Chief Executive Officer

About VelaFi

At VelaFi, we're building the future of global financial infrastructure. As a stablecoin-powered platform, we help businesses move money across borders faster, more securely, and more efficiently by connecting local banking rails, global payment networks, and leading stablecoin ecosystems through regulated entities across Latin America, Asia, and the United States.

Our mission extends beyond payments—we are creating the infrastructure that enables businesses to operate confidently in an increasingly connected world. By combining innovative technology with regulatory excellence, we simplify complex global financial operations while maintaining the highest standards of compliance, security, and reliability.

Position Overview

VelaFi is seeking an experienced Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Brazil to lead the company's Brazilian operations and serve as the statutory executive responsible for the local VASP entity.

Reporting directly to the Global Executive Leadership Team, the CEO will be responsible for the overall leadership, strategic direction, regulatory engagement, commercial growth, and operational performance of VelaFi Brazil. This individual will play a critical role in establishing the company's presence in Brazil, leading local market expansion, fostering relationships with regulators and financial institutions, and ensuring compliance with Brazilian regulatory requirements.

The ideal candidate combines executive leadership experience, strong commercial acumen, operational excellence, and the ability to lead a highly regulated financial services organization in a fast-growing global fintech environment. The CEO will also play a pivotal role in leading VelaFi Brazil's regulatory establishment, including executive oversight of the BACEN registration process and collaboration on the company's Brazil VASP licensing process, working closely with Compliance, Legal, and global leadership.

Location

Remote – Brazil

Candidates must reside in Brazil and be legally authorized to work in the country. Periodic travel within Brazil and internationally may be required.

Key Responsibilities

Executive Leadership

• Lead the overall strategy, growth, and operational performance of VelaFi Brazil.
• Build and develop the local leadership team and organizational structure.
• Establish operational excellence while ensuring alignment with global company objectives.
• Drive execution across Commercial, Operations, Finance, Compliance, and Product functions.

Regulatory & Corporate Governance

• Serve as the primary executive representative before Brazilian regulatory authorities.
• Maintain strong relationships with the Central Bank of Brazil (BACEN), financial institutions, banking partners, and other regulatory stakeholders.
• Lead the company's BACEN registration process, ensuring timely execution of regulatory requirements and coordination with internal and external stakeholders.
• Provide executive oversight and collaborate closely with Compliance, Legal, and global leadership throughout the Brazil VASP licensing process, supporting regulatory submissions, licensing milestones, and ongoing compliance efforts.
• Ensure ongoing compliance with applicable VASP, financial services, and corporate governance requirements.
• Support ongoing regulatory reporting, licensing renewals, and corporate governance initiatives.

Commercial Growth & Strategic Partnerships

• Develop and execute the company's go-to-market strategy in Brazil.
• Build strategic partnerships with banks, payment service providers (PSPs), fintechs, enterprise customers, and ecosystem partners.
• Identify new business opportunities and support revenue growth.
• Represent VelaFi at executive meetings, conferences, and industry events.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner closely with Finance, Compliance, Treasury, Product, Operations, Legal, and Commercial teams.
• Foster collaboration across global teams located in LATAM, APAC, and North America.
• Drive organizational alignment and operational efficiency across all business functions.

Organizational Development

• Recruit, mentor, and develop high-performing teams.
• Promote a culture of accountability, innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Support workforce planning and organizational scaling as the business grows.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Economics, Law, or a related field.
• MBA or other advanced degree preferred.
• 10+ years of executive leadership experience within fintech, banking, payments, financial services, or related industries.
• Proven experience leading business operations and organizational growth.
• Strong understanding of Brazil's financial services and regulatory environment.
• Experience working with regulators, banking institutions, and executive stakeholders.
• Experience leading or supporting regulatory licensing, authorization, or registration processes with Brazilian financial regulators (including BACEN or VASP frameworks) is strongly preferred.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, and decision-making skills.
• Professional proficiency in Portuguese and English.

Nice to Have

• Experience in fintech, payments, digital assets, stablecoins, or blockchain technology.
• Experience launching or scaling financial services businesses in Brazil.
• Existing relationships with Brazilian regulators, financial institutions, and payment providers.
• Experience working within multinational or global organizations.
• Experience with cross-border payments and treasury infrastructure.
• Experience leading or supporting BACEN registration, financial institution licensing, or Brazil VASP authorization initiatives.

Regulatory Requirements (Brazil VASP)

Candidates selected for this position must be eligible to satisfy applicable Brazilian regulatory requirements, including:

• Be legally authorized to reside and work in Brazil.
• Possess the qualifications, experience, and professional competence required to perform executive responsibilities.
• Successfully complete background checks and regulatory due diligence.
• Be eligible to serve as an executive of a regulated financial institution under applicable Brazilian laws.
• Have no disqualifying criminal convictions, financial crimes, or regulatory restrictions that would prevent appointment.

Why Join VelaFi?

At VelaFi, we're building the future of global financial infrastructure. As a stablecoin-powered platform, we connect local banking rails, global payment networks, and digital asset infrastructure to enable faster, more secure, and more efficient cross-border money movement.

Joining VelaFi means playing a foundational leadership role in establishing our regulated presence in Brazil while helping shape one of the company's most strategic growth markets. You'll work alongside global executive leadership to build a scalable business, lead critical regulatory initiatives, and help create the financial infrastructure powering the next generation of global payments.

Guided by our values of Ingenuity, Accountability, Excellence, Care, and a Global Mindset, we empower our leaders to solve meaningful challenges, take ownership, and build lasting impact across global financial markets.

Equal Employment Opportunity

VelaFi is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and respectful workplace where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. We make employment decisions based on qualifications, merit, and business needs, and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.