Who I am
A technology executive in banks since 2007. I served on a management board with responsibility for technology and operations and led product transformations of IT. I defended IT strategy before shareholders and boards of directors - and delivered it. I have managed blocks of up to 1,250 people and IT budgets of up to 5 billion roubles a year.
In 2022 I founded FlyOptima: the company develops and implements solutions for banks and fintech, including the FlyCoreBanking core, and takes over a bank’s technology block when the client needs a leader rather than a contractor.
I know the technology hands-on, not from reports: FlyOptima’s products were built with my direct participation, and for the second year I run development where AI agents work as a team - under a protocol, with verification and measurement. This is not a side experiment; it is the way this site was made.
My latest engagement was a Mexican neobank on a CTO-as-a-Service model: scaling the bank and the platform, a team across four cities, a monthly release cycle and a quality programme. It ended in June 2026 with the team handed over to a permanent head.
Who I work with next. Banks and fintechs that need a board-level executive with a mandate for technology, operations and AI transformation, or a core-banking implementation programme - and that accept FlyOptima and my projects as part of the package. Format - board, employment or contract - is open to discussion.
What I do for a bank or fintech
I take a bank’s technology and operations under management and build a team of strong people.
Product delivery speed, cost, incidents, the regulator - I answer to the board with numbers. In one bank I cut a third of IT costs in a year without stopping products or losing development speed.
How: team, architecture, budget, vendors, regulator. CIO role - two to three days a week or full time.
I bring AI into a bank’s development and operations without losing control.
Cheaper and faster development - everyone promises that. What I deliver is governability: the board sees what the agents do, what they have done and how it is proven.
How: a multi-agent development model - expert interview before specification, a ticket for every task, closure only with evidence; models matched to task and cost; local models where data must not leave the bank’s perimeter.
I implement an accounting and product core for fintech.
Products, tariffs and rules are configured, not coded; a new lending or card product takes weeks, not quarters. For the latest client, 99 of 163 requirements were covered out of the box, with a six-month implementation.
How: FlyCoreBanking - FlyOptima’s platform for cards, lending, instalments and acquiring. flyoptima.com/flycorebanking
Career
2025 - 06.2026
Novacard, MexicoCTO of a neobank, CTO-as-a-Service model
Scaled the neobank and its platform, moved releases to a monthly cycle and launched a quality programme: every incident traced to its cause and owner, a release dashboard on the leadership’s table. A team across four cities. In June 2026 I handed the IT team over to a permanent head and completed the contract.
How: mandatory code review, static analysis, automated tests on critical paths, a release dashboard since January 2026.
09.2023 - 10.2024
Renaissance Bank, MoscowSenior Vice President, Head of Technology, Management Board member
Cut a third of the bank’s IT costs in a year without stopping products or losing development speed. Took over a block of 1,250 people - staff and contractors whom I managed and budgeted for; contractor spend more than halved, 45 people moved from outstaffing to staff, development efficiency up 10% by an independent metric. Chaired the bank’s Technology Committee, moved key systems to open source, replaced departments with a flat structure. Completed the year-long programme and in October 2024 left the bank together with the chairman’s team.
2022 - present
FlyOptima, AstanaFounder
10.2017 - 12.2021
Alfa-Bank Kazakhstan, AlmatyCIO, reporting to the CEO
Built the bank’s IT block from 40 to 650 people and an Open API ecosystem. Over the same four years the bank grew one and a half times by capital and almost fourfold by profit. 30+ projects: CRM, anti-fraud, AML, loan origination, digital channels; an in-house R&D lab. Defended the IT strategy before the board of directors in 2018. Completed the contract in 2021 and returned to Moscow.
2012 - 2017
Otkritie Bank, MoscowDirector, IT Development Department
Team of 200+. Agile transformation, integration of acquired banks, Innovation Fintech Lab.
2010 - 2012
Citibank, MoscowSenior IT Project Manager
Data warehouse and CRM. Team of 20, offshore in Singapore and India.
2007 - 2010
MBRD (now MTS Bank)from specialist to IT manager
Education: MESI, 2008, honours. PMP, 2013. SKOLKOVO Startup Academy, 2015. Languages: Russian, fluent English.
FlyOptima
Operating since December 2021, registered in Astana in May 2022, resident of AIFC and Astana Hub. Six contracts, clients in Kazakhstan, Russia, Germany, Canada and Hong Kong, projects for the Mexican market. Software licences, development and testing, platform implementation, architecture audit, CIO under management.
The main product is FlyCoreBanking, an accounting and product core for cards and lending: products, tariffs and rules are data, not code. Implemented by FlyOptima and partner integrators. flyoptima.com
A separate project is Voice Scribe - dictation and meeting transcription on a laptop with no internet, public releases since May 2026.
FlyOptima remains my company. In an employed role I disclose its clients to the employer, run no competing projects through it and hand operational management to a partner. The format is open to discussion.
How I lead
I find competent people and build a system of management and control. Not a “strong team” in the abstract, but people for specific domains and clear rules that show who is accountable for what.
I give authority and autonomy within a domain - for the team’s goal, not for autonomy’s sake. I commit only to what has been authorised: people, budget, access.
I shield the team from excess control from above, but I demand results. One does not work without the other.
I verify and do not take things on trust. “Have I understood you correctly?” is the phrase I use most in meetings. A result is something you can show, not something you can retell.
Publications and talks
- March 2026Infostart Team Event · “Speed, risk and trust: how the role of IT changes from a fintech company to a corporate bank” · ComNews
- 2024CNews FORUM · speaker
- October 2024CNews · on leaving Renaissance Bank
- November 2018CNews · “Digitalisation forces banks to become more open”
- September 2017Kommersant · profile
- Profiles:TAdviser · ICT2Go · ComNews “Who is Who”
Principles
- A number from a measurement. An estimate is labelled as such and never passed off as fact.
- I fix the cause, not the symptom. Treating a symptom is called exactly that.
- A fix ships only if it loses not a single correct case.
- I verify and do not take things on trust.
- The smallest safe change over a big rewrite.
Contact
30 minutes, slots in Moscow and Astana time.
ceo@flyoptima.com · linkedin.com/in/andrewsab · flyoptima.com
Moscow · Astana · Mexico City
Full profile, project list and references - on request.