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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Andrzej Duda, who in August stepped down as president of Poland after ten years in office, has joined the supervisory board of financial technology firm ZEN.COM.
The former president will help the company deal with regulatory issues as it seeks to expand internationally. He claims that the role is “a natural continuation of the mission I pursued as president”.
Dziękuję Panu Prezesowi Dawidowi Rożkowi i https://t.co/xBG58d26A1 za zaufanie i ofertę współpracy. Dynamiczny rozwój ZEN i nowoczesny profil działalności Spółki jest znakomitym świadectwem kreatywności i globalnych ambicji rozwojowych polskich przedsiębiorców młodego pokolenia.… https://t.co/xZmQImMkAp
— Andrzej Duda (@AndrzejDuda) October 20, 2025
The company, founded in Poland in 2018 by Polish businessman Dawid Rożek, is a payment platform that seeks to make it easier for money to move internationally. It is licensed in Lithuania and has a headquarters in London. Some media have described it as a “Polish Revolut”, though it operates on a much smaller scale.
As part of its efforts to expand into Asia and the Middle East, ZEN.COM on Monday announced the creation of a new international supervisory board that will “address key challenges associated with this expansion, including complex licensing processes and building strong relationships with local regulators”.
The three-person board is made up of Duda, Rożek and Karolis Gudas, a Lithuanian lawyer specialising in cross-border regulation. Duda’s role will be to “support the company in its dialogue with international regulators and strategic partners”, says the firm.
ZEN.COM is also a commercial partner of Kanał Zero, a prominent Polish YouTube channel. Last month, in his first professional move since leaving office, Duda announced the launch of a show he is hosting on Kanał Zero, in which he would look back on his presidency as well as discuss current issues.
When Duda left office in early August, he made clear that he was “not going into retirement” and said that he “would like to [continue] serving Poland”.
Various rumours suggested that Duda, still relatively young at 53, retained political ambitions, despite the fact that former Polish presidents tend to remove themselves from frontline politics.
Speaking to Polish business newspaper Puls Biznesu, Duda explained his decision to work with ZEN.COM by claiming that it fits with his “passion” for “operating internationally and supporting projects that strengthen trust and build bridges between institutions and countries”.
“[It is] a natural continuation of the mission I pursued as president – supporting and promoting Polish, innovative enterprises internationally,” he explained. “I want to use my experience to support the development of technologies and innovations that have a real, positive impact on the economy.”
Andrzej Duda has announced that his first job since stepping down last month after ten years as president will be presenting a show on popular YouTube channel @OficjalneZero.
He will record 16 episodes, featuring conversations with dozens of guests https://t.co/NA6vqTAdt5
— Notes from Poland 🇵🇱 (@notesfrompoland) September 4, 2025
He noted that, as a member of the supervisory board, he would not be involved in managing the company, but rather overseeing how it is managed.
“I will also oversee relations with regulators in the countries where the company obtains new licenses,” he added, noting that, having worked as a legal scholar specialising in administrative law before joining politics, this is “my area of expertise”.
Neither Duda nor ZEN.COM have announced what Duda will be paid for his new role. The former president also told Puls Biznesu that he “does not rule out” taking up further positions on the boards of other companies. He also reiterated previous declarations that he is working on setting up a think tank.
Duda added that he would consider a return to politics in the future, but said that “certain conditions must first be met” – without specifying what they would be – and that “the right people [would have to] approach me and ask if I’d consider taking on such a role”.
Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.
Main image credit: Jakub Szymczuk/KPRP
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
