Luke Pearce is Chief Data Officer at Santander UK, where he leads the organisation’s data strategy with a focus on improving customer outcomes, shaping strategy, and driving operational efficiency.
He brings more than 30 years of experience across technology, operations, and data functions, having worked in multiple industries and countries with data as a consistent thread.
His work in financial services has opened new opportunities to apply data in more sophisticated and impactful ways. Luke has led initiatives to build advanced customer models that connect behaviour across channels with spending patterns, enabling next-best-action conversations, and earlier interventions for customers experiencing financial distress. These capabilities have helped organisations move from reactive service models to more proactive, needs-based engagement.
With the emergence of generative AI, Luke has further expanded the use of data by incorporating unstructured sources such as call transcripts, enabling deeper understanding of customer intent and more nuanced responses. Throughout this evolution, he has maintained a strong focus on data foundations, governance, and control as the essential enablers of innovation.
Luke believes that while new technologies continually raise customer expectations, sustainable success depends on combining strong data foundations with responsible exploitation of data in ways that genuinely enhance the customer experience. At Santander UK, his focus is on ensuring data and AI deliver value that both builds trust and differentiates the organisation in the market.
As a data and AI leader, which traits and skills do you think matter most, and which of those have been most influential for you in your current position?
“The landscape of data and AI is going through a period of unparalleled change. Leaders will need to be very resilient but also focused on outcomes. There will be lots of distractions with new tools, capabilities and approaches and those leaders that can steer the ship with the right balance of innovation and execution will be the ones that succeed.
“The other key part of the equation is having support at the highest level. The success in my career has always been down to the fact that I have a great team which is trusted and supported by the rest of the organisation who believe in the power of data to transform.”
Reflecting on your career, what is one non-traditional piece of advice (outside of technical skills) you would give to an aspiring data or AI leader aiming for the C-suite?
“The best advice I have been given was to always look at everything from other people’s viewpoint. I have lost track of the number of times I am told that people are blocking delivery or not responding to requests. The majority of times this is because of priority calls or a lack of context which can be fixed easily.
“I believe a great manager is someone who is able to set a clear direction and ensure the capacity and engagement of all teams to rally around the outcome and getting ahead of the challenges is key to that success.”