Strategic Advisory for Financial Institutions

Technology-driven Transformation in
Banking & Wealth Management

I partner with financial services leaders to turn technology, regulation, and market change into competitive advantage, combining AI research, strategy consulting rigor, and hands-on FinTech product leadership.

Connecting Strategic Ambition to Technical Reality

I partner with financial services leaders at the intersection of strategy, technology, and regulation, where transformation is complex, politically charged, and too important to fail. My role is to create clarity when the organization is divided, structure the critical decisions before committees drift, and ensure that board-level ambition translates into roadmaps that delivery teams can actually execute.

I bridge three domains that rarely come together in one profile: strategy consulting, FinTech product leadership, and a decade of multi-agent systems research, with proven experience in AI, cloud, and blockchain. This combination allows me to assess emerging opportunities with technical rigor, shape them into strategies boards can approve, and translate them into solutions teams can deliver.

I designed and shipped cloud platforms in financial markets, modernized operating models and technology stacks, and shaped digital businesses and ecosystems. The focus is always on measurable impact: client experience, revenue growth, risk reduction, or cost efficiency.

When engaged, I act as a trusted sparring partner to leadership: independent, analytical, and execution-minded. I challenge assumptions, frame options with their technical, organizational, regulatory, and political implications, and help design and steer programs before they drift or stall.

Top-Tier Consulting BCG Platinion & Capgemini digital and IT strategy advisory.
FinTech Leadership 7 years at Avaloq/NEC driving product innovation, platforms, and ecosystem.
Technology & Research 15+ years across AI (60+ publications, PhD), cloud, digital assets, and SaaS.
Transformation & Execution Nearly a decade of hands-on transformation, change, and delivery.
Nils Bulling

How I Can Help

1. Executive advisory

Strategic counsel on high-stakes decisions

Independent partner for executives and boards navigating technology transformations: cloud migration strategies, AI investment, build-vs-buy choices, and operating model shifts. I provide analytical rigor, challenge assumptions without political agenda, and help structure decisions so leadership can move forward with confidence.

2. Change & operating model

Embedding capabilities that persist

Design and refinement of operating models for technology-enabled banking: AI-human collaboration models that scale, agile ways of working, effective sourcing and partnership strategies, and governance that enables rather than blocks innovation. The focus is on what actually works in complex, regulated environments.

3. Product & platform strategy

Designing platforms your teams can deliver

Vision and roadmaps for products and platforms in core banking, wealth management, digital assets, and open finance. Includes build vs. buy vs. partner analysis, ecosystem strategy, and translation into a delivery portfolio that teams can execute against.

4. AI, cloud & emerging technology

From opportunity to governed innovation

Identifying and prioritizing AI, cloud, and blockchain/digital asset opportunities in banking and wealth management, grounded in research and production experience. I help shape portfolios that move from exploration to proof-of-concept to production.

5. Program & board roles

Independent oversight for critical programs

Advisory or non-executive board-level roles on major transformation and change programs. I provide independent challenge, early risk detection, and structured steering support to help ensure programs deliver, rather than drift, in regulated environments.

Engagement formats range from a few concentrated strategy sprints to multi-month advisory mandates alongside internal leadership.

Let's Talk About Your Transformation Challenge

If you are working on a complex platform, technology, or operating model challenge in financial services—particularly where strategic ambition is running ahead of organizational capability or technical clarity—I'm happy to explore whether there's a fit.

Location

Zurich, Switzerland