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AI Native CTO

About Frank

I build technology, teams and the conditions for both to thrive.

I have spent 25 years in technology and 15 years in leadership, working across global institutions, high-growth companies and ambitious greenfield ventures.

The common thread has been helping organisations make important technology shifts: building new products, modernising platforms, scaling engineering, repairing delivery and turning strategy into something customers and teams can feel.

Frank Amankwah

My story

I began close to the technology as a software engineer and architect. That foundation still shapes how I lead. I like to understand how things work, where complexity is hiding and whether the proposed solution will survive outside the meeting room.

My career has taken me through financial institutions including Goldman Sachs, HSBC, BlackRock and UBS. I have worked inside Amazon, led engineering at Emirates Group, helped replatform the regulated digital-asset exchange Rain and served as CTO of Digital Assets Oasis.

At Digital Assets Oasis, I helped build the technology foundations for a new economic free zone serving Web3, digital-asset, gaming and AI companies. The work sat at the intersection of technology, government, regulation, customer experience and ecosystem development.

Today, I work with founders, investors and organisations as an AI-Native CTO and Technology Operating Partner. My focus is the next technology shift: helping companies build with AI and redesign themselves for a world in which people and agents increasingly work together.

What I believe

Technology is a business capability
Architecture, engineering and platforms matter because they determine what the company can promise, how quickly it can learn and how safely it can grow.
Good strategy makes choices
A strategy that tries to do everything is a list. Good technology strategy explains where the organisation will concentrate, what it will stop doing and why those choices create an advantage.
Talent compounds
My purpose is to attract, nurture and inspire talent. Strong technology organisations are built by giving capable people clear standards, meaningful ownership and room to grow.
Speed and craftsmanship belong together
Moving quickly does not require abandoning good design, clean architecture, security or operational discipline. The challenge is to apply the right level of each at the right stage.
AI increases the value of judgment
As machines take on more execution, the scarce skills become problem framing, taste, critical thinking, accountability and the ability to make sound decisions under uncertainty.

How I work

Focus

Find the few things that materially affect the outcome.

Speed

Create momentum, shorten feedback loops and make decisions while they still matter.

Premium

Hold a high bar for the experience, the technology and the work behind both.

Security

Treat trust, resilience and control as design concerns from the beginning.

My Journey so far

From the City of London to the Gulf.

Twenty-five years of technology that began in the City of London in 2001, moved to the Gulf in 2018 and is now in Riyadh.

Banking first, then global technology, aviation, regulated digital assets and government-backed innovation. Each move was toward a harder problem rather than a larger title.

  1. United Kingdom

    2001 to 2018

    1. Jun 2001HSBCCanary Wharf, London
    2. Jun 2006Goldman SachsFleet Street, London
    3. Jan 2010UBSLiverpool Street, London
    4. Jan 2011BlackRockThrogmorton Avenue, London
    5. Jan 2012GamesysPiccadilly, London
    6. Jan 2015AmazonHolborn Viaduct, London
    7. Jan 2016GamesysPiccadilly, London

  2. United Arab Emirates

    2018 to 2025

    1. Feb 2018Emirates GroupAl Garhoud, Dubai
    2. Apr 2021RainDIFC, Dubai
    3. Nov 2022Digital Assets OasisRas Al Khaimah
    4. Jul 2025MultiBank GroupBusiness Bay, Dubai

  3. Saudi Arabia

    2026

    1. Apr 2026Venture StudioRiyadh

Selected experience

Global financial services
Technology experience across Goldman Sachs, HSBC, BlackRock and UBS
Global technology
Experience at Amazon with its culture of customer focus, ownership and operational discipline
Aviation and travel
Engineering leadership at Emirates Group
Regulated digital assets
Technology replatforming and executive leadership at Rain
Government and economic development
CTO of Digital Assets Oasis
AI and venture building
Building and advising AI-native products, ventures and talent platforms

Beyond the CTO role

Building the next generation matters to me.

My work has never been only about systems. It is also about the people who build and inherit them.

I care deeply about creating stronger pathways into technology and preparing professionals for an AI-native world. That includes mentoring leaders, developing talent programmes and exploring how AI-assisted apprenticeships can help people become productive faster without losing the value of human coaching.

Need an experienced view around the table?

If you are facing an important technology decision, building an AI-native company or leading a difficult transition, let us talk.

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