Country Business Lead/Country Manager - Turkey (Antom)

Country Business Lead – Antom/Ant International Turkey

Location – Istanbul, Turkey.

Ant International powers the future of global commerce with digital innovation for everyone and every business to thrive. In close collaboration with partners, we support merchants of all sizes worldwide to realize their growth aspirations through a comprehensive range of tech-driven digital payment and financial services solutions.

You may have seen us as the payment partner and key sponsor of UEFA and the Euros, the Olympics, Tottenham Hotspur and other sporting sensations!

With a focus on Travel, Trade, Technology, and Talent, Ant International is committed to enhancing the digital mindset and capacities of businesses worldwide. Through fostering collaborative efforts with partners, we are driving responsible innovation and market accessibility.

We do so across our 4 key businesses: Alipay+, Antom, WorldFirst and ANEXT Bank (and more incoming…)

The Role:

This leadership role is focused on the Antom business - a leading provider of payment processing services for merchants worldwide. Antom offers comprehensive, vertical specific digital payment solutions tailored to meet the needs of merchants of all sizes. Currently, Antom supports merchants across over 40 countries and regions, providing access to hundreds of payment methods globally.

The role is a foundational step towards our scaling investment in the Turkey. The role will require a commercially astute and well connected regional executive who is entrepreneurial and happy to get involved with the detail - whilst forecasting and strategizing with global leadership. This hands-on role will include a significant amount of foundational ground work (with global support) before scaling up in the region.

Key Responsibilities:

- Lead and oversee merchant acquiring business in Turkey, ensuring growth and profitability.

- Collaborate with local partners to provide competitive channels for merchants within Turkey and globally.

- Monitor market trends and competitor activities to identify opportunities for business growth and innovation.

- Build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders, including merchants, partners, and regulatory bodies.

- Drive cross-functional collaboration within the organization to ensure seamless execution of business strategies.

- Develop and implement key performance indicators to measure the success of business initiatives and drive continuous improvement.

Key requirements:

- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, or related field;

- Deep and significant experience in Payments, business development, merchant acquiring, and related roles within the financial services industry.

- Proven track record of success in driving business growth and profitability.

- Deep understanding of the Turkish (and ideally Middle East) markets and regulatory environment (ideally network/relationships in place)

- Excellent communication, negotiation, and relationship-building skills.

- Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

- Fluency in English is mandatory (lingua franca). Turkish and Arabic are distinctly advantageous.