In an era where technology is rapidly transforming industries, TD Bank stands out with its innovative approach to integrating cutting-edge solutions into its operations. At the forefront of this transformation is TD’s Chief Engineer and Architect Licenia Rojas, an experienced engineer with three decades in the financial services and emerging tech space.
As the bank celebrates its annual TD Tech and Innovation Day today, Techtalent.ca sat down with Rojas to learn about how TD is pioneering human-centered innovation, leveraging generative AI (GenAI) tools like GitHub Copilot, and fostering a culture of continuous learning and development.
In this Q+A, Rojas discusses the bank’s talent strategy, the impact of AI on diverse tech talent development, and the keys to successfully implementing new technologies in a dynamic organization.
Through these initiatives, TD Bank not only aims to streamline customer experiences but also position itself as a key destination for top tech talent in the industry.
What is TD Tech and Innovation Day? What role did you play?
LR: TD Tech and Innovation Day is an annual event for select media and influencers to hear more about the Bank’s unique innovation and modernization story. I’m truly inspired by our human centered innovation theme this year. Part of our strategy is to grow and attract tech talent to be faster, better and simpler at delivering capabilities for our colleagues and customers. This year at Tech and Innovation Day, we announced two pilots to support more streamlined customer experiences in our contact centres and to accelerate the coding workflow for our engineers. I was pleased to talk about all the amazing work being done by our teams on those pilot programs.
At Tech Day you announced the use of GenAI in your engineering organization. Can you talk about how you are using the technology?
LR: TD is a purpose-driven organization and we’re shaping the future of banking in the digital age through the use of technologies such as GenAI. GitHub Copilot is one of the ways we’re bringing our talent strategy to life by increasing productivity for our engineers and empowering them to focus on high value work. GitHub Copilot assists engineers by analyzing the code they’re writing and providing real-time suggestions for completing and testing it. Users can also prompt Copilot in natural language to get responses to coding questions, explanations of complex coding topics, suggestions for security recommendations, and more. With that, engineers can balance both creativity and efficiency while they code.
What else does your engineering talent strategy consist of?
LR: Continuous learning and development are a critical part of our talent strategy. We invest in learning opportunities for our colleagues such as “TechCon”, which is an annual internal conference aimed at upskilling tech talent. It is a dedicated time for our colleagues to learn, develop, and become more tech savvy. This year over 7,000 colleagues attended to learn from industry experts with whom we have strategic partnerships. We also host monthly learning forums to help our engineers get the most out of our tools and explore topics like prompt engineering, Machine Learning, healthy learning habits and psychological safety. We are investing in our tech talent in ways that will give us a competitive edge and make us a key destination for top tech talent.
As an experienced female leader in your industry, how can Gen Ai and the use of tools like GitHub Copilot help with the development of diverse tech talent?
LR: GenAI can be used to strengthen and support our talent. Tools like GitHub Copilot act as an AI pair programmer that can increase collaboration. For our early talent, this can accelerate learning by acting as a virtual buddy to help our engineers become even more proficient with coding in a shorter amount of time. For our existing talent, this frees up time for our engineers to upskill more efficiently and focus on delivering more outcomes for our customers. Introducing tools like GitHub CoPilot demonstrates our commitment to creating a positive engineering experience as we continue to broaden our talent pool with diverse tech skills. Overall, a focus on prioritizing skills over the traditional focus on experience helps broaden the talent pool and address some of the systemic biases that can otherwise hinder the acquisition of corporate experience.
You’ve been an engineer in the financial services and emerging tech space for 30 years now. As you reflect on all the innovation you’ve seen in your industry and expecting lots more to come, what is the key to successfully implementing new technology in a dynamic organization such as TD?
LR: Innovation is happening all around us but the difference at TD is, we’re innovating with purpose. Other organizations may look to adopt GenAI in all facets of their business, but it’s important to balance the speed of implementing such tools with being able to manage the risks that new technology also introduces. Our approach, to run pilot programs when we introduce new tech such as Github Copilot, enables us to thoughtfully explore how emerging technologies like generative AI can be used to address real challenges before reviewing their potential. In my experience, strategic implementation of innovative technology solutions starts with a strong business strategy and that will enable TD to ensure we continue to deliver sustained outcomes for our customers, colleagues, and communities.