We are thrilled to announce that Anna Maxim has joined us as the second employee of Wallester UK. She will be taking on senior roles as the Group Chief Risk Officer at Wallester AS and UK as well as Executive Director at Wallester UK.
Establishing a strong and mature risk management culture is essential for our continued growth, going beyond mere regulatory obligations. It’s essential for us to effectively manage risks across all areas of our business, including finance, operations, compliance, and more, to maintain the trust of our stakeholders, partners, and investors.
Sergei Astafjev, CEO of Wallester, expressed his enthusiasm, stating,
“Anna’s appointment is a notable moment for Wallester. Her deep expertise in risk management and her strategic insights are exactly what we need as we embark on our UK journey. I am confident that Anna will help us build a strong, resilient foundation in the UK, ensuring that we continue to prioritise innovation while upholding the highest standards of risk management. I am excited to see the impact she will have on our future growth.”
In this exclusive interview, we discuss her journey, motivations, and vision for Wallester UK’s future.
- Can you share a brief overview of your professional journey and the key roles you’ve held before joining Wallester UK?
My professional background is in cards and payments, mostly within compliance and risk. I started off in compliance at American Express and held a few roles there before spending time at a couple of fintech start-ups that were starting to scale up their businesses. I really enjoy working in growing businesses and helping to build on the foundations for those companies to continue to be successful.
- What attracted you to the financial services industry, and what motivates you to continue working in this field?
Financial services is such an integral part of the day-to-day life of consumers and businesses, and when it’s done badly it can make things so unnecessarily difficult. Because it touches on everything we do, there’s always exciting innovation in the area, and disruptors coming in with new ideas. That means there’s always something exciting to work on and think about.
- What specific responsibilities will you be taking on as Wallester Group Chief Risk Officer and Executive Director at Wallester UK?
In a company that is growing as fast as Wallester is, it’s really important that the risk management frameworks in place allow everyone to understand what is happening in each of the areas of the business, particularly where there may be risks associated with new products, clients or even just in our day-to-day operations, and what decisions need to be made or actions taken.
My main responsibility for Wallester AS is to ensure that a robust risk management framework is in place and is effective; and that it’s allowing Wallester to continue to grow safely and securely while still continuing to do all the exciting things we want to do. I will be building a risk management framework that will also be deployed in Wallester UK.
As an Executive Director at Wallester UK, I’ll be working with our CEO, Julian, to set up the UK business, leveraging the success of Wallester AS to offer slick products and solutions to new customers in the UK. That obviously means starting with getting the necessary licences to operate within the UK and going from there. Our vision is to implement best practices at all times and recruit top talent that will support rapid growth of our UK business.
4. Given the critical importance of risk management for growth, what initial steps will you take to enhance Wallester’s Group Risk Management Framework?
A risk management framework is something that everyone in the business has to participate in and buy into if it’s really going to work – so the first priority is to make sure I really understand how Wallester works and grows so that I can then understand how to enhance the framework in a way that allows Wallester to continue doing what it’s good at. Wallester’s growth so far has been impressive, but has also been safe and strategic; choosing the best clients to work with and building for scalability – so the foundations for me to build on are already there and already very sturdy. I have already spent some time with the teams in Tallinn and have to say that I have been impressed by the progress that they have made so far. I definitely don’t feel like I am starting from scratch.
5. How do you envision Wallester UK contributing to the overall growth and success of the company?
The UK is a very large market. Expanding into the UK is a strategic priority for Wallester; we want to be able to offer the Wallester Business and Wallester White-Label products where our customers need them. We already have a strong demand from our customers in this respect. The UK market continues to flourish for financial services and other core sectors our customers operate in, so establishing Wallester UK will be a key part of the company’s growth.
6. What are your long-term goals for Wallester UK, and where do you see the company in the next five years?
The immediate objective is obviously to secure the necessary licences to operate in the UK, after which point we can start to offer our core products and services to the market. As we grow within the market we’ll look to find opportunities to continue to scale; offering Wallester’s existing Business and White-Label solutions to the UK market and also identifying other solutions that UK-based companies need. We want to offer the best products, provide the best services and be the best employer. We are setting our sights high and are not thinking about where we need to get to, more, how far we can go (and there we see no limits).
7. Why Wallester?
Wallester delivers simple, slick, high-quality products that are designed to be not only commercially beneficial, but also make things better for our partners and clients. It does that by building products and solutions in-house that meet a genuine need or solve a real-world problem with customer satisfaction at the front of the mind. The team is professional and collaborative and has a laser focus on delivering the best products and services on the market.
Julian Brand, CEO of Wallester UK, commented on Anna’s new role, stating,
“I could not be more delighted that Anna has agreed to join our team and work alongside me. I have first hand knowledge of the quality, integrity, judgement and passion that Anna will bring to our family and am super confident that she will contribute very significantly to our future success.”
Anna Maxim’s appointment marks a significant step forward in Wallester’s UK expansion. With a cross-border licence in place, Wallester UK is well-positioned to attract a diverse range of clients, including payment service providers, electronic money institutions (EMIs), banks, and fintech startups. As we continue to grow, Anna’s leadership will be essential in maintaining Wallester’s focus on innovative practices at the core of our operations in the UK. We eagerly anticipate the positive impact she will have on both our company and our clients.
Dmitri Logvinenko, COO of Wallester, shared his thoughts on Anna’s new role, stating,
“Having Anna in our team represents a key advancement for Wallester. Her profound knowledge and experience in risk management align perfectly with our company’s strategic goals, particularly as we expand into the UK market.”
