Kuda appoints leaders for international expansion — Features — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News

Kuda, the Money app for Africans, is set to make its mark on the global banking industry with the appointment of Pavel Khristolubov and Elena Lavezzi as new Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Strategy Officer (CSO), respectively at group level. The appointments, which were the result of a diligent recruitment process aimed at acquiring suitable candidates to help achieve the financial institution’s vision and mission, were recently announced by Kuda’s Board of Directors. Technologies Limited.

Pavel Khristolubov joined Kuda Technologies Limited from Tinkoff Bank, an Eastern European commercial bank, where he was responsible for managing workforce efficiency across both product development and operational platforms. During his tenure as COO, the bank’s customer base grew from seven million to 22 million active customers, and his focus was to control quality and cost levels and implement required processes and approaches. to scale the product and operations teams to meet growth challenges.

Prior to working at Tinkoff Bank, he was a member of the management team of DXC Luxoft, a software development company, supporting the company’s growth from the very beginning until it became a global player. with 20,000 engineers working in 20 countries and sites. of the world. His responsibilities included establishing business processes and ensuring the effectiveness of its management, as well as the integration of acquired companies.

Likewise, Elena Lavezzi, an Italian, brings with her extensive experience gained over the years with well-regarded fintech companies, including Circle, a global company at the forefront of digital currency innovation, where she has assumed the position of Director, Go-To-Market Retail Europe. Most recently, Lavezzi led the Southern Europe region at Revolut for three years, overseeing growth, business development and marketing before focusing on regulatory matters last year.

Lavezzi previously worked at Uber where she served as a marketing manager for four years. She helped Uber launch into the Italian market before supporting the growth of the Indian market.

Upon his appointment at Kuda Technologies, the new COO said he was delighted to join the management team and looked forward to contributing to the achievement of the company’s overall goals.

“When Target Global investors introduced me to Kuda co-founder Babs Ogundeyi, I learned the story of an ambitious business enterprise driven by very human and people-centered values. I believe in the company’s mission and I hope that my experience and efforts will help it along the way to achieving our goals,” said Khristolubov.

In her remarks, Lavezzi informed that she was fascinated by the incredible team driving the company’s goals as well as Kuda’s offering.

“The team is incredible. All the people I met are very talented and have a clear vision of what they want to build. Kuda is building a strong product, providing financial services through its apps and enabling millions of people with internet access to operate a spending account, access instant credit, save money automatically and earn annual interest without the burden of traditional bank fees,” Lavezzi said.

Speaking about the company’s expansion plans, Lavezzi added, “Kuda is well recognized in the African market and has very ambitious expansion plans for the coming months. Backed by top venture capitalists like Target Global and Valar who have over a decade of experience partnering with the most visionary founders in different industries around the world, I believe Kuda has all the ingredients to become a fintech leader in Africa and even beyond. .

Kuda (through its operating entity, Kuda MFB Limited) provides financial services to over four million Nigerians through its suite of mobile and web applications. Its customers can manage a spending account, access instant credit, save money automatically, and earn annual interest without paying traditional banking fees such as card maintenance fees, account maintenance fees, and fees. excessive transfers.