Few individuals have left as impactful a mark as Varvara Soloveva in the landscape of Digital Innovation and Artificial Intelligence. Recognized as one of the distinct global experts at the intersection of Digital Sales Acceleration, Digital Product Development, and Advanced Analytics, Varvara has positioned herself as a leading voice in transforming banks and tech companies. Her career spans multiple continents and industries, focusing on reshaping customer experience and driving growth. Her journey is one of resilience, creativity, and a relentless drive to push the boundaries of what is possible.
A Digital Finance Pioneer Across Borders
Varvara's professional journey began at Citibank Russia, where she distinguished herself as an innovator in treasury and trade solutions. She led the development of the Citi Treasury Diagnostics tool for Russian and CIS markets, which provided unprecedented insights into liquidity needs and inefficiencies in treasury processes and revolutionized cash management for major Russian corporations. Based on this product launch, she received the quarterly Citi Star award from Citi country manager—an honor given to only one person in the company. The success of this tool saw it adopted across multiple industries, cementing Varvara's role as a transformative force in digital banking solutions.
These achievements laid a strong foundation for her transition to an international role. Building on her success in the Russian market, Varvara was offered a global position at Citibank Ireland to work with the European market. In this role, she managed strategic partnerships with global clients, optimizing treasury operations across borders from the US to Singapore, Brazil, and Poland. She spearheaded internal projects to identify revenue leakages for a bank and launched new processes that significantly enhanced financial reporting transparency for corporate clients. Her adaptability to different markets and proactive approach to solving complex financial challenges established Varvara as a highly regarded expert in banking and digital innovations.
Driving Digital and Product Transformation in Financial Services
Following her journey, Varvara joined the Moscow office of McKinsey & Company, widely regarded as the most prestigious consulting firm worldwide. This move allowed her to have an opportunity to reshape the industry by engaging with a diverse array of clients, applying her global expertise, and driving transformative change. Working with one of Russia's largest banks, she completely redefined the bank's digital product strategy for the credit cards business and launched the first fully digital credit card in Russia, redesigning all processes to make it fully digital—from credit application to onboarding, activation, and online customer service. This transformation allowed millions of customers to leverage banking products online, which was crucial during the pandemic period. This project was a significant milestone in her career, setting new standards for digital excellence in Russia's banking sector.
Varvara's contributions quickly garnered industry recognition, leading her to expand her engagements to other countries in the region, such as Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. In Azerbaijan, she worked with the largest and leading bank, in which she truly transformed the sales processes, utilizing advanced analytics to uncover untapped revenue opportunities and spearheaded the integration of a modern CRM platform, which empowered the bank's sales teams to engage more effectively with clients. Varvara's approach always included training and upskilling internal teams, ensuring the solutions she introduced would have a lasting impact.
Championing Digital Banking Across Asia
After working for several years in Europe and Central Asia, Varvara took on a new challenge in Singapore—she led a comprehensive digital transformation for one of the largest banks worldwide with operations in Asia. Her efforts streamlined branch operations by migrating flows to online channels, which are more appealing to consumers, and gave access to banking for even remote regions. Advocating for a digital-first approach, she facilitated the migration of cash transactions to self-service channels and increased digital product adoption rates to over 80%. Her work was instrumental in positioning the bank as a leader in digital banking services across Asia. Varvara's global perspective and her ability to adapt international best practices to local contexts allowed her to strengthen digital transformation efforts in ways that were both innovative and culturally relevant. Her leadership in these projects demonstrated her expertise in orchestrating large-scale, cross-functional teams and driving digital adoption across diverse markets.
Pushing Boundaries with Gen AI
Currently based in the United States, Varvara's work has evolved to focus on the intersection of AI and product and sales digital innovations beyond banking. Varvara played a pivotal role in integrating two major software giants, leveraging advanced analytics to uncover digital cross-sell opportunities across a global client base of over 60,000 customers. Her strategic insights led to the redesign of a combined value proposition that significantly enhanced customer experience, offering a comprehensive product suite designed to meet a broader spectrum of customer needs.
With the world's interest in Generative AI's limitless potential, Varvara seized the moment to leverage her advanced analytics expertise, positioning herself as a pivotal force in piloting Gen AI initiatives in banks and tech clients. Her proactive approach and ability to capitalize on this transformative technology have kept her at the forefront of innovation, leading her to make substantial contributions to this rapidly evolving field. She led the development of a GenAI copilot training program for software engineers for one of the largest B2B service companies. She also managed its rollout and tracked its impact on engineering efficiency, and the first results were impressive: the adoption rate of GenAI technology improved by more than 40%, and there was an 18% increase in productivity after the 2-month pilot. Her dedication to embracing new technologies and her ability to drive adoption through thoughtful change management make her a true pioneer at the forefront of AI and digital solutions.
Varvara's Professional Acclaim
Pioneering contributions have earned Varvara widespread international recognition as a leading expert in her field. Beyond her impactful work with major financial institutions and tech companies, she has authored numerous publications in respected business and scientific journals, providing groundbreaking frameworks that deliver valuable insights and practical solutions for both businesses and the scientific community. Her expertise has not only made her a sought-after thought leader but also led to her invitation to serve as a core reviewer for the Contemporary Scientific Studies journal, where she has provided invaluable insights to evaluate and enhance the quality of numerous publications.
Varvara's journey exemplifies her dedication to innovation, adaptability across industries and markets, and passion for empowering others through digital transformation. From transforming treasury practices in Russia to advancing digital banking in Asia and driving AI initiatives in the United States, Varvara has continually pushed the envelope of what is possible. Her work not only impacts businesses today but is also setting the stage for the future of AI and digital innovation in digital sales, digital product development, and beyond.
