Overview

Chief Executive Officer Jobs in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at Confidential

Title: Chief Executive Officer

Company: Confidential

Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

About the Opportunity

A fast-growing international payments and remittances fintech, already licensed and operating in four jurisdictions, is expanding into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The company is seeking a CEO (Chief Executive Officer) to lead the KSA operation from SAMA licensing through to commercial scale.

This is a rare opportunity to take the helm of a Saudi entity backed by an established, well-funded international group. The successful candidate will be the accountable executive for obtaining a SAMA Payment Service Provider license and will then lead the business commercially post-license owning the P&L, building the team, and driving growth in the Kingdom’s rapidly expanding digital payments market, aligned with Vision 2030 and the National Fintech Strategy.

The Mandate

The role has two distinct phases, and the candidate must be credible across both:

Phase 1 SAMA Licensing

  • Lead the end-to-end SAMA licensing process to obtain a Payment Service Provider license (Major EMI, Major PI, or Micro EMI as applicable).
  • Serve as the proposed CEO and accountable executive for the license application, meeting SAMA’s Fit and Proper requirements for senior positions.
  • Build the regulatory business plan, governance framework, and operational infrastructure required for SAMA authorisation.
  • Engage directly with SAMA throughout the application process, including sandbox participation if required.
  • Establish the required board governance structure, including audit, risk, and compliance committees in line with SAMA expectations.
  • Ensure compliance with SAMA’s capital adequacy requirements, AML/CFT regulations, and data localisation rules.
  • Coordinate with the Ministry of Investment (MISA) for foreign investment approvals and the Ministry of Commerce for commercial registration.
  • Recruit and oversee the initial KSA team, including compliance, risk, and operational roles.
  • Appoint and manage external advisors (legal, regulatory consultants) as needed.

Phase 2 Commercial Leadership

  • Take full P&L ownership for the KSA business post-licensing.
  • Define and execute the KSA go-to-market strategy for payments and remittance products, aligned with Saudi Vision 2030 objectives.
  • Build and scale the KSA team across commercial, product, operations, and compliance functions.
  • Establish and manage local banking relationships, scheme memberships (mada, SARIE, SADAD), and partner integrations.
  • Represent the KSA business to the board, investors, regulators, and key stakeholders.
  • Drive revenue growth, client acquisition, and market share in the Kingdom’s digital payments landscape.
  • Ensure ongoing regulatory compliance and maintain a strong relationship with SAMA as the business scales.
  • Leverage Saudi Arabia’s position as a gateway to the broader GCC and MENA payments market.

Candidate Requirements

Essential

  • Currently or recently a CEO, Managing Director, or Country Head of a SAMA-licensed fintech or payments business, or equivalent role under a GCC central bank regulator (CBUAE, CBB, CBK, or CBO).
  • Has been the accountable executive during a successful SAMA (or equivalent GCC regulator) payment license application owned the process end-to-end.
  • Proven commercial operator: P&L responsibility, revenue growth, team building, and board or investor engagement.
  • Deep knowledge of the KSA payments ecosystem: SAMA regulatory framework, mada network, SARIE, SADAD, and the evolving open banking landscape.
  • Understanding of Saudi corporate governance requirements, including MISA foreign investment regulations and Ministry of Commerce obligations.
  • Meets SAMA’s Fit and Proper requirements for appointment to senior positions in supervised financial institutions.
  • Strong personal reputation and relationships within the KSA fintech and regulatory community.
  • Based in Riyadh or willing to relocate. SAMA requires central management and control to be in the Kingdom.

Desirable

  • Experience operating across multiple GCC or MENA jurisdictions, or supporting international group expansion into the Kingdom.
  • Familiarity with remittance corridors, cross-border payments, or emerging market payment flows relevant to Saudi Arabia (South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Africa).
  • Experience with Saudi Arabia’s sandbox programmes and regulatory engagement processes.
  • Track record of working with private equity, venture capital, or group-subsidiary governance structures.
  • Arabic language proficiency (preferred but not essential if all other criteria are met).
  • Experience navigating Saudisation (Nitaqat) workforce requirements for fintech operations.

This Role Is Not Suited For

  • Compliance officers, AML heads, or regulatory consultants the role requires a commercial CEO, not a compliance specialist.
  • COOs or heavy-operations profiles without commercial P&L leadership.
  • Founders of their own ventures who are unlikely to move into a hired-CEO role.
  • Executives who joined post-licensing and have not been through a SAMA or equivalent GCC licensing process as the accountable executive.
  • Candidates who do not meet SAMA’s Fit and Proper requirements for senior positions.

What the Company Offers

  • The opportunity to build and lead a KSA operation backed by an established international payments group with licenses in four countries.
  • A well-funded business with proven product-market fit and existing infrastructure to leverage.
  • Significant autonomy to shape the KSA strategy, team, and culture.
  • Competitive compensation package including base salary, performance bonus, equity participation, and relocation support.
  • Direct access to the group board and senior leadership.
  • A high-growth market: Saudi Arabia’s cashless payment transactions have exceeded government targets, with strong regulatory tailwinds under Vision 2030.

Apply

Upload your CV/resume or any other relevant file. Max. file size: 800 MB.