Together has appointed Apoorv Kashyap as its first chief artificial intelligence officer, according to a Mortgage Strategy report published on 4 November 2026. Kashyap, also known as AK, joins from Santander UK, where he was head of AI, and will report to Together chief executive Richard Rowntree.
The appointment places a named executive in charge of exploring how AI could support the specialist property finance group. The report describes a remit involving decision-making, customer and broker experience, staff workflows and efficiency. Those are the objectives associated with the appointment; they do not demonstrate that any particular system has already delivered those outcomes.
What the announcement establishes
For brokers and property professionals, the confirmed news is the creation of a senior role and the person taking it on. The report does not provide a timetable for specific customer-facing products, changes to underwriting criteria or a measured reduction in processing times. It would therefore be premature to interpret the appointment as a change in the availability of finance.
Assess individual tools separately
A lender’s wider technology programme and an individual application are different things. If a new tool is introduced, useful questions include what task it performs, which information it uses and how an error is corrected. An executive appointment is not an answer to those operational questions.
Brokers using a future service can ask how a case moves between automated assistance and a member of staff, especially when the information is incomplete or unusual. They should continue to rely on the lender’s published requirements and case-specific communications rather than assume an AI programme changes the evidence needed for an application.
Watch for delivery evidence
The next useful development would be a defined service, a clear rollout and evidence of how it works in practice. Performance claims should identify the task measured and the basis of comparison. Until then, the appointment is a development in Together’s leadership and technology strategy, rather than proof of a faster mortgage decision.
Source: Mortgage Strategy, Together appoints Kashyap as first chief AI officer, 4 November 2026. No announcement quotations or source photographs are reproduced.