Thailand Country Manager

Company Description

Wise is a global technology company, building the best way to move and manage the world’s money.
Min fees. Max ease. Full speed.
Whether people and businesses are sending money to another country, spending abroad, or making and receiving international payments, Wise is on a mission to make their lives easier and save them money.
As part of our team, you will be helping us create an entirely new network for the world's money.
For everyone, everywhere.
More about our mission and what we offer.

Job Description

We are looking for an experienced Country Manager to lead our business in Thailand. This is not a traditional hands-off executive role. Based in Bangkok, you will be responsible for Wise’s overall success in the country, enabling Thailand customers to experience the best way to move and manage their money across borders. You will be expected to grow the business by orchestrating appropriate go-to-market strategies while also improving and expanding our product offering and customer experience. Reporting to the Head of Southeast Asia Expansion, you will have regulatory accountability as a resident Director on our local boards, represent us with key regulatory bodies, and act as the chief spokesperson for Wise in local media and public forums. You will partner closely with global and regional product, engineering, compliance, risk, marketing and operations teams to expand our presence in the market.

What will you be doing?

Risk, Compliance & Subsidiary Governance

• Entity Governance & Board Management: Serve as the resident Board Director for Wise’s licensed Thailand subsidiaries. Direct and prepare local board materials, and ensure subsidiary governance standards meet both regulatory expectations and Wise’ global standards.
• Regulatory Compliance Oversight: Own risk, compliance, and governance for our Thailand entities, partnering with global Product, Risk, Compliance, and Legal teams to ensure absolute compliance with local regulations through robust product design, systemic controls, and oversight.
• Regulator Relationships: Manage our key relationships with the Bank of Thailand (BoT) and any relevant regulatory or government bodies. Lobby these organisations for progressive regulatory changes to achieve our mission, including advocating for direct non-bank integration into local payment systems.
• Operational Resiliency: Collaborate with Risk and Compliance teams to develop, implement, and maintain robust Business Continuity Plans (BCP) to handle unexpected operational or systemic service disruptions in the local market.
• Operational Leadership: Have oversight on the day-to-day operations of Wise in Thailand. Guide strategy and provide cross-functional leadership to colleagues supporting Thailand operations, many of whom are based in our regional or global offices.

Commercial Growth & Product Delivery

• Financial Partner & SLA Management: Lead commercial and operational negotiations with our partners and the national payment network. Hold both external financial institutions and internal global service providers accountable to strict Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
• Licensing Strategy & Acquisition: Proactively assess expansion roadmaps and future commercial strategies to identify regulatory licensing requirements; own and lead the end-to-end strategy, preparation, and application process for any new local licenses required to unlock and scale these opportunities.
• Product Prioritisation & Execution: Collaborate closely with global product and engineering squads to prioritise and execute new product or feature launches.
• Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy: Partner with Product and Marketing leaders to devise and execute the GTM strategy to grow our customer base in Thailand, including defining target audiences, refining positioning, and optimising acquisition channels.
• Customer Experience Optimisation: Work closely with Servicing Operations leaders to ensure the end-to-end customer journey - from digital onboarding to payment speed - meets Wise's global standards and exceeds local expectations.
• Brand Advocacy & Public Relations: Act as the chief public spokesperson for Wise in Thailand. Partner with Public Relations, Government Relations, and Marketing teams to build brand awareness by participating in media interviews, public policy forums, customer meetups, and industry events.
• Office Leadership & Culture: Play a leading role in the Thailand office culture, talent attraction and retention along with relevant functional and People team leaders.

Qualifications

• You have a wealth of experience in Thailand payments, fintech or related industries, ideally with direct experience in customer / revenue growth and market / product level ownership.
• Proven track record of directly liaising with the Bank of Thailand (BoT) or other regulatory bodies. You have successfully navigated license applications, feature approvals, regulatory reporting, or audit remediations in Thailand.
• Deep understanding of the Thai payment landscape, PromptPay, clearing rails, card networks, and payments & FX regulations. An established network within the Thai payment industry is preferred.
• A self-starter with a bias for action. You are low-ego and happy to roll up your sleeves to map processes, write business proposals, or investigate customer bugs yourself, alongside being a strategic thinker.
• Highly data-driven. You use precise data to make business decisions, define clear product metrics, and articulate growth opportunities.
• Experience leading/building a team and also able to influence without authority.

This role will give you the opportunity to:

• Choose your own path to success - you will have the freedom to define the vision and the vision and the