John Zavoyna
45+
Years of executive, operating & advisory experience
· Banking · Fintech · Outsourced Services · Consulting · Nonprofit
FOUNDER & PRINCIPAL
A perspective earned in the arena
I have spent more than 45 years working with executives, leadership teams, and boards across banking, fintech, outsourced services, consulting, and the nonprofit sector.
For much of that time, I was accountable for the outcome—leading businesses, managing P&Ls, building new ventures, navigating risk, and translating plans into results.
That distinction matters. Leadership looks different when the decision is yours, the facts are incomplete, the tradeoffs are real, and other people are counting on you to get it right.
EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE
A career with
accountability.
John is a C-level executive, advisor, and leadership coach with deep experience in strategy, operations, financial services, organizational performance, and executive leadership.
Dell Financial Services
Chief Executive Officer
Credico
Chief Operating Officer
U.S. & Canadian businesses
BFS Capital
Chief Operating Officer
MBNA Bank
23-year career
John served as Chief Operating Officer of Credico’s U.S. and Canadian businesses, Chief Operating Officer of BFS Capital, and Chief Executive Officer of Dell Financial Services. His responsibilities have spanned P&L performance, strategy, operations, finance, risk, technology, legal, compliance, client relationships, and people leadership.
During his 23-year career with MBNA Bank, John held senior leadership roles across banking, finance, marketing, and business development. Among his most significant accomplishments, he conceived and led the strategy and execution of one of the nation’s earliest branchless retail deposit businesses, pioneering a deposit-gathering approach that challenged the traditional branch-based banking model. Under his leadership, the business grew to more than $22 billion in deposits. He also built an extensive network of strategic credit union partnerships, further expanding MBNA’s reach and market presence.
He has also founded businesses serving nonprofit organizations and has held nonprofit board and trustee roles.
EDUCATION
John holds a B.S. in Economics, an MBA, and graduated “cum laude” from the Stonier Graduate School of Banking.
How I work
01
Direct
I will tell you what I see, including what others may be reluctant to say.
02
Practical
Good counsel must survive contact with the organization. Recommendations have to work in the real world.
03
Curious
Experience should sharpen questions, not create certainty. I listen carefully before reaching conclusions.
IN JOHN'S WORDS
A personal note from John
The higher a leader rises, the fewer people are willing or able to speak candidly about what they see. Titles change conversations. Bad news gets softened. Assumptions go unchallenged. Even highly accomplished executives can become isolated from the perspective they need most.
I created Opus One to offer a different kind of relationship: experienced counsel without internal politics, challenge without ego, and practical support without a prepackaged answer.
Sometimes that means helping a leadership team align on a difficult path forward. Sometimes it means coaching an executive through a transition. Sometimes it simply means being the one person in the room who is not impressed by the title—and cares enough to say what needs to be said.
John Zavoyna
