‘The powerful role of data and AI in reshaping the future’

ING’s Bidisha Agarwal, IT Lead for Corporate Lending, Capital Markets & ESG, will be a keynote speaker at European Women in Tech (EWiT) for the third time. This year’s conference – which is based around the theme of ‘Leading the Digital Revolution’ – takes place on 25 and 26 June 2025 in Amsterdam.

Since her previous talk at the EWiT conference in 2023, Bidisha’s scope at ING has expanded substantially in terms of both the size of her team and being promoted to a new role. “One of the most significant milestones this past year has been my leadership in driving bank-wide Gen AI initiatives, which was a completely new topic for me. I’m proud to say we’ve moved from experimentation to production, creating new business value with Gen AI,” she says.

Shaping ING’s digital strategy
In addition to these responsibilities, Bidisha has been closely involved in shaping ING’s digital strategy, together with her business counterparts. So, it is no surprise that she was asked to represent ING on stage at European Women in Tech, the go-to event for learning about the latest technology applications in the industry.

              ‘Transformation is not just technological, but fundamentally human’

Bidisha’s keynote is called ‘Molting Futures: Transformation in the Year of the Snake – From Data to Destiny’. “I will share with the audience why I believe transformation is not just technological, but fundamentally human,” explains Bidisha. “While we often focus on optimising and digitising, true transformation demands that we rethink our mindset, our structures, and how we view the world.” She will weave details of her personal journey and symbolic insights from the Year of the Snake together with the powerful role of data and AI in reshaping the future.

A shift in focus
Bidisha: “We have tons of data, but we often fail to extract the insights we need. Much of the value still must be manually uncovered. We need to shift our focus to defining the intent while AI can help manoeuvre the heaps of data. We need to pivot towards data enabled process thinking.”

              ‘Fully immersed in GenAI developments’

Learning the rules of the game
“Over the past few years, generative AI or ‘GenAI’ has really taken off and changed everything. Initially I observed the developments from the sidelines, but at a certain point I decided to fully immerse myself in it. I took a course to understand the technology of GenAI, its business impact and its risks – because every unknown comes with risks. GenAI is so unique in how intuitive it is – anyone can start using it – but that ease of use comes with a responsibility. ING has embraced this by giving people the space to explore while learning the rules of the game: how can we use it safely, ethically and for the right purposes? As with other new technologies, we want GenAI to be an enabler. That still requires a human touch to use it right and to achieve our goals.”

Food for thought
At EWiT, Bidisha wants to provide her audience with food for thought by emphasising that true transformation is not just about adopting new tools, but requires letting go of systems, assumptions and internal limitations. For extra inspiration from history, she will bring to stage some beautiful artworks from leading female painters currently also on display at the Rijksmuseum. Her presentation promises to be intriguing and challenging. To make sure you don't miss it, register here for European Women in Tech 2025.

Read more about Bidisha’s presentation.