Efi Naskou FCIM

Advisor | CMO | Marketing Director | Growth Strategy | Value Creation | Consultant 
Available for Interim, Fractional, Board Advisor and NED positions.
Clients: PE, VC, FTSE, Founders, Boards
Industries: Services, Regulated, FS, Financial Services, FinTech, Technology, AI

CMO | Advisor | Consultant

Zenus Bank

Zenus is a US Digital Bank and FinTech - a pioneer in providing easy access to the US banking system for underserved people and businesses worldwide, taking banking beyond borders.

Member of the Executive Committee. I led a team of global marketing professionals launching innovative new products (GTM), delivering exceptional customer experiences, and achieving business goals. I worked closely with colleagues across regions to ensure that our marketing efforts are aligned with our overall business strategy and tailored to the unique needs of our customers in each market. I leveraged data and insights to optimise our marketing performance and measure our impact. Key activities were GTM strategies for expansion, new customer acquisition and brand and revenue growth.

Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)

Set up the Global Marketing function in London. Built a multidisciplinary team from 1 to 12+, set up processes and martech, launched the Bank, the FinTech and multiple banking and fintech products in numerous markets (BaaS, Payments, Wallets, Corporate and Personal Accounts, Metal VISA Debit Cards, BIN Sponsorship/ Card Issuance). 
Expanded client base to 120+ countries, exceeded commercial targets/OKRs and won multiple awards for brand refresh, digital acquisition campaigns/ integrated performance marketing and products.

Global Head of Marketing

Mastercard Data & Services

I provided marketing consultancy services to credit card and debit card issuers, offering strategic planning, campaign design, execution, and measurement. I specialized in lifecycle product marketing consulting and implementation, go-to-market strategy development, and end-to-end campaign execution, including post-campaign analysis. Additionally, I focused on multi-channel marketing to maximize ROI, reviewed and optimized marketing processes for issuers, managed internal and external stakeholders across various channels, including B2B, B2B2C, and B2C, engaged in business development activities such as client proposals, and conducted marketing research.

Marketing Consultant | Director

Consulting

Marketing and Brand diagnosis, strategy and tactics. Leadership and hands-on execution of strategies to solve challenges and drive commercial performance. 

Clients and projects include: Barclays Wealth & Investments, PayPal, Barclaycard, Tesco Bank, Santander, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), HSBC, Mastercard

Marketing and Brand Director | Consulting Contracts

Barclays

Overall responsibility for all cross-channel marketing programmes, including Smart Investor online direct investing service and Wealth Management relationship managers. I developed and planned content strategies to drive thought leadership and content generation for cross-channel distribution, created PR/Spokespeople strategies, engaged and managed stakeholders, including CIO and other executive level internal stakeholders, marketing, PR and product teams, agencies, and other partners. Additionally, I crafted annual team roadmaps, prioritized output, reviewed and evaluated suppliers/vendors to create efficiencies, and strategized, planned, and executed email marketing in the realm of digital marketing.

Vice President | Investment Marketing 

HSBC

I spearheaded the strategic development of premium, user-centered digital marketing initiatives for hsbc.co.uk, spanning desktop, mobile, and tablet platforms and encompassing all product lines. My role included optimizing user experience and journey, project management, orchestrating impactful marketing campaigns, implementing MVT and A/B testing strategies, driving SEO initiatives, refining website performance and managing agencies, providing effective team leadership and coaching to a large multi disciplinary team.

Senior Manager | Digital Customer Experience 

I managed the development and delivery of retail communications across 1400 HSBC branches in the UK, overseeing marketing assistants and a team budget of £3 million.

Marketing Communications Manager

Boodle Hatfield LLP

At Boodle Hatfield LLP, I managed customer communications and email marketing, led a comprehensive rebrand including the launch of a new website, and organised events. I also focused on website optimisation and enhancing customer journeys. My role involved marketing budget management, brand development, and executing both internal and external communications strategies.

Marketing Communications Executive

Building & Scaling Businesses

I specialise in developing and implementing commercial strategies for businesses that view marketing as a strategic lever. I believe that smart marketing investment gives companies a clear edge, helps them grow faster, and secures their market position.

With experience across startups (0 to 1), growing businesses (1 to Xmillion), and public companies, I bring a wealth of knowledge to the table. I thrive on the challenges of complex businesses and enjoy collaborating with talented people to uncover new opportunities. Leading teams and inspiring motivated professionals to achieve great results and grow is a passion of mine.

I’m looking to work with companies that value these skills and are either in a growth phase or aiming to regain their momentum with innovative ideas.

Specialties include: Business Strategy, Commercial Strategy, Product Marketing, Brand Management, Digital Marketing, CRM, Lifecycle Marketing, UX, CX, Content Marketing, PR, Go-to-Market, P&L, Agile Project Management, Executive Leadership. 

I am a Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Marketing and hold a Professional Diploma in Marketing and a Mini MBA in Brand Management. DEI advocate, mentor, AI enthusiast and Founding Partner of an AI Think Tank (Women4AInnovationFutures) with Kingston University Business School bringing business and academia together, that is dedicated to empowering leaders to harness Generative AI (Gen AI) for innovation.

Immediately available for permanent, interim, fractional leadership roles and consulting services (CMO, CxO, Marketing Consultant, Marketing Director, VP, Advisor, Operator). 

Connect with me for a chat @ efi.naskou@gmail.com 📅 https://calendly.com/efi-naskou

Financial Services | Financial Technology | FinTech | Payments | Cards | Wallets | BaaS | Embedded Finance | Open Banking | B2C B2B | CxO | Partnerships | PE | Value Creation | Insurance| Global Strategy | Commercial Growth Strategy | GenAI | DEI Ambassador | Board | NED | C-Suite | SLT | Executive Leadership

CIM Fellow- Fellowship of the CIM is the highest level of membership requiring qualification, 15+ years experience and Board level experience.

CMktr - Chartered Marketer status recognises those marketers achieving the highest level in our profession. It demonstrates commitment to keeping up to date and is awarded on a combination of experience and qualifications.

Efi Naskou (CMktr FCIM)

Nodd - The Music Distro Platform & Digital Wallet for Artists

- Built a one-stop platform to manage digital assets, supply chain, rights management, business intelligence, financial reporting, and royalty payment distribution
- Integrated 200+ digital music and video platforms
- Built a multi-currency digital wallet on Web3 with NTFs management
- Enabled AI and data-driven branding strategies

Nodd: Where music meets fintech, revolutionizing artist payments with a digital wallet, powered by Web3.

Keywords:
music, mobile app, digital wallet, Spotify, Nodd, API integrations, SaaS, chartmetric, feature.fm, Tidal, Amazon Music, Apple Music, Meta, TikTok, copyrights, music publishing, music distribution

ZENUS BANK

- Spearheaded the launch of the first U.S. digital bank for non-U.S. citizens, introducing groundbreaking innovations such as an International Financial Entity (IFE) structure and remote onboarding. This strategic initiative revolutionized the banking industry by enhancing financial accessibility globally.
- Oversaw the end-to-end development and launch of a cross-border Visa Infinite debit card, integrating real-time AML/Fraud detection and biometric verification. Successfully introduced a comprehensive Banking as a Service (BaaS) platform, encompassing APIs, mobile applications, and a digital wallet, significantly enhancing customer experience and operational efficiency.
- Led the strategic transformation towards advanced cloud architecture, utilizing Azure and AWS to improve scalability and security. Implemented robust security measures including encryption and access controls, successfully navigating the bank through ISO27001 and PCI-DSS certifications and SOC 2 audits.
- Directed a multi-disciplinary team across Solutions Architecture, Cloud Operations, Cybersecurity, Product Development, and Innovation practices, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and knowledge sharing that aligned IT initiatives with business goals.
- Championed the adoption of cutting-edge technologies, including AI and Machine Learning, to drive predictive analytics and decision-making, enhancing the bank's competitive advantage in the fintech sector.
- Managed the transition to SAP S/4HANA, ensuring seamless integration and minimal disruption to business operations, which optimized core financial and supply chain processes.
- Played a pivotal role in securing over $25 million in Seed and Series A funding by demonstrating exceptional leadership in technology innovation and strategic vendor management, ensuring alignment with long-term business objectives.

Key Technologies & Skills: Fintech, Banking, Payments, BaaS, PaaS, Latam, LAC, Digital Wallet, mobile apps

CIO & Chief Information Security Officer (CISO)

OneWeb

- Transformed the company from a start-up to an enterprise by leading global teams and implementing comprehensive IT strategies.
- Developed enterprise product delivery practices, including Solutions Architecture, Cloud Operations, Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), and a 24/7 Operations Center, directly reporting to the CIO.
- Pioneered developer tools for scaling public cloud infrastructure into space, marking a breakthrough in technology.
- Led major CRM and ERP projects, integrating platforms like ServiceNow, Salesforce, and Axios.
- Managed multi-million-dollar budgets while building strategic vendor partnerships.
- Acted as a subject matter expert (SME) on multiple committees, providing insights on technology trends and mitigating risks

Key Technologies & Skills: IT Executive, IT Transformation, Agile Transformation, DevOps Transformation, Cloud Migration, AWS, Azure, Vendor Management, Space Industry, ERP, ServiceNow, Salesforce, Axios, SRE, Release Engineering, IT Strategy, Program Management, Product Management, Jira, Confluence, SSO, MFA, Business Analysis, Digital Transformation, APIs, Python, KPIs.

Sr. Director, Cloud & Enterprise IT

Capital One

- Collaborated with top-tier Solutions Architects on enterprise-wide initiatives involving cybersecurity, integration of distributed architecture, and public cloud governance.
- Executed on set vision, strategy, and established product roadmap.
- Built and supported teams with expertise and engineering development to optimize availability, latency, performance, efficiency, change management, monitoring, emergency response, and capacity planning while finding ways to increase automation.
- Rolled out robust/automated monitoring and alerting systems using tools such as Datadog, Akamai, Splunk, Pager Duty and Slack among others, to improve system reliability and efficiency, reduce manual workload, and minimize human error.
- Promoted a culture of continuous improvement, learning from incidents, and regularly reviewing and updating practices and tools.

Key Technologies & Skills: Java, Spring, Kafka, Python, REST Services, Web API architecture, AWS, Google Cloud, NoSQL, Datadog, New Relic, Zabbix, PostgreSQL, RDS, Databricks, Snowflake, Agile, Scrum, Solutions Architecture, DevOps, Site Reliability Engineering, Cloud, Observability, GSuite, Jira, Confluence, PagerDuty, CICD pipelines, Proxy, DNS, DHCP, Linux, Windows, Mac OS, CISSP, Security Architecture

Tech Lead, Site Reliability Engineering

- As part of the architect team, collaborated in technical research, best practices, and strategy development with measurable governance.
- Spearheaded the development of robust solutions for seamless data and workload migration to public cloud platforms like AWS and GCP.
- Specialized in the Enterprise Architecture spectrum, focusing on Data and Security to enhance architecture, ensuring compliance with various standards including SOX, NPI, PCI, Sarbanes-Oxley, GLBA, and FFIEC.

Keywords: Java, Spring, Kafka, Python, REST Services, Web API architecture, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), Web Application Firewall (WAF), web threat detection (WTD), Proxy, IAM, APIs, BigData, Business Intelligence, NoSQL, NIST SP 800-37, Datadog, New Relic, Zabbix, PostgreSQL, RDS, Agile, Scum, Solutions Architect, DevOps, Site Reliability Engineering, Basel, Data Lake, OFAC, AML, KYC, SRE, Cloud, Observability, GSuite, Jira, Confluence, PagerDuty, CICD pipelines, Proxy, DNS, DHCP, Linux, Windows, Mac OS, CISSP, Security Architecture, Databricks, Birst, Snowflake, Data Transformation, Data Lake, Data Warehousing, Data Factory, Snowflake

- Supervisory Guidance Documents: Large Bank Supervision Handbook; Corporate Risk Governance Handbook; and key OCC bulletins (Model Risk Governance; Products & Services Risk Management; Third Party Risk Management)
- FFIEC: BSA/AML Manual
- CFPB: Consumer Protection Regulations UDAAP Fair Lending
- Interagency Guidelines Establishing Standards for Safety and Soundness (12 CFR Part 30 Appendix A)
- Home Owners' Loan Act and related OCC Regulations (12 CFR Chapter 1)
- Annual Stress Test 12 CFR Part 46 OCC: 12 CFR Part 30 and all Appendices (A through E)
- Fair Lending laws and related regulations & supervisory guidance
- Strong knowledge of Federal Banking Laws & Regulations – e.g., 12 CFR 9 - Bank Fiduciary Activities; 12 CFR 25; 12 CFR Part 167

Sr. Manager, Enterprise Architecture

- DevOps Leadership: Led cloud engineers and Agile teams to accelerate the development and deployment of customer acquisition apps.
- Cloud Security: Secured cloud zones through an innovative AWS Lambda encryption strategy, pioneering early Cloud Maid initiatives.
- Cost Optimization: Achieved $3.2M in monthly savings via machine learning-driven optimization policies.
- Team Management: Managed a cloud engineering team, implementing CI/CD pipelines and automation for enhanced software delivery.
- System Architecture: Oversaw system architecture, infrastructure, and promoted continuous improvement in tools and processes.
- Monitoring and Compliance: Deployed robust monitoring for application performance and ensured security compliance.
- Incident Management: Worked with the incident response team to minimize system downtime through infrastructure design updates.
- Strategy Alignment: Integrated DevOps strategies to support overall business goals.

Key Technologies and Skills: AWS, GCP, Python, PostgreSQL, Oracle DB, Terraform, Chef, Puppet, Ansible, CloudFormation, Datadog, New Relic, Zabbix, CICD pipelines, Agile, Scrum, Linux, Windows, Mac OS, CISSP, Security Architecture, Shared Services.

DevOps Manager

Ordia Solutions, Inc

- Guided the vision, strategy, design, and execution of key products, driving market penetration and ensuring smooth operations and robust security.
- Pioneered integration of Google's API for mobile devices, providing a groundbreaking solution for enhanced data access and 360 situational awareness for first responders.
- Demonstrated M&A expertise by effectively leading the company's acquisition via strategic vision and negotiation.

Key Technologies and Skills: CIO, CTO, Business Development, Marketing and Sales, Product Management, Java, Windows Server, FTP, DNS, UX Design, Public Speaking, C4I, First Responders, FEMA, Start-up Leadership.

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

- Performed research and development of new products and related components from concept to production.
- Integrated C4I (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence), GPS (Global Positioning System),  Bio-metrics and User Interfaces
- Served as liaison between uniformed subjects and civilian IT resources for implementation and training of products in combat zones and continental US military training facilities
- Led a team of systems engineers and network administrators
- Experienced in scalable networking design including high availability, redundancy, failover and load balancing.

Keywords: DARPA, Clearance, Iraq, Afghanistan, Middle East, C4I, C3 Systems, GIS, Biometrics, Military deployments

Product Engineer (GS-13 Contractor)

Think Resources

- Designed regional & metro DWDM, SONET, Layer II and MPLS/VPLS network, and engineered network design packages, node build-outs and equipment installations.
- Managed, configured routers, switches, firewalls and proxies.
- Monitored WAN for outages and worked with vendors to resolve all issues.
- Installed, configured and troubleshot Ciena, Nortel, Fujitsu, Cisco, Alcatel-Lucent SONET and Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) equipment and platforms.

Systems Engineer

US Army

Paratrooper / Platoon Leader

Innovative Technology Executive with over 25 years of experience in the domestic and international banking, fintech, and government sectors. Proven leader in integrating advanced cloud technologies and implementing robust cybersecurity measures across AWS, Azure, and GCP platforms. Expert in developing secure, scalable cloud infrastructures and aligning strategic vision with business objectives to enhance organizational resilience and operational agility. Passionate about financial inclusion and solving complex business challenges through innovative technology solutions. Data-driven, AI-verse and remote work-friendly executive.

🔹 What Sets Me Apart:

► Brewing Exceptional Coffee & Making S*&t Happen
► Mastering Technology Strategy & Execution
► Cultivating Elite Teams & Fostering Innovation
► Pioneering in Startups: Embracing Challenges Head-On
► Expertise in Data, ERP/CRM, Fintech Innovation & Cybersecurity

#cto #cio #cybersecurity #fintech #banking #apis #strategy

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Efi Naskou (CMktr FCIM)

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