Chief Executive Officer

GENESIS Executive Search; Dubai; On-site; AED 918,105 - 1,285,347; Full time

Job summary

GENESIS Executive Search is seeking a Group CEO to drive strategic direction and financial performance for a diversified fintech holding company based in Dubai. This role will oversee operations across Africa, Europe, North America, and the Middle East, ensuring regulatory compliance and fostering innovation.

Candidates must possess a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, an MBA is preferred, and have 15+ years of leadership experience, with a strong track record in fintech and regulatory environments.

Qualifications

• At least 15 years of progressive leadership experience.
• 5+ years in a CEO, MD, or C-suite role.
• Experience in fintech sectors like payments, digital lending, or mobile technology.

Responsibilities

• Define long-term strategic vision for the group.
• Lead execution of expansion initiatives.
• Oversee subsidiary performance metrics and compliance.

Skills

Leadership

Regulatory compliance

Financial performance management

Strategic visioning

Partnership building

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Engineering or Technology

MBA or advanced degree

Job description

Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Posted on 06/02/2026

A diversified fintech and mobile technology holding company operating across Africa, Europe, North America, and the Middle East is recruiting a Group CEO, accountable to the Board of Directors for the overall strategic direction, financial performance, and sustainable growth of the Group’s portfolio. Based in Dubai, UAE, this role provides the Group with a strategically positioned hub to oversee multi‑jurisdictional operations across Africa, Europe, North America, and the Middle East.

The Group CEO provides the unifying vision, ensures strategic coherence across the portfolio, fosters collaboration between entities, steers the Group’s expansion and licensing agenda, financial success and profitability, manages investor and regulatory relationships, and champions a culture of innovation and excellence across all businesses.

Responsibilities

• Define and communicate a long‑term strategic vision that positions the group as a leading pan‑African, multi‑jurisdictional fintech and mobile technology Group.
• Set Group‑wide strategic priorities, approve subsidiary business plans, and ensure alignment between individual company roadmaps and Group objectives.
• Lead the successful execution of current expansion initiatives.
• Identify new markets, verticals, licensing opportunities, and M&A targets that further accelerate group growth and geographic diversification.
• Drive product and technology synergies to create competitive advantage and cross‑entity efficiencies.
• Define the Group’s investment strategy, including capital allocation frameworks, fundraising objectives, and estimation of probable seed and early‑stage capital requirements to support new ventures, market entries, and innovation initiatives.

Subsidiary Performance Oversight

• Hold subsidiary CEOs accountable for financial targets, operational KPIs, regulatory compliance, and customer satisfaction metrics.
• Convene regular Group leadership forums to review subsidiary performance, share learnings, and align on priorities.
• Support subsidiary CEOs in removing strategic blockers, accessing Group resources, and scaling their operations.
• Establish Group‑level governance frameworks, reporting standards, and consolidated performance dashboards.

Regulatory, Licensing & Compliance

• Ensure all Group entities operate within applicable regulatory frameworks, including CBK (Kenya), FCA (UK), relevant US state/federal payment regulations, and Canadian IMT licensing requirements.
• Actively manage the Group’s ongoing licensing agenda: FCA SPI licence for TumaTuma UK; operationalisation under US regulations for TumaTuma Delaware; and integration of the Canadian licensed entity post‑acquisition.
• Champion robust AML/CFT, KYC, and data protection standards across all jurisdictions.
• Maintain constructive relationships with financial regulators and government bodies across the Group’s markets.
• Own the Group’s consolidated financial performance, including revenue growth, profitability, cash flow, and capital allocation across the portfolio.
• Work with the CFO and subsidiary leadership to set annual budgets, monitor financial health, and ensure efficient deployment of capital.
• Lead fundraising, investor relations, and strategic financing activities at the Group level.

Stakeholder & External Relations

• Serve as the primary ambassador for the Group to investors, board members, strategic partners, regulators, media, and the public.
• Build and sustain high‑value partnerships with banks, mobile network operators, payment processors, diaspora organisations, and licensing authorities across all operating markets.
• Represent the Group at industry forums, regulatory engagements, and international conferences across Africa, Europe, North America, and the Middle East.

Talent, Culture & Organisational Development

• Attract, develop, and retain exceptional leadership talent across the Group’s distributed, multi‑jurisdictional structure.
• Foster a Group culture defined by innovation, integrity, customer‑centricity, and African identity.
• Ensure succession planning at the Group and subsidiary leadership levels.
• Drive diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across the Group’s international workforce.

Requirements

Qualifications & Experience

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, Engineering, Technology, or a related field (required).
• MBA or advanced degree in a relevant discipline (strongly preferred).

Experience

• Minimum 15 years of progressive leadership experience, with at least 5 years at CEO, MD, or C‑suite level.
• Demonstrated track record across fintech disciplines including payments, remittances, digital lending, consumer fintech, or mobile technology sectors.
• Experience leading or overseeing multi‑jurisdictional operations.
• Experience overseeing multiple business units or subsidiary companies is highly desirable.
• Proven ability to navigate complex regulatory licensing processes in regulated financial services environments.
• Experience engaging institutional investors, development finance institutions (DFIs), or strategic partners.