CEO - AI Financial Platform, (based in the UAE)

A well-capitalised institution in the Gulf is building something genuinely new. Not a digital wrapper on an existing business. Not another neobank with a colourful card. A from-scratch, AI-native financial platform built entirely around the way the next generation actually lives: where banking, investing, and crypto aren't products people use, they're things that just happen, invisibly, as part of daily life.

This is the leadership role. The person who will define what this thing is, build the team around them, and take it to market.

What you'll own

You will own the proposition end to end, the vision, the product, the brand, the commercial model, and the P&L. You will assist with hiring the founding team. You will report directly to one of the most senior executives in the region. You will have the backing, the budget, and the independence to build it properly.

What this platform actually is

A youth-first financial superapp, AI-native from day one, targeting the 18-30 demographic across the UAE and beyond. Core banking, investment, trading, and crypto, not as separate products, but as a single seamless experience built around how GenZ earns, spends, saves, and invests. The ambition is regional at launch and global in trajectory. The infrastructure, the regulatory framework, and the strategic partnership with a world-class consulting firm are already in place. What's missing is the person to lead it.

Who you are

You have built something consumer-facing from scratch, and you know what it takes. Not managed a regional rollout of someone else's product, built the proposition itself. Defined what it is, who it's for, why they'll care, and how to reach them.

You think like a builder but operate like an executive. You are as comfortable talking about customer acquisition loops and GenZ behaviour as you are about commercial models and unit economics. You have enough financial services depth to be credible at the board level, and enough product and brand instinct to build something a 25-year-old would actually use every day.

You are probably a CPO, CMO, or Chief Growth Officer at a leading consumer fintech right now, or a CEO of a mid-sized digital financial platform who built the proposition, not just ran the operation. You are not the CEO of a 10-person startup, and you are not a country GM executing someone else's playbook. You are somewhere in between, ready for the platform that matches your ambition.

You understand AI not as a feature but as the operating model. You have shipped AI-native products. You know what agentic infrastructure means for customer experience and you have a point of view on where it goes next.

What matters most

• A track record of building consumer propositions from zero, defining the value offer, the target segment, and the go-to-market
• Genuine GenZ instinct, you know how this demographic thinks, what they want, and how to earn their attention
• AI-native thinking, not AI awareness, AI conviction. You have built with it, not just talked about it
• Financial services credibility: banking, payments, crypto, or investment. You understand regulated environments
• Leadership that scales, you have hired and led high-performing teams, and you know how to build culture at pace
• Long-term orientation, this is a multi-year build and the organisation behind it is committed. So are we looking for someone who is

Why this is different

The organisation behind this has significant backing and the mandate to build like a startup. Full independence. Senior-level commitment. A world-class strategic partner already embedded. Regulatory infrastructure in place.

The only thing missing is the right person to lead it.