Chief Risk Officer

Job Description

Knack Group has been retained to identify a Chief Risk Officer for a high-growth, technology-enabled investment platform that provides wealth management professionals and their clients with access to alternative investments, private funds, and structured products.

This is a newly created executive leadership role. Our client is establishing a formal second line of defense and is seeking a senior risk and compliance leader to design and lead the function, bringing together regulatory compliance, enterprise and operational risk, governance, controls, and resilience under a single leadership structure.

The target operating model positions the business as the first line of defense, Risk and Compliance jointly as the second line, and Internal Audit as the third. This is a foundational appointment rather than stewardship of an established function. The successful candidate will build the framework, governance architecture, operating model, and team from a largely greenfield position. The early tenure will therefore be weighted toward design, implementation, and institutionalization rather than oversight of mature processes.

The role reports directly to the Chief Financial Officer and will serve as a principal point of contact for executive leadership, the Board of Directors, and the Board-level Audit & Risk Committee. It carries significant visibility and direct influence over the firm's governance strategy, regulatory posture, and enterprise risk framework.

A Juris Doctor (JD) degree is required for this mandate.

Scope of responsibility

Regulatory & Compliance Oversight

• Lead regulatory compliance across a multi-jurisdictional footprint spanning the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, including support for expansion into new regulated markets
• Oversee regulatory requirements applicable to alternative investments, structured investments, registered funds, and private fund vehicles
• Provide oversight of registrations, licensing, exemptions, and ongoing obligations involving the SEC, FINRA, and relevant international regulatory authorities
• Develop and maintain scalable policies, procedures, controls, and training aligned with both regulatory expectations and commercial strategy
• Lead regulatory examinations, audits, and inquiries, serving as a senior liaison with regulators, outside counsel, and external advisers
• Maintain strong regulatory judgment across investment advisory, broker-dealer, fund, structured investment, and private markets activities

Enterprise Risk & Governance

• Design, implement, and evolve the enterprise risk management framework across business lines and geographies
• Establish and maintain appropriate risk appetite, taxonomy, assessment, escalation, and reporting frameworks
• Lead risk oversight through governance forums, including the Board-level Audit & Risk Committee, executive risk committees, and operational risk working groups
• Own and enhance the enterprise risk register, Risk and Control Self-Assessments, risk appetite metrics, issue management, and incident management
• Deliver clear, decision-ready risk reporting and recommendations to senior leadership and the Board
• Embed consistent second-line challenge into strategic and commercial decision-making

Controls, Assurance & Operational Resilience

• Strengthen internal controls in partnership with Finance, Technology, Legal, Operations, and other business functions, including IT general controls and ICFR
• Oversee SOC 2 audit programs across business lines, including auditor relationships, evidence collection, remediation, and control maturity
• Partner with Technology and Security leadership on platform, data protection, cyber, and information security risk
• Maintain robust business continuity and disaster recovery frameworks supported by regular testing
• Establish and oversee a centralized enterprise incident-management framework, including escalation protocols, response playbooks, and crisis communications
• Oversee physical security, life safety, emergency preparedness, and related business resilience programs

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, mentor, and develop global teams across Risk and Compliance
• Partner closely with Finance, Legal, Technology, Product, Operations, and business leadership
• Build a risk and compliance culture that supports commercial growth while maintaining disciplined governance
• Operate effectively at both strategic and detailed levels in a high-growth environment where senior leaders remain hands-on
• Serve as a credible, independent challenger to senior executives while maintaining strong business partnership

Candidate requirements

This mandate requires meaningful depth across both regulatory compliance and operational/enterprise risk. Candidates who have personally carried accountability across both disciplines will be prioritized.

Essential

• Juris Doctor (JD) degree required
• Fifteen or more years of senior leadership experience across risk management, compliance, governance, or related second-line functions within financial services
• Demonstrated ownership of a regulatory compliance program within a registered financial institution, investment adviser, broker-dealer, asset manager, fund platform, or financial technology company
• Direct regulator engagement and personal accountability for regulatory examinations, inquiries, or remediation
• Demonstrated experience designing and operating an enterprise and/or operational risk framework within a complex organization
• Hands-on experience with risk appetite, Risk and Control Self-Assessments, issue management, incident management, and executive risk reporting
• Substantive command of U.S. securities regulation, including:
• Investment Advisers Act of 1940
• Investment Company Act of 1940
• Securities Act of 1933
• Securities Exchange Act of 1934
• FINRA requirements
• CFTC requirements where derivatives are in scope
• AML/KYC requirements, including FinCEN obligations
• Meaningful product exposure across one or more of the following:
• Alternative investments
• Private funds
• Registered investment advisers
• Broker-dealers
• Registered funds
• Structured investments
• Private markets
• The judgment, independence, and executive presence to constructively challenge senior leadership, chair senior risk committees, and represent the firm before the Board, regulators, and external stakeholders
• A hands-on leadership style and willingness to personally engage in the design and execution of the risk and compliance framework

Preferred

• Professional certification such as FRM, CRCMP, CFA, CPA, or CAMS
• Familiarity with international regulatory frameworks including AIFMD and MiFID
• Experience within an organization operating under, or preparing for, public-company governance and reporting standards
• Experience building or materially transforming a second-line Risk and Compliance function
• Exposure to high-growth financial technology or investment-platform environments

Relevant Candidate Backgrounds

Incumbent Chief Risk Officer experience at a large institution is not required .

Our client is equally interested in accomplished deputies and senior second-line leaders with a JD and significant regulatory compliance experience who have operated closely with a Chief Risk Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, or Chief Risk & Compliance Officer and are prepared to assume a full enterprise mandate.

Relevant backgrounds may include:

• Deputy Chief Risk Officer
• Deputy Chief Compliance Officer
• Head of Risk & Compliance
• Head of Regulatory Risk
• Head of Compliance
• Head of Non-Financial Risk
• Head of Operational Risk
• Senior second-line leadership within private wealth, asset management, alternative investments, broker-dealer, registered investment adviser, registered fund, or structured investment businesses

A Note on Alignment

This search is specifically focused on candidates who combine securities and investment-management regulatory experience with broader enterprise and operational risk leadership .

The mandate is less likely to align with backgrounds primarily concentrated in:

• Bank-prudential regulation, including Federal Reserve, OCC, FDIC, or CFPB oversight, without substantive securities, investment adviser, fund, or broker-dealer exposure
• A single risk discipline such as market risk, credit risk, or model risk without broader ownership across compliance, operational risk, governance, controls, regulatory engagement, and second-line framework development
• Pure legal or General Counsel backgrounds without meaningful ownership of an operating compliance and risk function
• Pure compliance backgrounds without meaningful operational or enterprise risk responsibility

Candidates whose backgrounds are adjacent but not an exact match are still welcome to connect, as Knack Group supports a range of senior financial services mandates.