Chief Executive Officer, Virtual Asset Exchange (Pakistan)

About the role

A global crypto group of companies is hiring a Chief Executive Officer to lead its Pakistan-headquartered crypto exchange from licensing to a trusted, profitable market operator. This is a full-time, Pakistan-based role reporting to the Board of Directors and acting as Managing Director for regulatory purposes; the appointment is conditional on prior approval from the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA). The CEO sets strategy, business plan and budget with the Board, owns the P&L and leads fundraising where required.

Key responsibilities

• Lead the Exchange Services licence application and act as senior contact for PVARA, the State Bank of Pakistan, SECP, the Financial Monitoring Unit and FBR
• Ensure continuous compliance with licence conditions, including the PKR 500 million minimum paid-up capital and net liquid assets of at least 1.2 times adjusted monthly operating expenses
• Run a fair, orderly venue with published trading rules, fees and objective listing standards, supported by market surveillance and strong liquidity relationships
• Keep customer money and virtual assets segregated from company funds, reconciled daily, with independent proof of reserves validated every six months
• Oversee secure key and wallet management, a tested recovery and wind-down plan, and cybersecurity funding and testing
• Lead major incident response, including notifying PVARA of material cyber events within 24 hours
• Resource and protect the independence of the Compliance Officer and Money Laundering Reporting Officer, and ensure customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, sanctions screening and suspicious transaction reporting, including the Travel Rule
• Build a transparent consumer brand, recruit and lead the executive team, align incentives with customer interests and report regularly to the Board
• In the first 30 days assess licensing, capital, technology and control gaps and agree a 12-month plan; by day 90 complete the leadership team, finalise policies and advance the licence application; launch and scale in months 10 to 12 once the licence is granted

Required profile

• Master's degree in business, finance, digital finance, IT, economics, accounting or a related discipline, or membership of a recognised professional body (CFA, ICAP, ICAEW, ACCA, CPA, GARP)
• Senior management experience in financial services or IT, including at least two years in blockchain, virtual assets or related fields
• 12 or more years of progressive leadership experience, including at least five at executive or P&L level in a bank, exchange, brokerage, payments company or regulated fintech
• Resident in Pakistan, based in Lahore, fluent in English and Urdu
• Meets PVARA fit and proper criteria, including integrity and financial soundness standards

Required skills

• Understanding of order books, liquidity, custody, stablecoins and blockchain security
• Experience dealing directly with financial regulators and managing a serious operational, security or reputational incident
• Working knowledge of Pakistan's banking system and payment rails
• Advantage: experience at a licensed exchange or custodian, launching under a new licence, raising institutional capital or addressing Shariah-related customer concerns

The company offers a competitive package, a performance bonus and long-term incentives. Applications are made through LinkedIn, handled in confidence, and shortlisted candidates face background, credit and regulatory checks.