US bank JP Morgan has hired a former Google executive as its new head of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
Apoorv Saxena is due to start work at the bank this week in a role that will see him head up the use of AI and ML within the bank's asset managment and wealth management divisions, according to a report from US cable news outlet CNNMoney.
Saxena's appointment has been viewed as an example of JP Morgan's effort to ramp up its use of new technology as well as an increased willingness to hire executives from outside the banking industry to spearhead its use of new technology. In May the bank brought in former Carnegie Mellon University professor Manuela Veloso as its first head of AI research
The recruitment efforts are not restricted to asset management and retail banking either. JP Morgan also made a number of changes to its equity trading management in May including the creation of a new department, Americas execution services, to focus on the growing use of algrothmic trading among its clients.