The Engine of Transformation: A Practical View of Bradesco's Tech Evolution

Cristina Pinna, Technology Director, Bradesco

Cristina Pinna, Technology Director, Bradesco

Dr. Cristina Pinna is a skilled international relations researcher with the University of Groningen’s Center for International Relations Research. Her work supported by a Marie Skłodowska Curie Fellowship focuses on EU-China relations, global governance, and sustainable development, contributing to peer-reviewed publications and policy dialogues.

In an exclusive interview with Banking CIO Outlook, she shared invaluable insights on digital transformation, focusing on AI-powered personalization, agile teams, cloud migration, legacy system modernization, and talent development to drive innovation, efficiency, and customer-centric growth.

Inside Bradesco’s Tech Revolution

Digital transformation in banking has moved beyond promises it’s now a tangible reality. At Bradesco, we experience this evolution every day, as technology takes center stage in our business strategy.

Our journey began with the adoption of a digital culture and lean digital practices, and it has evolved toward hyper-personalized services. Today, customer journeys such as credit and investments in our app are powered by artificial intelligence, delivering personalized product recommendations based on each customer’s profile and behavior. One example is our "Recommendations for You" feature for investments, with more than 1MM customer’s access, which suggests up to four products based on individual consumption propensity. Behavior-driven actions like these have increased digital channel conversion rates by up to four times. This approach strengthens Bradesco’s position as a customer-centric bank, delivering relevant, intelligent, and real-time interactions.

We’re now entering a consolidation phase, where the integration of tech architecture, business strategy, and people sustain institutional transformation. This evolution is led by our Technology Strategy Office, which structures and accelerates initiatives across three key pillars: enterprise agility, talent refresh, and tech modernization. The enterprise agility model we’ve implemented brings together multidisciplinary teams UX/UI, business, tech, data, and others working without silos, aligned by purpose, shared OKRs, and end-to-end product accountability. This setup has delivered strong results, including a 32% reduction in lead time and a 28% boost in productivity. At scale, agility also enhances team integration, streamlines governance, and accelerates value delivery to our clients.

“Transformation isn’t a project; it’s a living engine that demands rhythm, integration, and a clear sense of direction”

On the tech side, we’re advancing architectural modernization with a focus on data, cloud, and scalability. Today, 80% of client interactions are already cloud-based. What began with channel migration now supports critical platforms like HR, CRM, our anti-fraud engine, and more. The evolution of BIA (Bradesco’s AI platform) is another milestone: we’ve gone from a digital assistant for customers to three complementary fronts BIA Customer, handling service inquiries and transactions; BIA Corporate, supporting employees with internal policies and standards; and BIA Tech, empowering our technology teams. Generative AI adoption has enhanced diagnostics, suggested solutions, and supported development through copilots and specialized agents.

The Power behind Bradesco’s engineering

In engineering, we’ve implemented automation, CI/CD pipelines, and AI-powered tools like BIA Tech. These have driven up to a 40% gain in development and testing productivity and a 46-percentage point improvement in the clarity of functional descriptions directly impacting delivery quality. The use of AI multi-agents to re-architect legacy systems has reduced transformation time and effort by up to 30% while paving the way for greater resilience and faster time-to-market.

These achievements are only possible because we’re also transforming how we attract, develop, and retain talent. Our talent refresh program has led to a 14% growth in the IT team and a 29% increase in the number of developers. We’re scaling upskilling and reskilling initiatives, fostering high-performance teams, and integrating market experts such as through our acquisition of Kunumi, a leading AI and machine learning company. These enable us to fast-track digital transformation and deepen our AI capabilities.

Ongoing transformation also relies on dynamic governance. With weekly leadership syncs, shared OKRs, and performance metrics that connect technical execution to strategic outcomes, we’ve been able to operate ambidextrously: delivering today while preparing for the future. This model has positively impacted broader indicators such as ROE and eNPS, as technology continues to link operational efficiency, customer experience, and competitive advantage.

Transformation isn’t a project it’s a living engine that demands rhythm, integration, and a clear sense of direction. Leading this engine means ensuring every technological advancement drives meaningful and sustainable impact for Bradesco and, above all, for our clients.

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Digital Transformation

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Customer Experience

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