Efstratios (Stratos) Samaras

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Gulf International Bank
Group Head of Artificial Intelligence

Efstratios (Stratos) Samaras is the Group Head of Artificial Intelligence at Gulf International Bank, where he leads the bank's AI strategy, governance, and delivery across wholesale and retail banking. With over 20 years of experience driving data and AI transformation across banking, retail, energy, aviation, and pharma, he has held senior leadership roles at Alinma Bank, Al Hilal Bank, Majid Al Futtaim, and Accenture, building Centers of Excellence and delivering enterprise-scale AI and data platforms across the GCC, UK, EU, and USA. His work spans AI ethics and governance, generative AI, machine learning, and cloud data architecture, with deep expertise in regulatory frameworks including SAMA, PDPL, NDMO, GDPR, and the EU AI Act. Stratos holds an MSc in Advanced Manufacturing Systems and a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from Brunel University, London.