Chief Business Officer

About the Role:We're hiring a Chief Business Officer to build and lead Mal's commercial function from zero. This is a founding executive role, reporting to the CEO and sitting on the Executive Committee. You will own the commercial path to launch and the growth engine that follows it.You will define how Mal goes to market, who we partner with, how we acquire and retain customers, and what our revenue model looks like in practice. You will hire and lead the commercial organisation — business development, partnerships, distribution, growth, and customer commercial functions — designing the structure as you build it.This is not a role for someone who wants to inherit a playbook. There is no playbook yet. You are writing it.Key Responsibilities:Commercial strategy and P&L. Define Mal's revenue strategy, unit economics, and commercial KPIs. Own the path from license to revenue, and the trajectory after that.Go-to-market for launch. Design and execute the GTM motion that takes Mal from pre-launch to live customers, including positioning, channels, pricing, and acquisition strategy.Partnerships and distribution. Identify, negotiate, and close the partnerships that materially change Mal's reach — payments rails, embedded finance opportunities, ecosystem partners, corporate distribution, and category-defining brand alliances across the UAE and target expansion markets.Building the commercial organisation. Design the structure, write the hiring plan, and personally recruit the senior commercial team. Set the bar for talent, performance, and culture in the function.Executive and Board contribution. Contribute to enterprise-level decisions as a member of the ExCo. Represent the commercial perspective to the Board, investors, regulators, and the Sharia Supervisory Committee.External representation. Be a credible public voice for Mal with investors, regulators, partners, and the wider fintech and Islamic finance ecosystems.Must-Have Qualifications:10+ years in digital banking, fintech, or financial services, including 3+ years in a C-level commercial role (CBO, CCO, Chief Growth Officer) or as VP of Commercial / Business / Growth at a scaled digital bank or fintech.Experience at a category-defining digital bank or fintech.Demonstrable track record of building a commercial function from scratch — not inheriting one — at a digital bank or financial institution that subsequently launched and scaled.Direct experience launching a regulated banking or financial product into market, including ownership of GTM, pricing, and channel strategy.Senior partnership and BD experience: track record of personally negotiating and closing partnerships that moved the needle commercially.Experience hiring senior commercial talent and building high-performing teams in fast-growth, ambiguity-heavy environments.Investor- and Board-grade communication and judgement. Comfort representing the commercial story to sophisticated stakeholders.Familiarity with AI-native product and operating models — what they make possible commercially, and what they require structurally.Eligibility for CBUAE Fitness and Propriety (F&P) approval as a Controlled Function holder. Prior CBUAE-regulated experience is an advantage but not required.Nice to Have:Experience operating in or expanding into MENA markets.Working knowledge of Islamic finance principles and Sharia-compliant product design, or a credible track record of operating effectively in Sharia-governed environments.Prior involvement in fundraising, investor relations, or equity story development.Arabic language ability.