About

I’m Geert Theys. I help companies build and scale engineering teams that actually deliver.

I currently serve as Director of Technology at Salary Hero, where I lead technical vision and engineering strategy in a regulated fintech environment. I also take on a small number of consulting engagements with companies that need hands-on technical leadership, not slide decks.

How I got here

I’ve spent my career building and scaling engineering teams while delivering complex systems, often in regulated environments.

I started hands-on and moved into leadership over time, but I never fully stepped away from the technical side. I stay close to architecture, trade-offs, and delivery, because that’s where decisions actually matter.

Fintech became a natural focus. It forces discipline. You are dealing with real money, real users, and real consequences. There is no room for hand-waving or shortcuts.

Salary Hero (current role)

At Salary Hero, I inherited a strong technical foundation and am evolving it to support growth across Southeast Asia. My focus areas: architectural direction, scalability, security, aligning engineering with product goals, and growing the team to operate independently. This is also where I am pioneering agentic engineering practices in a regulated environment.

How I work

I take a pragmatic approach.

I care about what works in practice, not what looks good in theory. That means making trade-offs consciously, keeping systems maintainable, and avoiding unnecessary complexity.

I tend to be direct. I prefer clarity over politeness when the two conflict. It helps move faster and avoid misunderstandings.

I think in systems. If something breaks repeatedly, the issue is usually structural, not incidental. I focus on fixing root causes rather than patching symptoms.

I value ownership. Titles matter less than outcomes. If something needs to be done, I step in.

What I focus on

• Defining and executing technical strategy across platforms
• Designing systems that scale without becoming fragile
• Keeping a strong balance between speed, quality, and compliance
• Bridging product, data, and engineering into a coherent whole
• Building teams that can deliver without constant oversight

Agentic engineering

I am actively pioneering the rollout of agentic engineering practices within a regulated fintech environment.

That means integrating agent-based workflows into a proper SDLC, not treating them as shortcuts or side experiments. The focus is on control, auditability, and repeatability. If it cannot be governed, it does not belong in production.

I also act as an evangelist for this way of working, both inside Salary Hero and externally. I run sessions on how to work with these systems effectively, not just how to use existing agentic frameworks, but how to design and build your own.

Perspective

I am interested in modern architectures, AI, and emerging technologies, but I stay critical of hype.

New technology is only useful when it solves a real problem. Otherwise it is just noise.

Especially in fintech, the margin for error is small. Systems need to be reliable, auditable, and secure. There is no value in being cutting-edge if it compromises stability.

Outside work

Outside of work, I build custom motorcycles and go motocamping. It is a different kind of system thinking, more physical, more direct. Build something properly, take it on the road, and see how it holds up.

I’m based in Bangkok, working with teams and stakeholders across Southeast Asia.

In short

I focus on building systems that work, scaling them responsibly, and working with people who value clarity, ownership, and competence.

If this sounds like the kind of person you want working with your team, book a 30-minute call