01 / Strategy practice EST. 2004 · Citibank → Allianz

Strategy that compounds. Sales channels that scale.

The last few years rewrote every business segment. Many companies missed the inflection and went under. Lack of strategic depth can cost you years of effort. Win this turbulent decade — and grow from small to formidable.

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Built inside
Citibank AIG OTP Bank Allianz McKinsey
Alana Guseynova — strategic consultant
Accepting 2026 cohort
+17% Y2Y
Revenue lift at OTP Bank
FIG. 01 — ALANA GUSEYNOVA STRATEGIC CONSULTANT
Business strategy Product matrix P&L diagnostics Sales KPIs Channel scaling Tracking panel Business strategy Product matrix P&L diagnostics Sales KPIs Channel scaling Tracking panel Business strategy Product matrix P&L diagnostics Sales KPIs Channel scaling Tracking panel
02

Six places where strategy actually shows up.

Each engagement is composable — start with an audit, or pick the pillar your business needs most. Every pillar carries deliverables you can use the same week.

01 / 06

Strategy audit & competitor analysis

Dive into your business with the rigour used by McKinsey teams.
  • Boost your business with the strategic toolkit used by consultants at McKinsey.
  • Identify real competitors, map pros and cons of their playbook.
  • Define a tactic table of horizontal and vertical strategy actions.
  • Surface raw spots and the best solutions for implementation.
  • Find your business identity and unique positioning.
  • Determine product set elasticity, make corrections.
  • Go live with the new working strategy.
02 / 06

Product matrix

Core, supplementary, X-sell, upsell, downsell — engineered together.
  • Define core and supplementary product set — X-sell, Upsell and Downsell riders; retention and MGM programs.
  • Determine product maturity windows — when to release new editions and re-engage for upgrades.
  • Analyse customer behaviour and find the right time for POS connections.
03 / 06

P&L analysis & finances

Read the business model the way a banker reads a balance sheet.
  • Analyse unit economics and business model by channels, products, X-sell activities.
  • Find the break-even period and the routes to overcome it.
  • Define average product LTV and months-on-book for core products (where applicable).
04 / 06

Sales system & team KPIs

Replace ad-hoc heroics with a measurable, repeatable sales engine.
  • Revise workflow with the team — KPIs, sales profile, key metrics from Citibank and global-corporation playbooks.
  • No more ad-hoc actions without proof from business practice.
05 / 06

Scaling & new sales channels

From regional pilot to multi-country rollout, with a clear roadmap.
  • Define a growth strategy based on business potential — regions, countries, online/offline.
  • Create a roadmap for business scaling and a clear sequence of actions to deliver.
06 / 06

Tracking panel

Weekly cadence keeps the strategy honest — and your team accountable.
  • Weekly sessions.
  • Implementation control.
  • Raw spots review.
  • Management actions analysis.
03

What changes when the strategy is right.

Three measurable shifts that show up inside the first two quarters of work — and stay.

0×

Product matrix generates 3× on each client.

Correct X-sell sequencing and retention turn a single transaction into a recurring relationship.

P&L

P&L shows growth with the system in place.

Manageable numbers based on your appetite — without your full operational involvement.

01.

Strategy built on global-corporation principles.

Strong market positioning, the kind investors recognise on the first read.

04

Case results, in plain numbers.

Two engagements, two transformations — described the way they actually happened. Names of partners protected on request.

01
Insurance · Banking
Input

There was no cross-sales mechanism for insurance products through corporate bank clients. It simply did not exist.

Output

New sales channel working with TOP-50 banks. Sber and VTB launched pilots. Competitors copy the presentation — but still cannot reproduce the process.

02
Operations · Sales
Input

Chaotic management, no clear process, project manager working 23 hours a day.

Output

5 bank-partners from TOP-50, finalised product and program documentation. Project gathered 120% of plan in 6 months.

Become the next case.

↓
05

What happens when the strategy is right.

Four moments — small in the calendar, structural for the business. Each one only happens because the model underneath holds up.

“

Partners from other industries write to you on LinkedIn: "We saw your case — can we discuss a joint project?" And you lead negotiations from a position of strength — because you have a structured model, not "I don't know, we just work like this."

Scenario · Inbound from other industries
“

At an industry conference, the Deputy Head of a bank approaches you: "I liked how you structured the pitch. Here's my card — write to me, we want to work together." That's how projects that feed you for years are launched.

Scenario · Industry conferences
“

You teach your Operations Director — and for the first time in five years, you get real results. Not "I'm on the phone, let's see", but real execution while you're on vacation with your family. Because the system works on its own.

Scenario · Delegated execution
“

A director who a year ago said "let's wait" now calls you himself: "I saw your growth this quarter, let's meet." Because your results speak louder than any pitch.

Scenario · Reactivated network
06

I don't just consult — I dissect your business.

Twenty years inside Citibank, AIG, OTP and Allianz. I act like a laboratory assistant — testing every hypothesis in the business before the best result is allowed to leave the lab.

Portrait of Alana Guseynova
FIG. 02 — PORTRAIT

"What do I need to do to get promoted?" I asked my manager in 2004. His reply created my professional handwriting. He said: "Be the best." That's what I bring to every consulting project — full effort to be the best.

I adore sharing experience with partners and the wider market. One of those moments, on the expert panel at a global conference, cost me a business card — and gave me a new role at OTP Bank the following day.

— Alana Guseynova
Strategic Consultant

Twenty years, four institutions, one method.

2004 – 2008
Citibank
Joined post-university. Promoted every year — from DSA to Portfolio Sales Manager. Learned the only instruction that ever mattered: be the best.
2008 – 2012
AIG
Invited to launch a new-to-market business. Joined with a glossary; left when Direct Marketing was the main B2C/B2B pillar with multi-million GPW and positive P&L.
2012 – 2018
OTP Bank · Head of Consulting
Built a 26-person consulting team from zero. Managed 1,300 bank employees across processes, products, and sales. Revenue lifted 17% Y2Y. Received a Letter of Gratitude from the Deputy of the Board.
2018 – 2024
Allianz
Given four business directions to transform. Built a sales channel that did not exist on the market — the one Sber and VTB now compete to copy.
I
MBA, California
II
Project work with McKinsey
III
Strategy for Chinese insurer CHUBB, defended before a Mongolian office
IV
Member of committees of largest banking associations