Washington DC-Baltimore Area
Most people building fintech products have never seen what happens when a payment system operates at scale—across hundreds of branches, millions of transactions, and the real-world constraints of fraud, disputes, and compliance. I have. I spent over a decade inside card payment operations at Zenith Bank in Nigeria, managing disputes, fraud detection, chargebacks, and marketing analytics across 360+ branches. That experience taught me something fundamental: the best payment products aren't just innovative—they're operationally sound. They work not only in demos but under pressure, at volume, and across diverse customer behaviors. That operational lens is what I bring to payments analytics and product strategy today. I've designed fraud strategies that saved $600K+ annually, led campaigns that doubled acquisition and grew deposits by 40%, and driven product adoption through data-driven segmentation. I don't understand payments only in theory—I've seen how networks, rules, incentives, and edge cases collide in practice. I hold an MS in Business Analytics from the University of Maryland and currently work as a Business Analyst, focusing on growth and product strategy in fintech. I also write regularly on LinkedIn about payment infrastructure, fintech business models, and emerging trends like stablecoins and settlement—because understanding how these systems really work is essential to improving them. I'm exploring product, growth, or marketing analyst roles at payments-focused fintech or digital banking companies that value operational depth, analytical rigor, and clear thinking. If you're building payment systems or financial infrastructure and care about getting them right, let's connect.
Supporting product strategy, go-to-market planning, and market research for TheyAssist, an early-stage EdTech platform exploring mentorship-based networking between students, alumni, and industry professionals. ● Conducted market research and competitive analysis to evaluate comparable mentorship and professional networking platforms, contributing SWOT analysis and positioning insights that informed product differentiation and business model discussions. ● Contributed to go-to-market strategy development and early product planning, participating in sprint discussions, MVP scoping, roadmap conversations, and data architecture design. Helped define entity-relationship diagrams, data schemas, and analytics requirements to support future platform development and user insights. ● Developed marketing and pitch materials to support B2B and B2C outreach, partnership discussions, and exploratory client conversations, translating product strategy into clear narratives for prospective institutional partners and stakeholders.
● Supported teaching and applied research across multiple graduate and undergraduate business analytics courses, mentoring students in quantitative modeling, data analysis, visualization, and predictive analytics while supporting capstone and experiential learning projects. ● Lead Teaching Assistant – Data, Models & Decisions (BUDT 730 / 731): Facilitated instruction on regression analysis, optimization, and decision-making under uncertainty using R and spreadsheets, supporting students in applying analytical frameworks to real managerial problems. ● Teaching & Project Support – Data Visualization, Web Analytics, and Data Analysis courses: Assisted 75+ students with visualization and analytics projects using Tableau, Python, and Stata, covering statistical inference, hypothesis testing, regression, and applied analytics techniques. ● Capstone Project Advisor: Guided 110+ students through end-to-end capstone projects, supporting problem formulation, data preparation, modeling, and presentation of business insights to faculty and external stakeholders. ● Technical & Research Projects: Developed a Python- and Tableau-based S&P 500 financial dashboard, automating data ingestion via APIs and Google Cloud Platform as part of the Terp Talent Advantage Program.
● Led product marketing strategy and performance analytics for Zenith Bank's retail banking, card, and digital payment products, partnering with Product, Technology, and Operations teams to drive go-to-market execution, customer acquisition, and adoption across 360+ branches while managing $2M+ in integrated campaign budgets. ● Partnered with product teams across Cards, Retail Banking, and E-Business to translate product roadmaps and business priorities into nationwide GTM strategies, campaigns, sponsorships, and branch activations. Drove a 30% increase in product adoption and measurable cross-sell growth across digital and card portfolios through targeted positioning and channel optimization. ● Owned integrated marketing strategy across digital and offline channels, optimizing the marketing mix based on performance data and customer behavior insights. Delivered 202% growth in new account openings and a 40% increase in deposits through data-driven targeting, messaging refinement, and channel allocation. ● Analyzed multi-channel campaign performance, customer engagement patterns, and product adoption metrics to inform product and growth strategy. Insights shaped feature prioritization, user experience enhancements, and competitive positioning, increasing marketing ROI by 20%. ● Coordinated cross-functionally with Product, Technology, Operations, the Branch Network, and Executive leadership to align marketing initiatives with business objectives, ensure seamless product launches, and translate customer insights into actionable product and service improvements.
● Led media monitoring, sentiment analysis, and competitive intelligence for Zenith Bank across Nigeria's banking and financial services ecosystem, using Meltwater to track brand reputation, surface emerging risks, and deliver data-driven insights to executive leadership for crisis response and strategic decision-making. ● Built and maintained real-time media analytics infrastructure using Meltwater, tracking brand mentions across news outlets, social platforms, and digital channels. Proactively identified reputational issues and escalated to senior leadership, enabling rapid response and protecting brand integrity in highly competitive markets. ● Designed executive dashboards to analyze earned media performance, benchmark competitive share of voice, and monitor sentiment trends over time. Insights informed messaging strategy, campaign positioning, and stakeholder communications, contributing to a 25% improvement in share of voice. ● Developed and optimized complex Boolean search queries and data filters to improve signal quality and reduce noise by 60%, delivering weekly intelligence reports that translated media data into actionable insights for reputation management and strategic planning. ● Partnered with Marketing, Corporate Affairs, and Product teams to ensure media intelligence informed brand strategy, campaign development, and product positioning across retail and corporate offerings, including major launches and customer-facing initiatives.
● Managed end-to-end chargeback operations, fraud prevention, and payment risk strategy for Zenith Bank's card portfolio across 360+ branches, supporting millions of monthly transactions and coordinating with Visa and Mastercard on compliance programs, dispute resolution, and risk management frameworks. ● Built and led implementation of Visa/Mastercard fraud monitoring and chargeback compliance programs (VFMP, SAFE, MATCH), establishing protocols that balanced merchant risk with portfolio growth. Partnered with E-Business, Internal Control, Legal, and scheme risk teams to resolve compliance issues, secure fine waivers, and prevent $600K+ in annual fraud losses while maintaining card network standing. ● Delivered monthly chargeback analysis across issuing and acquiring portfolios, processing 1,000+ disputes monthly and producing actionable insights that reduced overall dispute volumes 18% year-over-year and improved win rates 15%. Reports directly informed fraud rule optimization, authorization strategies, and customer experience improvements. ● Analyzed transaction and chargeback patterns to identify product pain points and operational friction, working with product and marketing teams to drive platform enhancements and targeted campaigns. Insights led to 30% increase in card issuance, improved authorization rates, and measurable growth in transaction income. ● Coordinated cross-functionally with Technology, Operations, Customer Service, and Product teams to ensure seamless payment operations, dispute resolution, and compliance with evolving Visa/Mastercard regulations across Nigeria's developing payments ecosystem.