Leigh-Ann Russell

Leigh-Ann Russell
FREng FRSE
OccupationEngineer

Leigh-Ann Russell FREng FRSE is a Scottish engineer. She worked as an executive at BP as executive vice president of innovation & engineering until she resigned in 2024 to join the financial services firm BNY as head of engineering and CIO as part of their executive team.

Biography

Leigh-Ann Russell, a native of Aberdeen,[1] was educated at the University of Aberdeen, where she obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering.[2] Her career in engineering began in the late 1990s, beginning as an executive at the service company Schlumberger.[3]

Russell joined the energy company BP, where she served as engineering manager and operations manager for the North Sea and as global vice president of technical functions.[2] In June 2020, amidst supply chain issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, Russell publicly objected to the practice of mailing letters to suppliers demanding cost reduction, arguing that waste reduction was a more productive alternative.[1] Russell was promoted from head of procurement and supply chain management to senior vice president of procurement on 1 March 2018.[1] On 1 March 2022, Russell was promoted to executive vice president of innovation and engineering; that position has been described as encompassing responsibilities commonly associated with a chief digital officer, chief technology officer, and chief scientific officer.[2]

In June 2024, Russell was appointed chief information officer and global head of engineering at BNY and a member of the firm's executive committee, joining the company in September 2024.[4][5][6]

Since joining BNY, Russell has spoken publicly about the firm's artificial intelligence adoption, including appearances at the Microsoft AI Tour in New York City alongside Microsoft executives.[7] In 2025, BNY announced a multiyear relationship with OpenAI intended to enhance its internal enterprise AI platform.[8][9] In late 2025, reporting described BNY expanding its AI platform with Google Cloud's agentic AI capabilities as part of its broader AI programme.[10]

Outside of engineering, she also serves as a non-executive director for the manufacturing company Hill & Smith.[11]

Russell was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2019.[12] She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 2022.[11] She was also made an honorary Professor of Practice at Queen's University Belfast in 2022.[2] She is also a Fellow of the Energy Institute and a Chartered Petroleum Engineer.[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Lammey, Mark (29 June 2020). "'Disrespectful' to send letters to suppliers demanding cost cuts, BP procurement chief says". Energy Voice. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Leigh-Ann Russell". bp.com. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  3. ↑ "Leigh-Ann Russell". Women of Silicon Roundabout. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  4. ↑ "Leigh-Ann Russell to Join BNY as Chief Information Officer". bny.com. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  5. ↑ "BNY hires BP exec as its next CIO". Banking Dive. 20 June 2024. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  6. ↑ "Leigh-Ann Russell". bny.com. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  7. ↑ "Senthil Kumar's post (re: Microsoft AI Tour appearance)". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  8. ↑ "BNY, America's Oldest Bank, Signs Multiyear Deal With OpenAI". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  9. ↑ "BNY builds "AI for everyone, everywhere" with OpenAI". OpenAI. 12 December 2025. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  10. ↑ "BNY and Google are teaming up to supercharge the bank's AI ambitions with Gemini 3". Business Insider. 8 December 2025. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  11. 1 2 3 "Ms Leigh-Ann Russell". Royal Society of Edinburgh. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  12. ↑ "Leigh-Ann Russell". Royal Academy of Engineering. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
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