Gil Yehuda opens the door to open source at U.S. Bank

Come on in, says Gil Yehuda.

The head of open source engineering and technology at U.S. Bank knows how open source software can improve the way we build and deliver digital experiences for our customers. Using open source software means working with and leveraging the global community of software engineers to develop the latest technology platforms, and doing so in the open. The openness allows an organization the flexibility to select the technologies they prefer and extend its capabilities as needed. The results are freely available and can be improved by anyone.

But Yehuda wasn't always a believer. 'Why would someone give away code for free?' he thought earlier in his career, when he was an enterprise architect at another financial services organization. 'It seemed like open source was more about hope. That's not a reliable strategy for a busines… but I was wrong,' Gil admitted. 'It was counterintuitive at first, but I realized that open source is strategic and often more reliable. Ignoring open source is the bigger problem. The tech landscape has evolved since my early days as an enterprise architect. Despite many challenges, open source has proven to be an ideal approach to technology growth.'

Before joining U.S. Bank, Yehuda established and ran the open source program offices for Yahoo and Verizon Media. He found that working with open source communities helped accelerate product development, improved software quality, and reduced costs. 'Engineers who publish open source solutions are proud of their work,' Yehuda shared. 'An engineer who delivers a great solution can be a hero at their company, but delivering that solution in open source makes that engineer a hero at all companies.'

So, what brought Yehuda to U.S. Bank last year? 'Our modernization drive puts open source at the heart of our technology strategy,' he said. 'That brought me here.' He was drawn to U.S. Bank because it's an organization that is enthusiastic about technology innovation, and has been hiring impressive talent from around the tech industry. 'We're creating an exceptional place for engineers to make a difference using modern open source technologies and a forward-thinking mindset. And they get to work with like-minded people too,' he added.