Regional Managing Director — Middle East · BFSI

Position overview

Gladwin International Leadership Advisors is representing a confidential organisation in Banking, Financial Services & Insurance on a senior CSO leadership mandate anchored in Middle East. The remit explicitly spans Singapore, Malaysia, Africa.

This is a country CEO / MD-class mandate with board- and headquarters-facing accountability for strategy execution, regulatory relationships, and brand in-market.

Expect a mandate where credibility is earned in rooms with customers and regulators, not only in headquarters workshops.

Context you will inherit

• Market & sector: ESG integration in financial services — embedding sustainability into credit, investment, and insurance product decisions
• Geographic spine: Primary hub Middle East with explicit corridor responsibility across Singapore, Malaysia, Africa.
• Organisation stage: Growth agenda collides with legacy cost base; productivity and automation are board-level topics, not staff functions.
• Stakeholders: Owners may include PE operating partners, a promoter family office, or public-market investors — each with different tempo and KPIs.
• Secondary lens: Building digital and technology leadership capability in institutions with legacy culture — finding leaders who can bridge the old and the new

The mandate (12–24 month arc)

1. Portfolio review: Challenge business units on defensibility of returns and capital intensity.
2. Partnerships & alliances: Structure JVs and ecosystems that extend reach without unbounded risk.
3. Innovation system: Connect venturing, R&D, and business unit roadmaps to enterprise priorities.
4. Geographic expansion: Where relevant, sequence market entry with realistic operating model and risk appetite.
5. ESG strategy: Align sustainability narrative with operations and capital plans — not parallel storytelling.
6. Executive alignment: Facilitate strategy offsites and decision forums that stick after the workshop ends.

Responsibilities (representative)

• Challenge business unit strategies for overlap and capital inefficiency.
• Align innovation portfolio with enterprise bets — kill projects that drift.
• Sequence geographic or segment expansion with realistic operating assumptions.
• Integrate ESG into strategy where material to licence to operate and growth.
• Build strategy team talent — mix of analytics, finance, and industry depth.

Leadership profile

• Judgment: High signal-to-noise under pressure; ethical clarity; willingness to halt initiatives that break risk appetite.
• Deal or transformation fluency: M&A, portfolio moves, or major change programmes in Banking, Financial Services & Insurance.
• Education: Strong undergraduate grounding; MBA / advanced degree / professional qualification common at this level.
• Communication: Executive presence in English; additional languages valued where market-relevant.
• Geographic muscle: Comfort operating from Middle East with regular engagement across Singapore, Malaysia.

Team & culture

You inherit a mixed-tenure team — pockets of excellence beside roles that need upgrade. The mandate is to raise the bar without demoralising the organisation: clear standards, fair process, and visible wins that prove the new pace is achievable.

Success measures (examples)

• Value creation: EBITDA / cash trajectory vs. owner or board case — especially under stress scenarios.
• Execution: On-time delivery of named transformation milestones; reduction in repeat incidents or audit findings.
• Leadership: External hires and internal promotions that stick; reduction in key-person concentration.
• Innovation: Launched offers or capabilities that move the needle on differentiation, not pilots that stall.

First 90 days (orientation arc)

• Days 1–30: Map cash, covenant, and customer concentration risks before announcing initiatives.
• Days 30–60: Align owners and board on a 12-month value story — financial and non-financial.
• Days 60–90: Launch two quick operational fixes that build credibility with frontline managers.
• Deep-dive on talent — who is load-bearing, who is blocking, where external hire is mandatory.
• Socialise a simple KPI tree so every function sees how their metrics roll up.

Stakeholder map (illustrative)

• Internal: Executive committee, functional peers, shared services leads, and programme PMOs.
• External: Key suppliers, technology partners, and joint-venture boards where applicable.
• Board / owners: Expect deep dives on risk, liquidity, talent, and transformation — slides light, substance heavy.

Travel & mobility

Travel weighted to priority markets and quarterly global or regional forums; flexibility for crisis windows.

Compensation

Package aligned to CSO benchmarks in Banking, Financial Services & Insurance — typically fixed, variable, benefits, and mobility where applicable. Structure detailed at shortlist.

Application status

This mandate is no longer accepting new applications. The search progressed through Q4 2025 and closed for submissions in February 2026. We retain this posting for transparency on the type of leadership work we carry in Banking, Financial Services & Insurance and Middle East. For similar active mandates, browse open roles or submit a general profile through executive search inquiry.

Reference: banking-financial-services · CSO · Middle East · Gladwin International Leadership Advisors