How I can help
One leader.
Four ways to add value.
I'm open to architecture, data, engineering leadership and client-facing roles. Choose the one you're hiring for — each section shows what I'd bring, the results behind it, and how I'd start.
For Enterprise & Solution Architect roles
Architecture that earns its place in business decisions.
Twenty-five years from developer to TOGAF-certified enterprise architect. I design target states that are fundable, deliverable and owned by the teams who run them — and I stay with them until they land.
Where I'll make the difference to your architecture
- North Stars and target architectures tied to investment cases — like the £40M, 144-platform convergence at Discover
- Modern patterns applied pragmatically: event-driven, DDD, CQRS, hexagonal, multi-region cloud
- Integration at scale — from 112 airline systems to Oracle Cloud and enterprise API management
- AI designed in, not bolted on — an API-integrated chatbot that cut support-desk load by 27%
- Regulation built in from the start: PCI DSS 4.0, GDPR, KYC
- Days to onboard a partner, after platform convergence
- 73 → 5–7
- Days to onboard a partner, after platform convergence
- Oracle Cloud transformation — evaluation and integration architecture
- $500M
- Oracle Cloud transformation — evaluation and integration architecture
- Systems integrated for Saudia
- 112
- Systems integrated for Saudia
How I work
How I make architecture decisions
Good architecture is a series of well-made, well-explained decisions. This is the loop I run — and where I've run it.
- 01
Start from the outcome
Anchor every decision in the business result and its constraints — cost, risk, regulation and time — before any technology.
▸The £40M Discover convergence began as an investment case for an Investment Council.
- 02
Frame options, not answers
Put two or three real options on the table, including build, buy and partner, with the trade-offs made explicit.
▸Build-buy-partner decisions with ServiceNow, Salesforce and MongoDB at Discover.
- 03
Decide in the open
Record the decision and the reasoning, and ratify it in the right forum so it survives contact with delivery.
▸Message patterns for BA's Travel Programme, ratified by its technical working group.
- 04
Guardrails, not gatekeeping
Turn decisions into principles, patterns and standards that let teams move fast without asking permission.
▸Integration patterns and data quality guardrails across Ricoh's parallel workstreams.
- 05
Revisit with evidence
Measure what the decision was meant to change, and adjust when the evidence says so.
▸Partner onboarding at Discover, from 73 days to 5–7.
“Srini has a remarkable ability to design complex architectures and, equally importantly, articulate them in a way that makes them easy for everyone on the team to understand.”
My first 90 days
- 0–30 days
Listen
Map the estate, the pain points and the decisions waiting to be made.
- 30–60 days
Frame
Set a North Star and target architecture tied to business outcomes.
- 60–90 days
Land
Agree a sequenced roadmap with early wins and governed standards.
See it in practice
For Head of Data & AI roles
Data and AI that earn their keep — trusted, governed and in production.
BCS-certified in data management, I've led data from the architecture side — so strategy, governance and platforms are designed together, not bolted on. And I've put AI to work on top of it: from a household view of the customer at Allianz UK, to Agentic AI absorbing a 3,200% surge at Discover, to a conversational AI that cut support-desk load by 27% at Ricoh.
Where I'll make the difference to your data and AI
- AI-ready data: trusted, governed data that analytics and AI can safely build on
- Governed AI in production — Agentic AI at Discover, conversational AI at Ricoh — with guardrails a regulator would recognise
- Single and household customer views on MDM that feed marketing and analytics
- Data strategy and governance: metadata curation, reference data, data quality and survivorship
- Modern data platforms: data at rest, OLTP/OLAP integration, data lakes and warehouses
- Regulatory data solutions: GDPR compliance for McDonald's, a KYC solution with EY
- Better MDM matching rates at Allianz UK
- 21%
- Better MDM matching rates at Allianz UK
- Surge absorbed with Agentic AI at Discover — same team
- 3,200%
- Surge absorbed with Agentic AI at Discover — same team
- Fewer support-desk emails and calls via conversational AI at Ricoh
- 27%
- Fewer support-desk emails and calls via conversational AI at Ricoh
“He had a rare ability to translate complicated architectural decisions into practical discussions, making him an outstanding partner to Product Management.”
My first 90 days
- 0–30 days
Assess
Map the data landscape, quality, lineage and regulatory exposure — and where AI could add value.
- 30–60 days
Govern
Establish ownership, metadata, standards and AI guardrails people will actually use.
- 60–90 days
Deliver
A funded roadmap linking data platforms and AI use cases to the business decisions they enable.
For Head of Engineering & Architecture roles
Engineering organisations that deliver — with people who want to stay.
I've led a 30-person architecture and engineering organisation through its managers, for payment platforms processing 200M transactions a day — through a merger, a platform convergence and a 3,200% volume surge.
Where I'll make the difference to your teams
- Leaders who grow leaders: clear decision rights, service ownership and coaching
- Functions built from the ground up — a 15-member Architecture & Design practice delivering £1.5M+ a year at IGT
- Teams that collaborate instead of protecting their silos — no blame, shared credit
- Resilience as a culture: multi-region design, CI/CD and automated quality gates
- Delivery at scale through mergers, platform convergence and volume surges
- Governed AI adoption that makes good teams faster
- People led through Architecture and Engineering Managers
- 30
- People led through Architecture and Engineering Managers
- Post-merger surge absorbed with Agentic AI — same team, within SLA
- 3,200%
- Post-merger surge absorbed with Agentic AI — same team, within SLA
- Days to onboard a partner
- 73 → 5–7
- Days to onboard a partner
“Srini is a true servant leader. He puts his people first, consistently and without needing recognition for it, and the team's performance reflects that.”
My first 90 days
- 0–30 days
Meet the people
One-to-ones, team health, and what's getting in their way.
- 30–60 days
Clarify
Ownership, decision rights and priorities everyone can explain.
- 60–90 days
Raise the bar
Resilience, delivery cadence and engineering standards — together.
For Pre-sales & Client Engagement roles
Propositions that win — and engagements that deliver what was sold.
15+ years client-facing at TCS, InterGlobe and Pitney Bowes — from RFI to go-live, building and running a £1.5M-a-year architecture function, and on stage at industry conferences in Dallas and London. Then nine years as the buyer, at Allianz, Ricoh and Discover. I've sat on both sides of the table, so I know what makes a client say yes — and what makes them walk away.
Where I'll make the difference to your pipeline
- Account growth: grew IGT's SITA business from passenger systems into its Government Service Line, where iBorders was bought by Oman and Saudi Arabia — IGT's Game Changer Award, 2014
- Bid qualification that chases the right work: fit, capability and an honest view of the competition
- Discovery workshops and proofs of concept on the client's own ground
- Partnerships that extend a client's offering — like a KYC solution built with EY
- Executive presentations and conference talks that make complex solutions clear
- Delivery and enablement after the win, until the client is self-sufficient
- Annual revenue from the Architecture & Design function I built at IGT
- £1.5M+
- Annual revenue from the Architecture & Design function I built at IGT
- SITA account grown into a second business line — IGT Game Changer Award, 2014
- PSS → GSL
- SITA account grown into a second business line — IGT Game Changer Award, 2014
- In wins I contributed to at TCS
- $50M
- In wins I contributed to at TCS
The buyer's view
I've been the client — recently
My in-house years were spent choosing, contracting and managing suppliers. That's the perspective I bring to every pursuit: proposals written for how buyers actually decide.
- 01
Build, buy or partner
I ran the decision from the client side — so I know how buyers weigh fit, risk and total cost.
▸ServiceNow, Salesforce and MongoDB at Discover.
- 02
Contracts and risk
I've negotiated contracts and assessed supplier risk, so I size and scope honestly.
▸MongoDB contract management and risk analysis at Discover.
- 03
Statements of work
I've written and managed SOWs, so I know what makes them clear — and where they go wrong.
▸An enterprise API management gateway at Ricoh; IBM SOWs and a pilot POC at Allianz.
- 04
Managing partners
I've led supplier teams day to day, so I know what clients value in a delivery partner.
▸A 15-person TCS team at Allianz; Amelia professional services at Ricoh.
“I was particularly impressed by Srini's ability to handle even the toughest clients. That skill often takes years to develop among Professional Services people, but it seemed to come perfectly naturally to him.”
My first 90 days
- 0–30 days
Learn the portfolio
Offerings, recent wins and losses — and why they went that way.
- 30–60 days
Join live pursuits
Shape, size and present alongside the sales team.
- 60–90 days
Build reusable assets
Reference architectures, sizing models and POC kits.
See it in practice
Contact
Let's talk.
I'm based in London, UK. Whether it's a leadership role, an advisory engagement or a transformation that needs shaping — my inbox is open.
srini.vankee@gmail.com