Is AI Replacing Programmers or Just Saving Them? A CTO Breaks It Down

Welcome to another inspiring episode of the Leaders in Tech Podcast, hosted by David Mansilla! In this episode, we welcome Aleksei Malenkin, a technology executive with over 23 years of experience in enterprise banking, fintech, digital lending, and scalable technology architecture. Aleksei shares his story of relocating from Cyprus to Mexico City to co-found a fully in-house digital lending platform, the architectural decisions behind building vs. buying software, and how modern engineering teams can responsibly adopt AI to accelerate time-to-market. 📌 Key Takeaways & Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction & Aleksei’s Journey from Cyprus to Mexico 02:11 - Launching a Digital Lending Platform from Scratch 04:27 - Buy vs. Build: Why In-House Architecture Drives Long-Term Independence 06:48 - Practical AI Adoption in Risk Management & the Software Delivery Lifecycle (SDLC) 11:54 - How AI Impacts Team Sizes & Why Senior Engineering Foundations Are Critical 17:32 - Building Strong Core Fundamentals: Lessons from Chemical Industry Mentors 27:36 - Executive Well-Being: Yoga, Meditation, and Staying Grounded in Mega-Cities 28:40 - 25 Years of Hindsight: Networking, Continuous Learning, and Financial Preparedness 💡 About the Guest: Aleksei Malenkin is a CTO and Technology Executive with 23+ years of experience leading digital transformation across enterprise banking, fintech, lending, payments, and regulated digital platforms. He specializes in modernizing scalable financial technology organizations by combining business strategy, architecture, engineering leadership, and AI adoption. 🔔 Subscribe to Leaders in Tech for more executive interviews and tech leadership strategies! 👍 If you enjoyed this episode, please like, comment, and share! #Fintech #CTOInsights #SoftwareArchitecture #AIEngineering #BuyVsBuild #DigitalLending #TechStartups #SoftwareDevelopment #CloudScalability #MexicoCityTech #LeadersInTech #StartupCoFounders #EngineeringLeadership #BNPL #DeveloperTools

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Oct 19, 2026

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Is AI Replacing Programmers or Just Saving Them? A CTO Breaks It Down

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