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Country Manager for a New Market: How to Hire Before You Launch

Country Manager for a New Market: How to Hire Before You Launch

Hirexel Blog cover: Country Manager for a New Market: How to Hire Before You Launch
Last updated: 11 November 2026

Key takeaways

  • The first local hire shapes licensing, banking, partnerships and the first team, so hire before the launch plan is fixed.
  • Look for a local network with regulators, banks and partners, launch experience and the ability to work without a local team.
  • Decide the entity and employment set-up early: local entity, employer of record or contractor.
  • Some regulators require local presence: MiCA Article 59(2) requires the place of effective management in the EU and at least one EU-resident director.
  • VARA requires two Responsible Individuals who are full-time, UAE-resident or UAE passport holders, and approved during licensing.
If you plan to hire country manager talent for a new market, hire them before the launch plan is final. In fintech and crypto, the first local person is not only a sales lead: they shape licensing, banking, partnerships and the first local team. Hired too late, they inherit decisions they would have made differently.
This guide is for founders and COOs expanding into a new country. It covers the profile that works before launch, the set-up decisions to make early and the local rules that can shape the role.

What the role covers before launch

Before launch, the country manager is often alone. In a typical first year they:
  • Meet regulators, or support the licence application with local knowledge.
  • Open doors at banks and payment providers, which are often harder than the regulator.
  • Find partners: distribution, technology, legal, accounting, marketing.
  • Help decide the entity and employment set-up.
  • Hire the first local staff and set up the office.
That is a different job from running an established country business. It needs someone who can build from nothing, with limited support from headquarters, and who is comfortable making decisions with incomplete information in the first months.

The profile that works

A local network. Relationships with regulators, banks, payment providers and potential partners in the market. Ask for names of institutions, the context of each relationship and what the candidate achieved through it.
Launch experience. Someone who has launched a product, an office or a business line before. Ask what they did in the first six months and what they would do differently.
Working without a team. The ability to do the work themselves at first, from meetings to documents, without a local team or a large budget.
Regulatory awareness. In regulated sectors, the country manager must understand what the company can and cannot do before it is licensed, including in marketing and sales. For the commercial side of this, see Hiring Business Development in Crypto: What Actually Predicts Performance.
Stage of the market What the country manager mostly does What to prioritise in the hire
Before entity and licence Research, meetings with regulators, banks and partners, set-up decisions Local network and judgement
Licence application Local input to the application, regulator contact, key hires Regulatory awareness, credibility with the regulator
First year after launch First clients, partnerships, first team Launch experience, hiring ability
Established market Growth, team management, reporting Operational management

Entering a new market and need your first local hire?

Send us the job description and the market, and we will look for candidates with the local network and launch experience the role needs.

Decide the set-up early

How the country manager is employed affects what they can do and how the regulator sees them. The common options:
  • Local entity. The company sets up a local company and employs the country manager through it. This is usually required, or expected, for regulated activities.
  • Employer of record. A third party employs the person locally on the company's behalf. It can be quicker before an entity exists, but may not be accepted for roles the regulator expects to be held by the firm's own employees.
  • Contractor. Fast and flexible, but it can limit the person's authority and raise employment and tax questions in some countries.
Get legal and tax advice for the specific market before you make the offer. For a wider look at location and employment options, see Remote, Hybrid or Relocation: Hiring Across Europe, the UK and the Middle East.

What regulators may expect locally

Some regulators set clear rules on local presence and local people.
EU (MiCA). Under Article 59(2), crypto-asset service providers authorised under Article 63 must have a registered office in a Member State where they carry out at least part of their crypto-asset services, their place of effective management in the EU, and at least one director resident in the EU. For the roles to have in place before applying, see Hiring for a MiCA Licence: Roles You Need Before You Apply.
Dubai (VARA). VARA's Company Rulebook requires each VASP to appoint two individuals of sufficient seniority as Responsible Individuals. Each must be a full-time employee, a fit and proper person, resident in the UAE or a UAE passport holder, and approved by VARA during the licensing process. A country manager who will be one of them must meet those conditions.
Where the country manager holds a role the regulator approves, their CV will be reviewed as part of the licence.

How to hire country manager candidates: the interview

Use the interview to test the network and the judgement, not only the CV:
  • "Name three people at banks or payment providers in this market you would call in your first month, and what you would ask each of them."
  • "What can we legally do here before we are licensed, and what must wait?"
  • "Walk me through the first six months of the last launch you led. What went wrong?"
  • "Which set-up would you recommend for your own employment here, and why?"
  • "Who would be your first two hires, and how would you find them?"
Then check the answers. Ask for references from people outside the candidate's employer, such as partners or bank contacts, who can confirm the relationships the candidate described. A short paid project before the offer, such as a market entry memo, can also show how the candidate thinks.

Red flags

  • A network that belongs to the previous employer. Contacts that took meetings because of a large brand may not take them for a new entrant.
  • Only established-market experience. Strong at running a large local business, but never built one.
  • Needs a team from day one. Asks for a large budget and staff before the first client.
  • No view on local rules. Cannot explain what the company may do before it is licensed.

What we recommend

  1. Hire the country manager before the launch plan and set-up are fixed.
  2. Prioritise local network and launch experience over sector seniority.
  3. Decide the entity and employment set-up with local legal and tax advice before making the offer.
  4. Check what the regulator expects locally, including residence and full-time conditions for key people.
  5. Set first-year objectives around licensing, banking, partners and the first hires.
For a role-by-role plan for a new market, including the local rules to check before you name people, see our free First Hires Playbook.

FAQ

What does a country manager do before launch?

Before launch, the country manager is often the first and only local person. They shape licensing, banking, partnerships and the first team: they meet regulators and banks, find local partners, help choose the employment and entity set-up, and hire the first local staff.

What profile should a first country manager have?

Look for a local network with regulators, banks and partners, experience of launching something before, and the ability to work without a local team at first. Sector experience helps, but launch experience and local relationships usually matter more at this stage.

Should a country manager be employed through a local entity or an employer of record?

It depends on the market, the activities and the regulator. An employer of record or contractor set-up can be quicker before an entity exists, but regulated activities often need a local entity and locally employed key people. Decide the set-up early, with legal and tax advice for that market.

Does MiCA require local presence in the EU?

Yes. Under MiCA Article 59(2), crypto-asset service providers authorised under Article 63 must have a registered office in a Member State where they carry out at least part of their services, their place of effective management in the EU, and at least one director resident in the EU.

Does VARA require local people in Dubai?

Yes. VARA's Company Rulebook requires each VASP to appoint two Responsible Individuals who are full-time employees, fit and proper, resident in the UAE or UAE passport holders, and approved by VARA during the licensing process.

When should a company hire its country manager?

Before the launch plan is fixed. The first local hire shapes licensing, banking and partnerships, so hiring them after those decisions are made wastes their network and can mean revisiting the plan.

The bottom line

When you hire country manager talent for a new market, you hire the person who will open the doors: regulators, banks, partners and the first team. Hire early, prioritise local network and launch experience, and decide the set-up before the offer. Hirexel recruits country managers and first local hires for fintech, crypto, blockchain and iGaming companies entering new markets.

Planning a launch in a new market?

Book a call to discuss the market, the set-up and the profile of your first local hire.

Sources

  1. ESMA, MiCA interactive single rulebook, Article 59 (Authorisation): https://www.esma.europa.eu/publications-and-data/interactive-single-rulebook/mica/article-59-authorisation
  2. VARA, Company Rulebook: https://rulebooks.vara.ae/entiresection/122

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