Istanbul, Istanbul, Türkiye
Senior commercial and strategy leader with 20+ years of experience solving growth, market entry, transformation & revenue challenges in payments, banking, and technology across Southeast Europe, CIS and Middle East. Extensive experience advising Tier-1 banks, fintechs and regulators in highly regulated emerging markets. Extensive C-level stakeholder management experience and a strong ability to translate strategy into commercial outcomes. Core Competencies Payments & Banking | Growth Strategy | Market Entry & GTM | Sales Strategy | Cross-Border Payments | Digital Payments & Wallets | Regulatory Engagement | Operating Model Design | P&L Ownership | Revenue Scaling | C-Level Advisory | High-Impact Team Leadership | Market Expansion (EMEA, CIS) | Client Engagement | Account Management | Innovation
Led growth and market expansion initiatives across private & government-owned banks, fintechs, airlines, marketplaces, and top-tier merchants. Designed and executed commercial strategies that generated new revenue streams across issuing, acquiring, and value-added services. Acted as a bridge between product, strategy, and sales, shaping product roadmaps based on market insights. Built and led high-performance teams, improving client acquisition efficiency and client lifetime value. Advised senior executives on payments modernization and digital transformation Key Impacts • Generated annual net revenue through client expansion • Built affluent card strategy for Tier-1/2 banks to attract high deposit customers, driving revenue uplift • Led sales optimization at a Tier-1 bank, shifting new customer acquisition to mobile channel • Delivered e-comm market sizing study for top marketplace for vertical expansion • Supported market entry strategy of an international neobank
Established a new client segment strategy targeting e-money institutions, payment facilitators, processors, and transit operators. Launched multiple new products, coordinating internal and external teams. Consistently exceeded client acquisition and revenue targets. Rolled out Visa Innovation Program Key Impacts • Built new “non-traditional clients” vertical. Diversified Visa’s revenue base beyond traditional banking • Strengthened regional innovation capabilities, contributed to regional innovation programs
• Owned growth strategy & partner management across 5 countries (Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon, Syria) • Led digital transformation initiatives, via mobile and account-based products • Managed annual regional revenue and 15+ strategic partners • Coordinated the regulatory licensing of WU Turkey Key Impacts • Transitioned legacy cash-based models toward digital. Enabled scalable operating models across markets • Established the local entity, obtained Payment Institution license in Turkey
Directed operations across 10 markets (Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia), managing partner performance and service quality. Led cross-functional transformation projects, including product launches and operational change programs
Sold consulting and system integration services (CRM, billing) across Turkey, Adriatic and CIS. Led strategic bids and developed enterprise accounts in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova
Sold enterprise telecom solutions to financial institutions and retailers
Planning, new initiatives, project management