Head of Legal / GC

About WintermuteWintermute is a hyper-growth fintech startup and one of the largest players in the global digital asset markets. We provide liquidity algorithmically across most cryptocurrency exchanges and trading platforms, as well as support high profile blockchain projects and traditional financial institutions moving into crypto.Culturally, we combine the best traits of both trading companies and technology startups. As a trading company, we manage hundreds of millions in assets, trade more than $5B+/day across dozens of trading platforms and are highly profitable in doing so. As a technology startup, we build, innovate and move incredibly fast, we create best-in-class liquidity products that create more efficient markets. We believe that traditional finance has to change and we are on a mission to define and build the decentralized future of finance. Wintermute is a hyper-growth highly profitable proprietary trading business. We are backed by top tier global venture capital investors such as Lightspeed, Pantera Capital, Sino Global Capital, Blockchain.com Ventures, Avon Ventures by Fidelity Investments, DeFi Alliance and others. Learn more about our team and culture on our website and Evgeny’s post here.Nature of the roleWe are a hyper-growth startup in one of the most dynamic industries today. We are looking for an experienced Head of Legal/GC who has in-depth expertise in traditional financial markets and can easily adapt to the entrepreneurial, varied and highly dynamic nature of Wintermute's business, as well as to the challenges and opportunities specific to the cryptocurrency business. This role will cover all jurisdictions where Wintermute is currently active (UK, Singapore, USA), as well as all products and relevant areas of law with a focus on regulatory compliance.As Head of Legal/GC you will assume complete ownership and accountability of the legal function and will report to the CEO.  

Key responsibilities

• Regulatory compliance: responsible for monitoring the regulatory landscape across jurisdictions and ensuring financial regulatory compliance under each license authority (FCA, MAS, SEC, CTFC, etc.)
• Corporate structuring: work closely with CFO/COO to build our corporate structure across multiple entities and jurisdictions; structure must be regulatory efficient, practical for various business units and mitigate various business risks
• New business: be a business thought partner and solve regulatory constraints to building new businesses, e.g. in DeFi;
• Commercial agreements: draft and negotiate agreements in relation to our services (OTC, market making), borrowing/lending partnerships, and other agreements between entities
• External presence: work with other blockchain companies to educate regulators and the wider industry on blockchain, crypto topics and best practices from financial markets

Other responsibilities

• General compliance: work closely with the compliance team to protect the company against compliance risks, while staying commercially focused
• Corporate law: support fundraising & transactions, equity investments in third-party companies, M&A activity
• External counsel: Select and manage external counsel as required, e.g. employment law, counsel in relation to other jurisdictions, etc

Hard Skills Requirements

• 10-15+ years of experience practicing law (qualified) at a top-tier law firm or as in-house counsel for a firm specialized in financial services, fintech and/or crypto;
• Experience as in-house Head of Legal/GC is preferred but not mandatory; substantial experience working in a high-performance, dynamic and high-growth environment is strongly preferred
• Deep knowledge of FCA regulations in relation to proprietary trading, financial services and crypto; general knowledge of regulations in other jurisdictions, specifically Singapore and US
• Experience/understanding of DeFi i.e. types of tokens, token governance, DAOs, blockchain foundations and decentralized organizations is a significant advantage
• Strong grasp of commercial law in relation to financial services, e.g. derivative contracts, financial services contracts (OTC, structured products, etc)
• Ability and interest to learn other areas of law quickly, at least at a general level, to challenge external counsel
• Proven ability to see the bigger picture and commercial strategy; quickly understand new functional areas and have a cross-functional mindset
• Strong interest and curiosity in algorithmic trading and decentralized finance

Other Requirements

• Owner mentality: you focus on the ultimate result (short- and long-term P&L for the company); understand the importance of strategically growing the business for the future and the overall business beyond your own functional expertise, while overseeing the protection of the company from regulatory and other legal risks
• Proven ability to be both a strategic thinker and excellent executer; willing to be hands-on and have a drive to do whatever it takes to get things done
• Understand the fine balance between commercial objectives and legal/compliance risk
• Share Wintermute culture values: determination/ambition and humility; drive to action, ability to both influence others and listen/ learn from others
• Like meritocracy and being ready to be judged by what you deliver (vs pedigree or former experience)
• Have an entrepreneurial mindset vs 9-to-5 mentality; prepared to work non-standard working hours as required
• Like working in the team environment working from our London office (as much as Covid limitations allow); Singapore office can be considered for top candidates

Wintermute Offer

• A unique opportunity to join one of the fastest growing fintech companies globally as a senior member of the team and to take on personal ownership and accountability
• Very interesting projects in the most dynamic finance industry: a level of learning and responsibilities that is hard for any law firm or traditional trading company/bank/hedge fund to match
• Great company culture: informal, non-hierarchical, ambitious, highly professional yet dynamic, collaborative, entrepreneurial   
• Aligned incentive structure: a significant part of your compensation is performance-based bonus and equity package

Listed in: Cryptocurrency Jobs, .