Thomas Aunel - CTO | Principal Architect...

Q: Where is Thomas based?

Thomas is based in Copenhagen, Denmark and can operate in on-site , hybrid , and remote work models.

Q: What languages does Thomas speak?

Thomas speaks the following languages: Danish (Native), English (Advanced) .

Q: How many years of experience does Thomas have?

Thomas has at least 21 years of experience. During this time, Thomas has worked in at least 6 different roles and for 6 different companies . The average length of individual experience is 4 years and 6 months . Note that Thomas may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.

Q: What is Thomas's latest experience?

Thomas's most recent position is Owner at 21PAY .

Q: What companies has Thomas worked for in recent years?

In recent years, Thomas has worked for 21PAY , Stealth Mode Financial Services , and Bitcoin Suisse .

Q: Which industries is Thomas most experienced in?

Thomas is most experienced in industries like Banking and Finance , Aerospace and Defense , and Government and Administration . Thomas also has some experience in Telecommunication , Information Technology , and Biotechnology .

Q: Which business areas is Thomas most experienced in?

Thomas is most experienced in business areas like Information Technology , Product Development , and Project Management . Thomas also has some experience in Strategy .

Q: Which industries has Thomas worked in recently?

Thomas has recently worked in industries like Banking and Finance and Information Technology .

Q: Which business areas has Thomas worked in recently?

Thomas has recently worked in business areas like Information Technology , Product Development , and Strategy .

Recommended expert

Copenhagen, Denmark

Experience

Mar 2025 - Present

1 year 1 month

Denmark

Remote

Owner

21PAY

Technology consultancy focused on crypto payments, digital asset infrastructure, and platform architecture.

Provide CTO-level advisory and platform architecture leadership to fintech and crypto companies building regulated digital asset and payment platforms
Serve as CTO & CPO for Baha Pay AG, leading platform architecture and engineering strategy for a crypto payment processing platform
Design distributed transaction infrastructure integrating blockchain networks, custody infrastructure, and financial systems
Advise on platform scalability, engineering organization design, and secure digital asset operations

Mar 2025 - Present

1 year 1 month

Remote

Co-Founder & CTO

Stealth Mode Financial Services

Building and leading the technology and product for a crypto payment platform supporting POS, e-commerce, and invoicing across B2B and B2C.

Lead technology and product strategy, defining platform architecture, product vision, and multi-year roadmap for a crypto payment platform built from 0 to 1
Architect secure transaction and settlement infrastructure integrating blockchain networks, custody services, and traditional payment rails
Design platform architecture supporting multi-chain digital asset payments, merchant settlement, and regulatory readiness (MiCA, Travel Rule)
Architect a segregated Inkasso-based settlement model separating wallet signing authority from custody and payment infrastructure operations
Work directly with VQF (Swiss Self-Regulatory Organization) to validate and obtain regulatory approval under Swiss AML requirements
Build and scale the engineering organization from 1 to 7, establishing engineering leadership and delivery processes
Mentor external infrastructure teams operating blockchain nodes supporting platform scalability and reliability

Feb 2019 - Apr 2025

6 years 3 months

Denmark

Hybrid

Head of Pay Engineering / Solution Architect

Bitcoin Suisse

Scaled the Pay engineering organization and platform architecture during Bitcoin Suisse’s growth from ~25 to 300+ employees as the company evolved into a regulated financial institution.

Built and led the Pay engineering organization, scaling the team from 1 to 18
Delivered the Bitcoin Suisse Pay platform enabling partnership with Worldline (~70k merchants)
Expanded the merchant ecosystem through integrations with PostFinance and Wallee
Established Pay as a strategic product line, contributing to the company securing its lead Series A investor
Engineered highly available payment infrastructure achieving >99.99% uptime for financial services workloads
Architected distributed transaction processing infrastructure capable of ~40k TPS per blockchain network
Delivered one of the first European merchant platforms supporting Bitcoin Lightning payments (2020)
Worked with product, commercial, and compliance teams to design payment infrastructure aligned with AML/KYC and custody requirements
Contributed to broader platform architecture including custody infrastructure, blockchain integrations, and TCS core banking integration

Jan 2015 - Dec 2019

5 years

Denmark

Hybrid

Solution Architect / Lead Developer

Novozymes

Enterprise-scale architecture role supporting global operations in a regulated, industrial environment.

Led architecture initiatives supporting global operations and multiple business units (R&D, Finance, etc.).
Led and coordinated delivery across cross-functional engineering teams (10-25 engineers), including internal staff and external consultants.
Mentored engineers and contributed to hiring and technical screening for project teams.
Delivered platforms optimized for performance, security, and long-term maintainability.
Architected and delivered mission-critical internal platforms supporting global operations.

Jan 2011 - Dec 2015

5 years

Denmark

Hybrid

Senior Consultant

DIS/PLAY (now AKQA)

Senior consultant delivering enterprise digital platforms for customers including Novo Nordisk and Novozymes.

Led architecture and delivery of large-scale digital platforms integrating enterprise systems and content infrastructure
Mentored developers across multiple project teams, supporting architecture decisions, code quality, and delivery practices
Collaborated with sales and leadership on technical proposals and bid responses for enterprise clients
Engineered high-performance web platforms focused on scalability, integration, and operational reliability

Jan 2005 - Dec 2011

7 years

Hybrid

System Engineer / Software Engineer

Zenitel

Worked on mission-critical communication systems used by police, fire brigades, medical services, and defense organizations.

Developed components for nationwide TETRA-based communication and fleet management systems used by Danish emergency services
Delivered solutions across the ZeniFire, ZeniPol, and ZeniAmbu platforms supporting incident response, dispatch, and field coordination
Contributed to communication and fleet management infrastructure deployed during the Danish police reform (Politireformen)
Implemented systems integrating RFID-based equipment tracking, enabling dispatch centers to identify team capabilities during incidents
Participated in rapid delivery of the ZeniPol platform (~10,000 engineering hours in 9 months) supporting national emergency communication operations
Developed early C/C++ fleet management solutions for taxi dispatch across analog and GPRS networks

Industry Experience

See where this freelancer has spent most of their professional time.

Experienced in Banking and Finance, Aerospace and Defense, Government and Administration, Telecommunication, Information Technology, and Biotechnology.

Banking and Finance

Aerospace and Defense

Government and Administration

Telecommunication

Information Technology

Biotechnology

Business Area Experience

See which departments and functions this freelancer has contributed to most.

Experienced in Information Technology, Product Development, Project Management, and Strategy.

Information Technology

Product Development

Project Management

Strategy

Summary

CTO and Principal Architect with 20 years of experience designing, building, and operating large-scale platforms and distributed systems. Deep expertise in platform architecture, distributed systems, and event-driven infrastructure powering crypto payments and digital asset platforms in regulated fintech environments. Proven track record scaling engineering teams and delivering secure, resilient, and auditable platforms, from early-stage product development to institutional-grade financial systems. Experienced in defining technology vision, platform strategy, and multi-year roadmaps, aligning product, engineering, and regulatory requirements. Known for translating complex business, product, and regulatory requirements into pragmatic, production-grade systems.

Skills

Executive & Engineering Leadership

Technology Strategy & Platform Vision
Product Ownership, Roadmap & Execution
Delivery Execution & Prioritization
Cross-functional Leadership (Product, Risk, Compliance)
Executive Alignment & Stakeholder Management
Team Building, Mentoring & Hiring

Platform Architecture & Delivery

Distributed Systems & Event-driven Architecture
High-performance Transaction Platforms
Api-first & Platform Design
Cloud Architecture
Security, Scalability & Reliability
Observability, Production Monitoring & Incident Readiness
Architecture Governance & Technical Advisory
Vendor & Partner Management

Crypto, Payments & Regulated Systems

Digital Asset Payments & Transaction Pipelines
Wallets, Custody & Key Management Controls
Evm-based Systems
Compliance By Design, Including Aml/kyc, Proof Of Ownership (Poo), Travel Rule, And Risk Controls Across Transaction Processing And Acceptance (Mica, Swiss Regulatory Requirements)

Languages

Danish

Native

English

Advanced

Education

Aug 2000 - Aug 2005

TEC

Data technician · Data technician · Copenhagen, Denmark

Statistics

Experience

Total positions 6

Experience in Banking and Finance 7 y

Avg length 4 y 2 m

Longest experience 6 y 11 m

Global Experience

Countries worked in 1 (Denmark)

Primary country Denmark

Expertise

Recent roles Owner, Co-Founder & CTO, Head of Pay Engineering / Solution Architect

Main industries Banking and Finance, Aerospace and Defense, Government and Administration

Main business areas Information Technology, Product Development, Project Management

Qualifications

Profile

Created

March 2026

Last Update

March 2026

Need a freelancer? Find your match in seconds.

Try FRATCH GPT

Frequently asked questions

Do you have questions? Here you can find further information.

Where is Thomas based?

Thomas is based in Copenhagen, Denmark and can operate in on-site, hybrid, and remote work models.

What languages does Thomas speak?

Thomas speaks the following languages: Danish (Native), English (Advanced).

How many years of experience does Thomas have?

Thomas has at least 21 years of experience. During this time, Thomas has worked in at least 6 different roles and for 6 different companies. The average length of individual experience is 4 years and 6 months. Note that Thomas may not have shared all experience and actually has more experience.

What roles would Thomas be best suited for?

Based on recent experience, Thomas would be well-suited for roles such as: Owner, Co-Founder & CTO, Head of Pay Engineering / Solution Architect.

What is Thomas's latest experience?

Thomas's most recent position is Owner at 21PAY.

What companies has Thomas worked for in recent years?

In recent years, Thomas has worked for 21PAY, Stealth Mode Financial Services, and Bitcoin Suisse.

Which industries is Thomas most experienced in?

Thomas is most experienced in industries like Banking and Finance, Aerospace and Defense, and Government and Administration. Thomas also has some experience in Telecommunication, Information Technology, and Biotechnology.

Which business areas is Thomas most experienced in?

Thomas is most experienced in business areas like Information Technology, Product Development, and Project Management. Thomas also has some experience in Strategy.

Which industries has Thomas worked in recently?

Thomas has recently worked in industries like Banking and Finance and Information Technology.

Which business areas has Thomas worked in recently?

Thomas has recently worked in business areas like Information Technology, Product Development, and Strategy.

What is Thomas's education?

Thomas attended TEC for Data technician.

What is the availability of Thomas?

Thomas is immediately available full-time for suitable projects.

What is the rate of Thomas?

Thomas's rate depends on the specific project requirements. Please use the Meet button on the profile to schedule a meeting and discuss the details.