Building teams that build great things

The Journey

I'm David Kormushoff. Currently VP of Technology, AI & Platform at KOHO, Canada's leading digital banking platform, where I'm helping over 1.5 million Canadians build better financial habits. I lead the AI and platform engineering teams where we've driven developer AI adoption to 95%, maintained 100% uptime for six consecutive quarters, and delivered some quietly dramatic cost optimizations—like replacing a $1.5M fraud vendor with an in-house model that costs $20K and performs better. The mission is making KOHO "AI-native"—where AI isn't a side project, it's how we work.

Before KOHO, I led a 140-person engineering org at Wayfair responsible for the core platforms of a global e-commerce giant. We were the team that made sure millions of daily transactions ran smoothly, that the recommendation engines knew what you wanted before you did, and that the entire supply chain was a well-oiled machine. It was massive, complex problems at genuine internet scale—and I loved every minute of it.

Before that: fashion-tech at Le Tote, mobile products at Ambush, engineering discipline at ThoughtWorks, and my first venture as a founder at Jot Locker—an EdTech product I built from zero in 2009. That founder experience taught me lessons I still use every day: ruthless prioritization, user obsession, and the discipline of connecting every technology decision to real outcomes.

What Drives Me

I believe the best tech is built by teams that feel safe enough to take risks, are obsessed with technical excellence, and are relentlessly focused on delivering real value. That's not corporate speak—it's how I actually think about building organizations. Psychological safety isn't a nice-to-have; it's the foundation for everything. When people feel safe to experiment, fail, and learn, that's when the real innovation happens.

I'm evidence-based to a fault—I'd rather see data than hear opinions. I believe in iterative refinement over big-bang reveals, and I have a low tolerance for solutions that can't be measured. If you can't tell me how we'll know it worked, we're not ready to build it yet.

My job is to create the environment, provide the right tools, and then get out of the way so smart people can build. Here's what that looks like in practice:

• AI as a force multiplier — I see AI as a way to make every engineer more effective, not as a specialty for a select few. The goal is to democratize AI so every team can leverage it—giving engineers tools that make their lives easier and their work better.
• Platform engineering as leverage — Building the foundations that let product teams move fast without breaking things. It's about creating leverage for the entire organization, not just solving individual problems.
• Security as a feature — In financial services, security isn't overhead—it's a core feature and a promise to our users. At KOHO, trust is everything. Every architectural decision starts with: how does this protect the people who depend on us?
• Sustainable excellence — High-performing teams don't burn out; they build systems and a culture that deliver consistently over the long haul. High performance is a marathon, not a sprint.

Beyond the Code

I live in Barrington, Rhode Island with my wife and two kids. We're the kind of family that takes boat trips on Narragansett Bay, argues about whether recipes need exact measurements (I say yes; she cooks by feel and is usually right), and is slowly building a digital recipe repository we hope to pass down someday—complete with both precise and intuitive versions of everything.

I'm a serial learner. You'll find me on Brilliant.org or DataCamp most evenings, and I have an unhealthy fascination with interactive computing environments like Marimo and Livebook. I believe the best way to understand something is to build something with it.

When I need to decompress, I build dumb little games. I have a soft spot for incremental games and retro computing aesthetics—there's something meditative about watching a fake hard drive defragment. I'm also slowly working my way through every significant work of dystopian fiction.

The throughline: I'm still a builder. I haven't fully transitioned to "I used to be technical"—I still ship side projects, still write code, still find joy in making things work. That's not a quirk; it's how I stay useful.

Let's Talk

I'm always open to connecting with people who are building interesting things. Whether you're scaling a team, wrestling with a tough technical challenge, or just want to trade notes on engineering leadership, feel free to reach out. You can also explore my full career history and writing.