Chief Of Legal & Compliance (Startup Group of Companies)

Chief Legal & Compliance Officer - Regional Group Level About the Company The company is a fast-growing regional business group operating across technology, payments, merchant services, and digital commerce. The business has multiple operating companies across Asia and is continuing to expand through new markets, partnerships, acquisitions, and corporate structuring. About the Role We are looking for a smart, business-minded legal professional to act as the legal and compliance face of the group. This is a regional, group-level role covering multiple markets across Asia. The person will work closely with founders, senior leadership, external counsel, banks, partners, and business teams to support growth while protecting the group from legal, regulatory, commercial, and structural risks. This role is best suited for someone who is practical, commercially sharp, and comfortable operating beyond traditional legal review. Key Responsibilities • Act as the main legal and compliance advisor across the group’s operating companies. • Support regional legal matters across Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and future markets. • Manage external counsel and legal partners across different jurisdictions. • Advise leadership on commercial decisions, partnerships, acquisitions, expansion, and corporate structuring. • Review and negotiate key commercial agreements, including partnership, vendor, reseller, merchant, and strategic contracts. • Support M&A activity, including legal due diligence, transaction review, negotiation, and risk assessment. • Oversee corporate governance, holding company structures, shareholder agreements, ESOP matters, and group-level legal documentation. • Build practical legal, compliance, contract, and risk frameworks that allow the business to scale safely. • Strengthen compliance standards across payments, merchant onboarding, regulatory expectations, data protection, and cross-border operations. • Provide clear, business-friendly legal advice rather than only highlighting risks. Requirements • 8+ years of legal, compliance, corporate, or risk-related experience. • Strong regional exposure across Asia, ideally including markets such as Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, or Hong Kong. • Experience in fintech, payments, merchant services, technology, SaaS, digital platforms, or high-growth businesses. • Strong commercial contract, corporate governance, structuring, and risk management experience. • Comfortable working directly with founders, CEOs, business heads, external counsel, banks, and partners. • Able to balance legal protection with business growth and speed. • Practical, independent, and confident in making judgement calls in a fast-moving environment. • In-house experience is preferred, but strong law firm candidates with relevant commercial, corporate, fintech, or technology exposure may also be considered. Ideal Profile The ideal candidate is not just a lawyer who reviews contracts. We are looking for someone who can think like a business partner, manage legal risk across multiple companies, support regional growth, and build the legal and compliance foundation for a scaling group.