous monitoring for fairness, transparency and regulatory alignment. At UnionBank, we exemplify this by implementing robust AI policies, guidelines and the XRAI (Explainable and Responsible AI) toolkit that is actively used by our data scientists so that responsible AI does not remain an afterthought. The XRAI toolkit is a comprehensive set of resources and methodologies designed to help teams build, test and validate AI models with enhanced transparency, accountability and fairness throughout the development lifecycle.
Achieving operational impact also demands strong change management, so we foster collaboration and continuous learning not only with technical teams but also with People and Process teams. This holistic approach empowers UnionBankers to innovate with AI while consistently upholding responsible AI practices, driving bank wide adoption and sustainable impact.
Equipping non-technical leaders to thrive in AI-augmented environments requires a shift from focusing on technical mastery to strategic, human-centered leadership. UnionBank is focused on enabling leaders to become savvy orchestrators of human-AI collaboration. The core strategy is to translate AI from a complex tool into a clear driver of business value, showing leaders how it can solve real-world problems like using AI to enhance customer service or streamline software development without requiring deep technical knowledge. We achieve this by blending practical, hands-on interactive workshops with flexible, on-demand learning for different levels of leadership.
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A key focus is empowering people to know when to trust AI and when to insist on human oversight, ensuring AI serves as a tool for shared global benefit
To effectively scale AI adoption, we've established a network of AI Champions who represent key groups and departments throughout the bank. As representatives, they serve as a vital feedback loop between their respective units and the AI Center of Excellence, helping their groups adopt AI while providing insights on opportunities and challenges. This two-way communication allows us to strategically address both - issues and innovative use cases - ensuring every UnionBanker is empowered with AI. This approach cultivates a culture of collaborative intelligence, where leaders act as "conductors," orchestrating a synergy between human creativity and AI efficiency. This includes fostering psychologically safe spaces for ethical inquiry and experimentation, building confidence and ensuring the value of human judgment and critical thinking remains central to all innovation.
Global AI Challenges and OpportunitiesAs AI and GenAI transform our world, innovators and policymakers must urgently tackle ethical, cultural and geopolitical challenges critical to trust and safety. With global statistics showing a 56% rise in AI-related harm and less than 50% of people trusting AI, stronger responsible AI practices are vital. This includes combating AI-driven misinformation, promoting security and safeguarding cultural diversity from homogenized models.
Geopolitically, the race for global AI dominance and data control requires a cross-government collaborative approach to establish shared ethical frameworks and transparent governance. A key focus is empowering people to know when to trust AI and when to insist on human oversight, ensuring AI serves as a tool for shared global benefit.
I have developed the CHEF framework precisely to help emerging AI professionals and innovation leaders achieve the dual objectives of driving technological advancement and upholding ethical responsibility. CHEF stands for Culture, Human-centricity, Ethics and Facts: it encourages fostering a Culture that embraces an AI mindset and adoption, prioritizing Human-centric and value-driven AI creation, upholding responsible, explainable and transparent Ethical practices, and grounding all initiatives in relevant, high-quality data (Facts). By integrating these four principles, professionals can ensure their AI initiatives are not only innovative but also trustworthy, impactful and aligned with the broader good paving the way for sustainable and responsible progress in the field.
