Ilker Canaslan
Banking Technology Executive
Ilker
Canaslan
30 years building what banks need.
Now helping platforms deliver it.

CIO, EVP, and fintech founder with a 30-year track record scaling engineering organisations, modernising core banking platforms, and translating deep technical strategy into commercial outcomes — across 10 international banking entities.

30+
Years in Fintech
10
Banking Entities Led
200+
Engineers Scaled
The Story
About
Ilker
I have been the CIO on the other side of the table.
That changes everything.

I started as a software engineer and spent three decades working my way to the top of banking technology — not through management ladders, but by building things that actually worked. Core banking systems. Digital platforms. Engineering organisations. All from scratch, all at scale, all in highly regulated European and international markets.

At Nexent Bank I spent 17 years as Global Head of IT and CIO, leading 200+ engineers across 10 entities through one of the most ambitious technology transformations in European banking.

Before that, I founded IBTECH — the fintech company that became the technology backbone of one of Turkey's largest banks — and successfully exited through integration into QNB.

Now I am channelling that operator perspective into the next frontier — founding Coopetition.AI to help enterprises harness agentic AI. From deploying autonomous agents and MCP servers to automating complex workflows, I translate deep technology experience into practical AI services that deliver measurable business outcomes.

2025 — Present
Founder, CEO
Coopetition.AI
2007 — 2025
Global Head of IT | EVP | CIO
Nexent Bank N.V., Amsterdam
2006 — 2007
Assistant General Manager
Fiba Holding A.S., Istanbul
2005 — 2006
Founder & Managing Partner
IBTECH A.S. — Exited via QNB
1999 — 2005
IT Coordinator
Finansbank A.S. (now QNB Turkey)
1992
BSc Computer Engineering
Bogazici University, Istanbul
30 Years. Real Outcomes.
Experience &
Expertise
Global Head of IT  |  EVP  |  CIO
Nexent Bank N.V. (formerly Credit Europe Bank N.V.), Fiba Holding A.S.
Aug 2007 – Feb 2025
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Led 200+ engineering professionals across backend, frontend, DevOps, and product teams spanning 10 international banking entities across Europe and emerging markets.
200+ Engineers10 Banking EntitiesCloud-Native MigrationAzure / OpenShift / K8sDevSecOpsAI Adoption99.9% UptimeDORA · PSD2 · GDPR
Designed, developed, migrated, and operated 10 core banking systems — modernising legacy infrastructures into cloud-native microservices platforms on AKS and Red Hat OpenShift.
Created and launched a multi-tenant core banking and digital banking platform — 1,000+ UI screens, multi-currency, multi-language, multi-timezone — serving retail, corporate, and trade finance banking across a 500+ branch network.
Established DevSecOps culture with fully automated CI/CD, reducing production deployment cycles from months to daily releases.
Led enterprise-wide agile transformation implementing Scrum/Kanban across 200+ engineers, shifting to continuous product ownership.
Drove AI adoption in software development and document processing. Designed and deployed an AI-based HR assistant enabling employee self-service.
Enabled digital customer onboarding, reducing acquisition friction and accelerating time-to-revenue across multiple entities.
Tech Stack:Java 21 · Spring Cloud Gateway · REST APIs · Microservices · AKS · OpenShift · Docker · Istio · Kubernetes · React · React Native · TypeScript · Jenkins · SonarQube · Kibana · Grafana · Elastic · PostgreSQL · Oracle · Redis
Assistant General Manager
Fiba Holding A.S. — Head Office
Sep 2006 – Jul 2007
Istanbul, Turkey
Managed group-wide IT operations across 10 international banking entities, overseeing a central team of 20+ senior IT experts. Coordinated cross-entity technology strategy and operational governance.
Group IT Governance20+ Senior Experts10 EntitiesCross-Border Strategy
Founder & Managing Partner
IBTECH A.S., Fiba Holding A.S.
Aug 2005 – Aug 2006
Istanbul, Turkey
Founded the fintech company that became the core technology arm of Finansbank A.S., one of Turkey's largest banks. Built the engineering team from scratch, delivered core banking, internet banking, and call centre solutions. Successfully exited through integration into QNB (Qatar National Bank).
FounderBuilt from ZeroCore BankingInternet BankingExit via QNB
IT Coordinator
QNB Turkey (formerly Finansbank A.S., Fiba Holding A.S.)
Apr 1999 – Jul 2005
Istanbul, Turkey
Built the bank's first Java-based core banking platform from scratch — one of the earliest in the industry, now serving 20+ international banks. Delivered the bank's first call centre, internet banking platform, and Enterprise Data Warehouse.
Java Core BankingInternet BankingCall Centre PlatformEnterprise Data Warehouse
Earlier Experience
Managing Partner — BENTAS A.S.  |  Deputy General Manager — SFS A.S.  |  Software Developer — Yapi Kredi Insurance A.S.
1992 – 1999
Istanbul, Turkey
Progressed from enterprise software developer to deputy general manager leading 200+ staff across technology and marketing, serving 10+ enterprise insurance companies.
200+ StaffInsurance TechnologyEnterprise SystemsSoftware Development
Coopetition.AI Services
01
Agentic AI Services
Deploy autonomous AI agents that execute complex, multi-step business workflows end-to-end — from research and analysis to decision-making and action — with minimal human intervention.
02
MCP Servers
Design and deploy Model Context Protocol servers that give AI agents structured, secure access to your tools, databases, and APIs — enabling reliable, context-aware automation at scale.
03
Workflow Automation
Transform manual, repetitive processes into fully automated pipelines. Agents handle triggers, decisions, exceptions, and reporting — across any tool or platform your team uses.
04
AI Integration & APIs
Connect large language models and AI agents into your existing enterprise systems — CRM, ERP, banking platforms — through secure, production-grade API integration layers.
05
AI-Powered Research & Analysis
Agents that autonomously gather data from multiple sources, synthesise insights, and deliver structured intelligence reports — turning hours of manual research into minutes.
06
AI Strategy & Advisory
Translate the rapidly evolving agentic AI landscape into a clear, actionable roadmap for your organisation — from identifying automation opportunities to governing responsible AI deployment.
Landmark Work
Impact at
Scale
Nexent Bank · 2007–2025
Multi-Tenant Core Banking Platform

Designed, built, and operated a cloud-native, multi-tenant core banking platform — 1,000+ UI screens, multi-currency, multi-language, multi-timezone — replacing 10 separate legacy systems across a 500+ branch network.

10
Cores replaced
500+
Branches served
99.9%
Uptime
Nexent Bank · 2018–2024
DevSecOps & Agile Transformation

Enterprise-wide transformation from waterfall to fully automated DevSecOps with CI/CD and daily production deployments — compressing release cycles from months to days across 200+ engineers.

200+
Engineers
Daily
Releases
IBTECH A.S. · 2005–2006
Fintech Founding & Exit

Founded IBTECH, built the engineering team from zero, delivered core banking and internet banking solutions across 10 entities, and completed a successful exit through integration into QNB (Qatar National Bank).

0→10
Entities served
QNB
Exit acquirer
Finansbank A.S. · 1999–2005
First Java Core Banking System

Designed and built one of the first Java-based core banking platforms in the industry — modular, service-oriented, high-availability architecture now serving 20+ international banks.

20+
Banks running it
1999
Built from scratch
"The hard part of banking transformation was never the technology. It was building the commercial story, aligning the stakeholders, and making every technical decision translate into a business outcome."
Ilker Canaslan
How I Work
Four Operating Principles
01
Outcomes Over Outputs
Technology is a means. The measure is always commercial, operational, or customer impact — not lines of code or features shipped.
02
Build the Story First
Every major technical programme needs a commercial narrative that leadership can commit to. Architecture without alignment is just expense.
03
Operate at the Boundary
The most important work happens at the intersection of product, engineering, and commercial execution. That is where I spend my time.
04
Speed Through Discipline
Daily deployments and 99.9% uptime are not opposites. DevSecOps done right makes you both faster and safer.
Get in Touch
Let's
Talk.

Whether you're building a banking technology platform, navigating a transformation, or looking for a strategic partner — I would welcome a direct conversation.