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A
Strategy · AI · Financial Services · London

Alain
Acha.

Operations Strategy Leader turned builder. I architect operating models for the world's largest Financial Services firms, and build AI-powered tools that solve real problems.

Experience

Where I've made an impact.

8 years operations strategy
EY & Deloitte
New York → London

Personal Projects

I don't just advise. I build.

With AI changing everything, I've become passionate about applying the latest tools to real problems, starting with my own. These aren't side projects. They're proof that strategy and execution belong together.

Project 01

Open
Brain.

Personal CRM & Second Brain · Web + Mobile

Context was scattered across five tools. Notes in one place, contacts in another, calendar somewhere else. No single system connected how I think to how I work.

So I built one. Open Brain is a personal OS on a vector database: 493 contacts, 1,284 interactions, 342 thoughts, tasks, and calendar. All queryable in plain English through Claude and Telegram.

Now I can ask "who did I meet at that fintech event in October?" and get an answer. The context that used to scatter across five tools now lives in one place, connected, searchable, and entirely mine.

5
Modules
4
MCP Tools
1
Vector DB
Context
Claude API Telegram Google Cal Supabase LinkedIn
9:41 ▲▲▲ ■
🧠
Home
AA
Good morning, Alain
Sunday, 19 April 2026
Capture a thought, log an interaction...
Contacts
493
+3 this month
Interactions
1,284
4 this week
Thoughts
342
3 this week
Tasks
44
none overdue
Upcoming
TODAY
19
Sophie Hartwell's birthday
All day
MON
20
Marco Delacroix's birthday
All day
MON
20
Dentist Appointment
17:00
🧠
People
AA
AllFriendsWorkFamilySchool
493 contacts · Last contacted ↓
JH
James Hartwell
Associate Partner · Meridian Capital
4d ago
SA
Sofia Andrade
4d ago
EM
Elena Marchetti
Senior Vice President · Apex Capital
5d ago
MD
Marcus Delacroix
Director of Finance · Nexus Group
6d ago
OB
Oliver Bennett
Asset Management · Summit Partners
1w ago
IC
Isabella Cruz
EVP · Edelman
1w ago
CD
Claire Dubois
1w ago
🧠
Interactions
AA
What happened? e.g. Had coffee with Kika...
AllSocialNotesCalls
Sofia Andrade & James Hartwell SOCIAL
Had dinner with Sofia and James. Great conversation about AI and the future of work. We s...
15 Apr 2026
Elena Marchetti & Rodrigo Perez NOTE
Met for lunch at Soho House. Discussed the Q3 strategy and potential collaboration. Strong fit...
12 Apr 2026
Rene Trelles & Claire Dubois TEXT
Caught up over coffee. Discussed the new product launch and market positioning. Very aligned...
6 Apr 2026
🧠
Thoughts
AA
AllInsightDecisionIdeaThought
THEMEAllWorkPersonalFamily
6 thoughts
THOUGHT
6d ago
Went to Soho House Farmhouse for the weekend with Catarina and had a really good conversation about how to embed a new form of distribution platform for the ...
INSIGHT
1w ago
ARCHITECTURE SUMMARY: AI Model Routing Strategy for Open Brain. Two distinct execution contexts for active coding sessions.
INSIGHT
2w ago
IDEA: Bank Account Spending Tracker via Open Banking. Use UK Open Banking (TrueLayer or Monzo API).
THOUGHT
3w ago
Thinking about the relationship between depth and breadth in personal connections. Quality vs quantity.
🧠
Tasks
AA
AllOpen BrainAlainacha
AllBacklogUp NextIn ProgressDone
MOPEN BRAINFEATURE
Up Next
Mobile View of Open Brain
HOPEN BRAINFEATURE
Backlog
Wire checklist to DB
MOPEN BRAINFEATURE
Up Next
AI update auto-logging to task activity
MOPEN BRAINBUG
Up Next
Calendar page not picking up events added yesterday
MWEBSITEFEATURE
Done
Create the rebranding website

★ tap the tabs

Project 02

Tube
London.

First Shipped · Still Running · The Beginning

My station runs an unreliable line. Some mornings the tube doesn't come; you only find out when you're already standing on the platform. So I fixed it. Two days, Python, the TfL API, and a WhatsApp message. Every morning at 7:59, my wife and I know exactly when the next tube arrives and whether the line is running, before we leave the house.

It's not a complex product. But it shipped, it's still running, and it changed how I think. This was the first thing I built that solved a real problem for a real person other than me. Everything since has been chasing that feeling.

TfL API WhatsApp Automation Python
🚇
Tube Alert
Daily · 07:59
Good morning Alain & Catarina! 👋
🚦 Status: ⚠️ Central: Minor Delays
🌤️ Weather: 12°C — Broken Clouds
Not raining right now.
🌧️ Rain expected ~12:00

📍 WHITE CITY
🧭 EASTBOUND
🔴 2m | Newbury Park
🔴 5m | Loughton
🔴 11m | Hainault
🧭 WESTBOUND
🔴 3m | Northolt
🔴 6m | Ealing Broadway
🔴 8m | West Ruislip
07:59 ✓✓

Thought Pieces

Where strategy meets the page.

I write at the intersection of financial services, technology, and the ideas worth thinking out loud. Breaking down the trends that matter, without the jargon.

About

The person behind the work.

Born in Venezuela, raised in Miami, and shaped by two years of high school in Costa Rica. I've always been comfortable navigating different worlds. That comfort with change eventually brought me to London, where I now call home.

I studied Business at Wake Forest University and joined EY straight out of school, drawn to the idea of solving complex problems at scale. Eight years later, I'm a Senior Manager at Deloitte Consulting, focused on AI, data, and operating model transformation for some of the world's largest wealth and asset managers.

At my core, I'm a problem-solver who builds. Advising clients on technology transformation isn't enough if I don't understand what building actually feels like. So I learn by doing: finding real frustrations in my own life and shipping tools to fix them.

Not to become a developer. To be a better strategist, a sharper leader and operator who knows what "possible" actually looks like from the inside.

Strategy Operating Model AI & Data Wealth Management Programme Management AI-assisted coding Financial Modelling Agent building

Journey

NowLondon, UK
2017–25New York, NY
2013–17Winston-Salem, NC
EarlierSan José, Costa RicaMiami, FLCaracas, Venezuela

Languages

ENEnglish — Native
ESSpanish — Native
PTPortuguese — Professional

Education

BachelorBusiness · Wake Forest

Contact

Let's
talk.

If you're a wealth or asset manager looking to transform, a firm that values builders alongside strategists, or someone with a genuinely interesting problem — I'd like to hear from you.