As financial institutions accelerate AI adoption, the most persistent barriers to success aren’t technical; they are organizational, cultural, and human. Governance frameworks stall without cultural buy-in. Risk policies go unimplemented when frontline teams don’t understand them. Budgets are approved for AI initiatives that quietly fail at the adoption layer.

This session explores how CIBC is approaching AI transformation through a people-first change management lens—bridging the gap between executive strategy and ground-level execution. Drawing on the enterprise-wide rollout of CIBC’s GenAI platform and the lessons now being applied to tailored AI solutions across the organization, this talk will address:

• The human gap in AI governance; where accountability breaks down and how leaders can close it
• How to build organizational readiness for AI adoption across regulated, risk-sensitive environments
• The intersection of policy, procurement, and people – navigating competing constraints without losing momentum
• Measuring what matters: shifting from deployment metrics to adoption, capability, and cultural indicators
• Practical frameworks for aligning executive accountability with employee-level AI literacy and trust