Jan Pautsch
The party is over – now leadership counts.
After years of hypergrowth, many FinTechs are undergoing a reality check: profitability, governance and resilient structures are coming into focus. Today’s finance leaders not only need vision, but also the strength to implement it – especially in an environment that is becoming increasingly regulated and technical.
Qonto is becoming a bank, Spendesk is profitable for the first time, Klarna is restructuring – and at Revolut, according to Sifted (2025), not only have several top positions been filled, but internal talents such as CFO Victor Stinga have also been specifically developed. He played a key role when BDO provided the 2021 figures with a rare “qualified opinion”.
The FinTech ecosystem is changing from a growth frenzy to structured scaling. Many scale-ups are asking themselves the question: who will lead us through this phase – and which roles are now crucial?
Contents
Leadership trends 2025: What really counts
Sifted uses Revolut as an example: the new management balances governance and speed. CRO Pierre Decote set up comprehensive compliance frameworks, while CEO Storonsky continues to intervene deeply in operational decisions and holds over 25 % of the shares. A prime example of the tense environment in which FinTech executives operate today.
The study What’s Next for FinTech Leaders? (Odgers Berndtson, 2024) also describes which skills are now in demand:
- AI and data expertise – managers who strategically integrate AI, cloud and analytics
- Cybersecurity expertise – especially in connection with digital identity verification
- Regulatory & compliance – for example in areas such as crypto, BNPL or open finance
- ESG expertise – sustainability as part of the corporate strategy
- M&A and PE experience – buy & build, exit, international expansion
These trends are already shaping the role profiles in executive search for FinTech scale-ups – and determining who passes the reality check.
Source: Own analysis based on market observations and interviews as part of executive search projects at Kooku X. Values are based on the study “What’s Next for FinTech Leaders?” (Odgers Berndtson, 2024) and were interpreted for the German FinTech and scale-up context.
New challenges for FinTech decision-makers
The balancing act between cost discipline and the pressure to innovate is the central management task today. Personalities are needed who can mediate between strategy, figures and tech and create structure in the process. Anyone who wants to make an impact in finance management today needs a governance mindset, but also speed and an understanding of changing business models.
What exactly does executive search mean for FinTech scaleups?
Our current mandates show a clear pattern. They are particularly in demand:
- CFOs with digitalization experience & ESG understanding
- Heads of Finance or Controlling with automation know-how
- Interim FP&A leads with a focus on scenarios, forecasts and performance
- Compliance and governance professionals – often directly assigned to the founding team
Our executive search for CFOs in the FinTech environment shows: What is needed today is not just an understanding of figures and reporting, but also M&A expertise, digital management and governance.
Case from practice:
In less than four weeks, we were able to fill two key leadership roles for an international pre-seed WealthTech start-up in 2025: a Co-CEO with scale-up experience and a Head of Compliance with BaFin expertise and a technological view of open finance. Both roles reflect the leadership trends of 2025: governance, speed, regulatory expertise – and the ability to make an immediate impact in a dynamic, international environment. They were crucial for building structure and investor readiness in the early phase and for the successful preparation of the BaFin license application.
FinTech trends 2025 at a glance
Executive searches for FinTech scale-ups are currently showing particularly high demand in these areas:
- AI & automation in finance
– including process mining, forecasting, scenario management, controlling tools - RegTech & compliance functions
– focus on open finance, BaFin licensing, crypto regulations, KYC/AML - Private equity-driven rollouts & buy & build strategies
– finance roles with transaction experience and scaling logic - Fractional CFOs and interim structures
– Flexible leadership for volatile growth phases or post-funding structures(especially in transition phases and PE-driven rebuilds, we regularly fill interim CFOs in FinTech scale-ups – with a focus on speed, structure and investor readiness).
- Post-Series B professionalization (controlling, reporting, ESG)
– focus on governance, benchmarking, investor readiness
Data based on expert assessments and current observations from the executive search environment of Kooku X Finance. Not a representative market study.
How Executive Search provides concrete support
At Kooku X, we support FinTech scaleups in filling key positions – with structured processes, market insights and a real understanding of the upheaval. As a specialized headhunter for FinTech scaleups, we support founding teams, investors and executives in the selection of key roles in finance and compliance.
What sets us apart:
- Process orientation: from precise briefing to onboarding
- Speed: first validated profiles often within a few days
- Sparring at eye level: we understand founder logic & investor reality
Further sources
- Odgers Berndtson: What’s Next for FinTech Leaders? – Part 1 & 2
- Sifted: Revolut’s power players: Inside Nik Storonsky’s inner circle (July 2025)
Conclusion
A look at Revolut (Sifted, 2025) makes it clear that leadership today not only means establishing processes and structures, but also balancing the culture of a dominant founder and the ongoing product pressure.
FinTechs in transition today need different leadership – resilient, data-driven, regulatory competent. If you want to scale your scale-up securely, you not only need funding, but also the right leadership. Executive search is more than just a recruitment process – it is a strategic lever.
What happens next?
Buy & build, platform strategies, M&A as a growth model:
Private equity is currently changing the pace and the rules of the game in many FinTechs.
What this means for CFOs, FP&A and finance teams – and why transaction experience is becoming the new must-have – is discussed in Part 2.
➡️ Leadership in transition, part 2: Buy & Build in FinTech – Which financial profiles count now
Are you building or restructuring a finance team in a FinTech scaleup?
I share benchmarks, market trends and experience from over ten years of executive search – especially for digital business models.
How We Work at Kooku X
Our search process is structured, clear and fast – designed to deliver. It follows four defined steps:
- Precise briefing: Clarify objectives, organization, expectations
- Market Intelligence & Targeted Sourcing: Benchmarking, mapping, direct outreach
- Candidate Calibration: Early profiles within days, refined through feedback
- Offer & Onboarding Support: Guidance from offer to successful onboarding
What can Kooku X Finance Recruiting offer?
This shift from product and design to finance wasn’t about leaving something behind. It was about responding to what matters most – where urgency, complexity, and leadership now converge.
If you’re hiring into finance – permanent, interim or fractional – I’m happy to share current benchmarks, insights, and search strategies.
If this is relevant to you – let’s talk.
Jan Pausch
Head of Expert Search / Kooku X
Your Experts for Digital Finance & Transformation
Jan Pautsch is Recruiting Director at Kooku X. He brings leadership experience from the design and digital industry and today fills key roles in finance, design and transformation
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We deliver CFOs, Heads of Finance & Co. in record time: first candidates after 7 days, staffing within 30 days - thanks to data-based matching and active direct approach by specialized headhunters.
Finance Headhunter requestWhat decision-makers want to know now about leadership in FinTech scale-ups
In FinTech scale-ups, CFOs with M&A and digitalization experience, heads of finance with automation expertise, interim FP&A leads for rapid scenario planning as well as compliance and governance professionals are currently in high demand. They combine financial expertise with the ability to create structures in a dynamic, regulated environment.
After the hypergrowth phase, FinTechs are facing new challenges: Profitability, regulatory requirements and governance are becoming more important. Today, managers not only have to implement visions, but also build stable structures and convince investors.
In addition to solid financial expertise, a good CFO in a FinTech scale-up has experience in M&A transactions, reporting to investors, digital management and governance. He or she can both orchestrate growth and manage risks.
Executive search for FinTech scale-ups means the targeted direct approach of executives who are suitable for the special challenges in dynamic, regulated markets. The focus is on cultural fit, speed and experience with transformation and scaling.
The most important trends include AI and automation in controlling, stronger compliance and RegTech expertise, buy & build strategies with M&A experience, flexible interim solutions as well as ESG reporting and governance. These topics determine the requirements for financial leadership.
