The 19 Most Sought-After FinTech Recruiters
Meet the top recruiters in the FinTech industry, each known for their exceptional ability to connect companies with the highest-caliber professionals in the financial technology sector. ↓
FinTech has emerged as one of the most dynamic and rapidly evolving sectors in the global economy. The growth of this industry relies heavily on recruiting top-tier talent capable of driving digital transformation and innovation.
In this article, we present a curated and ranked list of the 19 most sought-after FinTech recruiters who have made a significant impact in sourcing the best executives, engineers, and specialists. From driving high-level placements in prominent firms to shaping the future of financial technology, these experts are at the forefront of the FinTech talent landscape.
- Neil Dundon
- Jason Van Voorhis
- Dean Nacey
- Deepali Vyas
- Dave Mullarkey
- Jonathan Pomeranz
- Nadia Edwards-Dashti
- James Brown
- Simon Eglise
- Marc Badalucco
- Rob Paone
- Jim Urquhart
- Jordan Lawrence
- Jackson Baker
- Smriti Vicari
- Adrianna Oliva
- Maurice Gilbert
- Chris Leek
- Shawn Rutter
Below we provide more detailed profiles of each recruiter.
Neil Dundon
Nationality: Australian
Neil is the “original pioneer” in Web3 recruitment – he founded Crypto Recruit in early 2017, reportedly the world’s first agency specializing exclusively in blockchain jobs.
Based in Sydney, he has 20+ years in recruitment and has built Crypto Recruit into the “world’s leading Web3 recruiting firm,” combining his passions for blockchain investing and talent building. Neil’s no-nonsense approach and global team have placed hundreds of candidates (devs, CTOs, compliance, etc.) at crypto exchanges, NFT platforms, and metaverse startups.
- LinkedIn: Neil Dundon
Jason Van Voorhis
Nationality: American
An engineering recruitment specialist who founded V3 after leading tech recruiting at Snap.
Jason guides fast-growing fintech startups through high-volume hiring, leveraging VC relationships (Index, Lightspeed, Sequoia) to quickly scale teams past the seed stage. Under his leadership, V3 has built out entire engineering and product orgs for emerging fintech players.
- LinkedIn: Jason Van Voorhis
Dean Nacey
Nationality: American
A fintech executive search leader on the West Coast, Dean has filled C-suite, board, and VP roles for fintech clients like NerdWallet, Juniper Square, Robinhood, Credit Karma, and Affirm.
He co-heads SPMB’s fintech practice and focuses on CEO, board director, and HR leadership searches, bringing a broad network across both enterprise and consumer fintech sectors.
- LinkedIn: Dean Nacey
Deepali Vyas
Nationality: American
A high-profile executive headhunter in fintech, Deepali leads Korn Ferry’s global fintech practice.
Based in New York, she has spearheaded C-level and board searches for major fintech players including Coinbase, Stripe, PayPal, and Gemini. Deepali blends executive search with advisory on org design and has prior experience leading hedge fund recruiting at Heidrick. She is frequently cited as an industry thought leader and has placed CEOs and board directors for fintech unicorns.
- LinkedIn: Deepali Vyas
Dave Mullarkey
Nationality: American
In fintech, it’s not just about hiring executives with experience; it’s about finding visionaries who can lead companies through rapid transformation and disruption in the financial services space.
An executive recruiter who co-leads SPMB’s fintech practice alongside Dean Nacey.
Dave has placed top executives at fintech unicorns – for example, he led C-suite searches at BlueVine and other fintech lenders. With deep expertise in financial services technology, he focuses on CEO and COO searches and has a strong track record in payments and lending verticals.
- LinkedIn: Dave Mullarkey
Jonathan Pomeranz
Nationality: American
Head of True Search’s fintech, banking, and payments practice in the US.
Jonathan has recently placed the CEO of Green Dot Bank and the CMO of Acorns, among other C-level hires for fintech scale-ups. He previously worked at Korn Ferry’s financial services practice, bringing a blend of fintech and traditional finance recruiting experience to connect startups (like eToro, Albert, CircleUp) with seasoned executives.
- LinkedIn: Jonathan Pomeranz
- X (Twitter): @jonpomeranz
Nadia Edwards-Dashti
Nationality: British
A fintech recruiting executive with nearly 20 years’ experience, Nadia has been instrumental in scaling many financial technology teams.
She co-founded Harrington Starr and focuses on placing technologists and sales leaders in fintech globally. Nadia is also a champion of diversity: she hosts the “FinTech’s DEI Discussions” podcast and authored FinTech Women Walk the Talk, amplifying inclusion in the sector. Her blend of recruiting success and industry thought leadership (Forbes contributor, conference speaker) makes her highly influential.
- LinkedIn: Nadia Edwards-Dashti
James Brown
Nationality: British
A recruitment entrepreneur who launched Storm2 in 2019 to specialize exclusively in fintech talent.
James was previously a Managing Director at Phaidon International (parent of Selby Jennings) and leveraged a £1M seed investment to build Storm2 into a global fintech recruiting powerhouse. Under his leadership, Storm2 has expanded across Europe, the US, and Asia in just a few years, scaling many high-growth fintech startups. James is known for hyper-growth recruitment strategies and even brought on the founder of Phaidon as Chairman.
- LinkedIn: James Brown
- X (Twitter): @ALGOSJ
Simon Eglise
Nationality: British
Simon co-founded EC1 Partners, one of the leading global fintech recruitment agencies established in London in 2008.
With offices now in London, New York, Miami, and Singapore, EC1 focuses on fintech sales, tech, and executive hires. Simon leads the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore and brings 15+ years of fintech recruitment experience. He is frequently interviewed for insights on fintech hiring trends and has helped place senior talent across EMEA and APAC for payments and trading tech firms.
- LinkedIn: Simon Eglise
Marc Badalucco
Nationality: American
A payments and fintech recruiting expert who leads IMPACT’s recruiting team.
Marc has specialized in the payments industry since 2000, helping payment processors, card networks, and fintech startups hire top talent in product, sales, risk, and tech. He is often featured on industry podcasts (e.g. Soar Pay’s PayPod) as a go-to voice on fintech hiring. Marc’s agency is recognized as “the most trusted recruiting partner” in payments and digital banking, and he personally focuses on senior sales and strategy roles.
- LinkedIn: Marc Badalucco
- X (Twitter): @PaymentsBaddy
Rob Paone
Nationality: American
Known as “Crypto Bobby” online, Rob founded Proof of Talent in 2019 as one of the first crypto-exclusive recruiting firms.
Based in New York, he and his team place engineers, product managers, and executives at blockchain and Web3 startups. Rob’s firm has grown to $60K+ in monthly revenue by filling roles for exchanges, DeFi platforms, and crypto funds. Featured in Business Insider and CoinDesk, Rob leverages his background (ex-AirSwap BD) and social presence to attract top blockchain talent.
- LinkedIn: Rob Paone
Jim Urquhart
Nationality: American
An executive recruiter who oversees Bowdoin Group’s fintech practice.
With 15+ years at Bowdoin, Jim has recruited C-suite and go-to-market leaders for fintech and regtech firms in payments, insurtech, AI/ML, and digital lending. His placements include CEOs and VPs at companies like SoFi, Bento for Business, and Dealogic. Jim is known for his breadth across product, sales, HR, and finance executive roles in both U.S. and European fintech markets.
- LinkedIn: Jim Urquhart
Jordan Lawrence
Nationality: British
A payments industry headhunter who founded PCN in 2009, growing it into a globally recognized fintech recruitment brand.
Under Jordan’s 12-year leadership, Amsterdam-based PCN became a go-to firm for hiring in payments, e-commerce, and fintech; he eventually sold PCN in 2021 after it scaled internationally. Jordan’s network and insight into the cards & payments space are unparalleled – he’s a serial entrepreneur now involved in new fintech ventures (e.g. Volt.io) but remains influential in talent circles.
- LinkedIn: Jordan Lawrence
Jackson Baker
Nationality: American
Jackson heads fintech compliance and legal recruitment at Rutherford, a boutique search firm known for having “the best headhunters in fintech’s compliance, risk, cyber, and legal” sectors.
Based in New York, he connects fintech startups and crypto firms with hard-to-find talent like Chief Compliance Officers, Risk Directors, and Regulatory Counsel. Rutherford has a decade+ track record in this space, and Jackson’s team has an unparalleled database of regulatory professionals for challenger banks and fintech companies.
- LinkedIn: Jackson Baker
Smriti Vicari
Nationality: American
Egon Zehnder’s North American FinTech practice leader. Smriti is a prominent fintech recruiter who also operates in the broader financial services and CFO practices.
Based in New York, she advises both fintech startups and incumbent financial institutions on acquiring digital talent at the C-level. Her cross-industry insight and focus on diversity have made her a sought-after recruiter for fintech boards and executive roles, especially for clients seeking to blend finance and tech expertise.
- LinkedIn: Smriti Vicari
Adrianna Oliva
Nationality: American
A rising star in fintech recruiting, Adrianna co-leads Heidrick’s FinTech sector efforts in the Americas.
Based in New York, she is part of both the Financial Services and Technology practices. Adrianna specializes in placing digital product and technology executives into fintech companies and financial institutions undergoing tech transformation. She is recognized for understanding both startup culture and large-enterprise requirements, making her effective in searches for fintech partnerships, digital banking heads, and innovation leaders.
- LinkedIn: Adrianna Oliva
Maurice Gilbert
Nationality: American
Maurice is a veteran compliance recruiter whose firm Conselium has filled Chief Compliance Officer and regulatory roles for numerous fintech and financial firms.
He has been in compliance search since 2001 and is an authority on hiring for fintech regulatory challenges (e.g. BSA/AML, consumer finance compliance). Conselium’s recent searches include a Compliance Executive for a “Global FinTech Leader” with total comp ~$550K, illustrating the level Maurice operates at. He is frequently published in compliance journals and brings unmatched expertise in the intersection of fintech and regulatory talent.
- LinkedIn: Maurice Gilbert
Chris Leek
Nationality: British
A fintech executive search specialist based in the UK, Chris heads FinTech Recruitment Ltd.
His firm provides C-level and senior recruitment in fintech, regtech, and insurtech across Europe, Asia, and North America. Chris has built a reputation for quickly connecting high-caliber candidates with innovative fintech and financial services startups. He also runs XB Consultants focusing on financial services hiring, reflecting over 20 years of recruitment experience.
- LinkedIn: Chris Leek
Shawn Rutter
Nationality: British
Shawn founded Excelsior Search in London in 1999, making it one of the earliest specialists in capital markets fintech recruiting.
With over 20+ years in the field, he has deep expertise in placing executives for trading technology, investment analytics, and market data providers. Shawn is known for his fintech vendor focus – his firm exclusively serves fintech software and data firms globally, leveraging a vast network of sales, marketing, product, and executive talent. Clients testify that Excelsior’s hires have been “critical” to their growth.
- LinkedIn: Shawn Rutter
Sum Up
These highly regarded recruiters have played a pivotal role in shaping the FinTech industry by sourcing top-tier executives, driving digital transformation, and leading growth in emerging financial technology markets. However, working directly with these leaders can be difficult, as they are often in high demand or come with a hefty price tag.
A practical solution is to partner with EchoGlobal, where our vast industry expertise and global network can efficiently connect you with the right FinTech talent to fuel your growth.
Note: We’ve dedicated significant time and effort to creating and verifying this curated list of top professionals. However, if you believe a correction or addition is needed, feel free to reach out. We’ll gladly review and update the page.
Lou Reverchuk