Responsibilities
- Serve as the CEO for Wise’s relevant licensed entity and as a Board Director, if needed, for Wise’s Malaysia subsidiaries
- Direct and prepare local board materials, and ensure subsidiary governance standards meet both regulatory expectations and Wise' global standards
- Own risk, compliance, and governance for our Malaysia entities, partnering with global Product, Risk, Compliance, and Legal teams to ensure absolute compliance with local regulations through robust product design, systemic controls, and oversight
- Evaluate and optimise Wise’ corporate structure in Malaysia, assessing impact on both local licensed operations and the wider Wise Group
- Manage our key relationships with the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), Securities Commission and any other relevant regulatory or government bodies
- Lobby these organisations for progressive regulatory changes to achieve our mission
- Collaborate with Risk and Compliance teams to develop, implement, and maintain robust Business Continuity Plans (BCP) to handle unexpected operational or systemic service disruptions in the local market
- Have oversight on the day-to-day operations of Wise in Malaysia
- Guide strategy and provide cross-functional leadership to colleagues supporting Malaysia operations, many of whom are based in our regional or global offices
- Lead commercial and operational negotiations with our partners and the national payment network
- Hold both external financial institutions and internal global service providers accountable to strict Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
- Proactively assess expansion roadmaps and future commercial strategies to identify regulatory licensing requirements
- Own and lead the end-to-end strategy, preparation, and application process for any new local licenses required to unlock and scale these opportunities
- Collaborate closely with global product and engineering squads to prioritise and execute new product or feature launches
- Partner with Product and Marketing leaders to devise and execute the GTM strategy to grow our customer base in Malaysia including defining target audiences, refining positioning, and optimising acquisition channels
- Work closely with Servicing Operations leaders to ensure the end-to-end customer journey - from digital onboarding to payment speed - meets Wise's global standards and exceeds local expectations
- Act as the chief public spokesperson for Wise in Malaysia
- Partner with Public Relations, Government Relations, and Marketing teams to build brand awareness by participating in media interviews, public policy forums, customer meetups, and industry events
- Play a leading role in the Malaysia office culture, talent attraction and retention along with relevant functional and People team leaders
Requirements
- Experience in regulatory accountable roles
- Proven ability to lead business operations in a country context
- Strong understanding of financial services regulation in Malaysia
- Experience managing relationships with key regulatory bodies such as Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and Securities Commission
- Demonstrated leadership in risk, compliance, and governance for local entities
- Ability to act as CEO and Board Director for licensed entities
- Experience developing and maintaining Business Continuity Plans (BCP)
- Proven track record in commercial negotiations with financial institutions and payment networks
- Accountability for Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with external and internal providers
- Experience leading end-to-end licensing applications and regulatory strategy
- Collaboration with global product and engineering teams on feature prioritisation and execution
- Development and execution of go-to-market strategies in Malaysia
- Customer experience optimisation across digital onboarding and payment speed
- Public spokesperson experience in media, public policy, and industry events
- Leadership in office culture, talent attraction, and retention
Work Arrangement
Remote (City/Region) — Kuala Lumpur
Team
Structure: Cross-functional leadership with colleagues supporting Malaysia operations, many based in regional or global offices. Reports to: Head of Southeast Asia Expansion
