Account Executive, Payward Services

Kraken

5d•Remote

About The Position

Kraken's Payward Services team is seeking a high-calibre Institutional Account Executive to lead new business development across the global brokerage and embedded trading landscape. This is a senior individual contributor role for a self-directed sales professional who can operate as a genuine bridge between traditional financial markets and the digital asset economy. The successful candidate will bring an established network of relationships with broker-dealers, prime brokers, asset managers, hedge funds, RIAs, and family offices and will be responsible for identifying, qualifying, and closing strategic partnerships and revenue-generating accounts globally. This is a hunter role. The individual will own their pipeline end-to-end from outbound origination through to contract execution and early-stage client success handoff. They will work in close partnership with product, compliance, legal, and engineering teams to ensure client requirements are translated into winning proposals.

Requirements

8+ years of institutional sales experience within financial services, with demonstrable success in a hunter/new business role.
Deep and active network of relationships with broker-dealers, prime brokers, hedge funds, asset managers, and/or RIAs at a decision-maker level.
Proven track record of closing complex, multi-stakeholder B2B deals with 6–7 figure ACV (annual contract value).
Strong understanding of brokerage infrastructure, execution services, prime services, or embedded trading / white-label solutions.
Working knowledge of crypto, digital assets, and blockchain technology, able to speak credibly to institutional audiences on topics including stablecoins, tokenised assets, custody, on-chain settlement, and DeFi.
Comfortable operating across multiple time zones and managing a global client base from a European base.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; ability to distill complex technical and regulatory concepts into compelling commercial narratives.
Degree level education or equivalent professional experience in Finance, Economics, Business, or a related field.

Nice To Haves

Experience selling digital asset infrastructure, crypto prime brokerage, embedded finance, or API-based trading solutions.
Prior experience at a crypto exchange, digital asset custodian, prime broker, or fintech infrastructure provider.
Additional European language skills (German, French, Dutch, or Nordic languages a plus).
Familiarity with regulatory frameworks across key jurisdictions: MiFID, MiCA (EU), FCA (UK), MAS (Singapore), SEC/FINRA (US).
Experience engaging with compliance and legal teams within financial institutions as part of the sales process.
CFA, CAIA, or equivalent professional qualification.

Responsibilities

Proactively identify, target, and engage prospective institutional clients across broker-dealers, prime brokers, hedge funds, asset managers, RIAs, multi-family offices, and proprietary trading firms.
Build and maintain a robust, qualified pipeline with consistent coverage across EMEA, North America, LatAm and APAC, with a focus on EU.
Lead discovery conversations that uncover client pain points across execution, settlement, custody, embedded digital asset trading, and on and off ramps.
Own and manage the full sales cycle from first contact to signed agreement, coordinating internal stakeholders as needed.
Establish and deepen trusted relationships at MD, CTO, COO, Head of Digital Assets and Head of Trading or equivalent across varying levels within target institutions.
Conduct high-quality, tailored product demonstrations and commercial presentations, positioning Payward Services as the partner of choice for embedded digital asset trading and brokerage infrastructure.
Attend and represent Payward Services at key industry conferences, roadshows, and client events (e.g. Money2020, TOKEN2049, Consensus, EuroClear events).
Maintain accurate and timely CRM records (pipeline stage, contact mapping, meeting notes, next steps) to ensure full commercial visibility.
Serve as the voice of the market internally, synthesising feedback from prospects and clients to inform product roadmap, pricing strategy, and go-to-market positioning.
Contribute to thought leadership efforts including white papers, event panels, and sales collateral development.
Partner with Product, Compliance, Legal, and Engineering to scope and structure deals, ensuring commercial viability and regulatory alignment.
Work closely with the Client Success and Onboarding teams to ensure a seamless transition from prospect to live client.
Collaborate with Marketing on targeted campaign strategies, account-based marketing, and event-led pipeline generation.
Support the refinement of commercial terms, MSAs, and partnership agreements in coordination with Legal.