Christiane Vorspel conducts Commerzbank's agile AI orchestra

Ava, Sherlock, and entire teams of virtual agent developers – when IT board member Christiane Vorspel talks about the use of artificial intelligence (AI), it becomes clear that she views this new technology as a kind of superpower. One that can be used not only to increasingly handle simple customer concerns, such as with the 2025-launched avatar Ava. Or that assists customer advisors and other Commerzbank employees in navigating the jungle of corporate-wide processes and guidelines effortlessly, as Sherlock does. But also one that addresses the perpetual challenge faced by all IT leaders: the scarcity of development resources.

Human intelligence remains central

But as disruptive as this new technology may be, for Commerzbank’s Chief Operating Officer, human intelligence remains central, even in the AI era: “Despite all technological progress, it is people who are in control of the operations at Commerzbank. We determine the scope of application and the degree of autonomy of our AI.”

More than just a phrase

What may sound like a managerial cliché intended to allay the concerns of customers, regulators, and employees, Vorspel can quickly bring to life. She does so with an example particularly close to this computer scientist’s heart, who graduated from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology: software development. Since it is based on structured languages, software development is predestined for the use of agent-based AI, Vorspel explains. Her team is currently exploring how these systems, which act autonomously and purposefully, can assist in advancing the modernisation of their application landscape.

Undreamt-of possibilities

Keeping a bank’s complex IT landscapes up to date is a Sisyphean task. This topic has been on Vorspel’s agenda for more than 15 years. During the financial crisis, having recently returned from a sabbatical, she played a key role in leading a study on the IT complexity of the institution while working for Commerzbank in the US. Simplification and standardisation are essential for digitalisation, but many initiatives fail due to a lack of personnel resources. Autonomous AI systems, which are significantly faster than human developers, open up unprecedented possibilities. However, they are not intended to operate fully autonomously. Vorspel sees them rather as assistants, helping to tackle issues that would otherwise be too resource-intensive to prioritise.

Agile human-machine teams

The agile working style, introduced across the organisation under her predecessor Frank Annuscheit, remains unchanged, says Vorspel: “My vision is entire teams of software agents covering all areas of the Bank and working together on modernisation projects.” However, she wants them to always be managed and controlled by human chief developers. In her pragmatic manner, Vorspel admits that this is not going to happen overnight. But several “proof of concepts” with various partners are already underway on specific use cases.

Sceptical AI

Vorspel cites a project aimed at replacing an old software product as an example. This involves migrating from one programming language to another – an ideal task for AI agents, which are vastly superior in speed. The approach deliberately incorporates so-called sceptics: “Instead of only evaluating opportunities positively, these are trained to critically challenge the development outcomes actively.”

Even with these sceptical AI systems, humans remain in control. After all, the source code developed by AI agents in an agile working environment must pass the usual testing processes, naturally involving human intelligence. “This way, we identify any potential mistakes made by AI and ensure we don’t rely on the output blindly,” emphasises the 60-year-old, who returned to Commerzbank one and a half years ago from LBBW to succeed Jörg Oliveri del Castillo-Schulz on the Board of Managing Directors.

A role model for younger women

With KfW and Helaba recently placing IT leadership in female hands, other major banks are following suit. This pleases Vorspel: “After all, diversity offers numerous advantages.” She herself is keen to serve as a role model for younger women. “At the start of my career, I too had female role models to look up to,” she says. “One of them is Esther Laun, who was still working for Deutsche Bank at the time. Following her move to Commerzbank in 2006, she played a pivotal role in redesigning our financial architecture.”

The interview was conducted and published in German. We received the permission to translate it into English from Börsen-Zeitung.