How Lloyds Banking Uses Data Escape Rooms to Build a Data Culture

Tune in for a masterclass in data leadership. Josh Cunningham, Group Head of Data and AI Culture at Lloyds Banking Group, unveils how this distinguished institution is boldly innovating with cutting-edge AI. Josh provides a riveting look into his unique role, which is dedicated to accelerating talent, building capabilities, and articulating data and AI's profound impact across the organization. Learn how Lloyds is rapidly expanding its data and AI graduate scheme and learn more about their ambitious quest to be the "most data literate bank". Hear how their innovative five-persona literacy framework, and engaging initiatives like the "Data and AI Summer School" and a physical "Data Escape Room," are driving their business forward on data and AI.

Key Moments:

12:33
The "People Side" of Data and AI
Reflecting on his career, Josh highlights his passion for the "people side" of data and AI, focusing on building teams and fostering career development. This addresses a critical industry gap where technology readiness often outpaces human capability.
17:23
Scaling Data and AI Talent
Lloyds Banking Group significantly scaled its data and AI graduate scheme from approximately 10 to 100 graduates annually over three years, while demonstrating a proactive approach to balancing between AI training and tool adoption for their increasing talent pool.
22:52
Data and AI Literacy Framework
Lloyds developed a data and AI literacy framework with five personas, from "data beginner" to "citizen," representing an evolving maturity lifecycle. This framework helps map and track colleagues' literacy levels over time.
29:06
The Data and AI Summer School
Josh highlights this major, two-month, virtual program that offers over 200 live sessions hosted by internal and external experts. It covers diverse data and AI topics for all colleagues, from beginners to practitioners, and has attracted over 42,000 sign-ups in the previous year.
32:18
The Physical Data Escape Room
Lloyds innovated with a physical data escape room that tours the UK, designed to engage colleagues (even those disengaged with data). Its puzzles, anchored to the entire data value chain, enable "learning by stealth" with phenomenal feedback.

Key Quotes: 

Mentions: 

• Lloyds Banking Group's partnership with Women in Data
• Lloyds Banking Group's partnership with Code First Girls
• The AI Daily Brief Podcast

Bio: 

Josh Cunningham is the Group Head of Data and AI Culture at Lloyds Banking Group, where he leads the Data Culture Pillar—one of five strategic pillars in the Group’s data strategy. He is focused on embedding data-driven mindsets across the organization and empowering teams to unlock the full value of data.

Josh spearheads a range of initiatives, including enterprise-wide data literacy programs, innovative talent attraction efforts, and collaboration events that foster a culture of experimentation and learning. With a background in data and a deep commitment to talent development, he is passionate about transforming how large organizations cultivate data careers, scale innovation, and use insights to shape the future of banking.