Interview
Aleksandra Gren: Diversifying Global Tech Talent
- Alex Gren, Country Manager for Fiserv Poland, has nearly 20 years of experience in financial technology, banking, and startups.
- Born in Poland during the communist era, he moved to Canada to study international relations at the University of British Columbia before completing a master's in London.
- He transitioned from an academic focus on geopolitics to technology after working for a bank at age 23 and being recruited by a US tech firm.
- His early career involved high-risk assignments in the Middle East and South Asia, where he deployed and managed server infrastructure (specifically "One-Pulse" units) in remote locations like Lebanon, Pakistan, India, and the Emirates.
- Gren views women's empowerment in STEM and the economy as a strategic necessity rather than an ideological stance.
- He argues that excluding 50% of the population from the talent pool creates a strategic threat to national economic growth and sustainable development projections.
- He notes that US companies are increasingly sourcing tech talent from India, China, and Poland due to domestic shortages.
- He distinguishes between merely consuming technology and creating it, emphasizing that Intellectual Property (IP) and economic value lie in the creation stage.
- Gren highlights that nations must ensure sufficient funding and talent pools to create IP within the highest value chain rather than just importing technology.
- Fiserv integrates social impact into its core business through financial literacy and access initiatives.
- The company focuses on democratizing money movement and helping banks deliver modern technology to clients to make financial services accessible.
- Fiserv invests heavily in financial intelligence, literacy, and investment awareness, noting that women remain underrepresented in financial investments.
- The firm actively establishes communities of practice to empower women in finance and destigmatize money management topics.
- Poland's financial services and broader economy have undergone a "success story" transformation over the last 30 years.
- GDP growth in Central and Eastern Europe has averaged nearly 5% annually over the last three decades.
- Poland is currently ranked as the eighth-largest economy in the region.
- Warsaw, Gdansk, Krakow, and Wroclaw have evolved from outsourcing IT and basic business processes to hosting front-office functions for major global banks.
- Poland was the first country in its region to graduate to developed country indicators, achieving this status in roughly 25 years despite a history of geopolitical instability and conflict.