Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Property & Bridging Finance

SUMMARY:
A property and bridging finance company focused on short-term bridging and property-backed lending in South Africa requires the above to be responsible for providing strategic leadership, operational direction, and financial stewardship to achieve sustainable growth and profitability. The CEO will oversee all business operations, lending activities, compliance, and stakeholder relationships, ensuring that the company maintains strong governance, client trust, and market competitiveness within South Africa’s short-term finance and property lending sectors.

POSITION INFO:
Minimum requirements for the role: A Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, or Economics minimum; Postgraduate qualification such as a CA(SA), CFA, CIMA or related qualification is preferred. Previous experience having worked in a senior management role within financial services; ideally within short-term credit, property finance\/lending, bridging finance, or alternative lending is preferred but not essential for the role. The company is also happy to consider a candidate who has had senior management experience working within any industry for the role. Must have proven P&L leadership and experience scaling businesses. The candidate must be a hands-on type of person who is metrics-driven, and credible with funders and who is entrepreneurial yet has a pragmatic style. Proven ability to scale a business profitably, experience leading P&L. Able to identify growth opportunities and execute with clarity. Comfort with loan book analytics, credit policies, and risk frameworks. Demonstrated history of scaling a business, preferably in a regulated lending or fintech environment. Ability to identify and execute on adjacent market expansion opportunities. Strong background in strategic leadership, financial oversight, and governance. Demonstrated ability to manage risk, compliance, and regulatory relationships in the South African financial context. The successful candidate will be responsible for: Providing strategic leadership, operational direction, and financial stewardship to achieve sustainable growth and profitability. The CEO will oversee all business operations, lending activities, compliance, and stakeholder relationships, ensuring that the company maintains strong governance, client trust, and market competitiveness within South Africa's short-term finance and property lending sectors. Leading the company into its next phase of growth. The CEO will drive operational excellence, scale the existing loan book, lead the development of new product lines, and cultivate a culture of high performance and accountability. Scaling the core bridging-finance business profitably by implementing innovative technology solutions to help drive growth as well as build team accountability and KPI-driven discipline. Improving capital efficiency and risk management and expanding into adjacencies like development finance, SME lending, or fintech platforms. Defining and executing a multi-year strategic growth plan and expanding into adjacent markets (e.g., development finance, SME lending, fintech platforms). Leading the development of new products or digital offerings. Building and leading a high-performance team with strong accountability and driving efficiency in origination, underwriting, collections, and client service. Implementing best-practice internal systems and reporting. Overseeing lending capital deployment, cash flow, and risk-adjusted returns as well as managing funding relationships and optimise capital efficiency. Ensuring prudent cost control and margin protection. Maintaining robust credit and operational risk frameworks and ensuring compliance with all applicable financial regulations. Engaging actively with the board and key stakeholders. Leading strategic partnerships and new distribution channels to achieve sustainable growth and profitability. Salary package, including benefits, is highly negotiable depending on experience gained.