Director, Ecosystem Growth

THE WORK:

As Director of Ecosystem Growth on the RippleX team, you will build and lead a team responsible for how builders, startups, VCs, and strategic partners discover, engage with, and adopt XRP Ledger. The main focus will be on growing real-world usage across tokenized assets—including stablecoin payments, trade finance, and collateral management—with a global focus.

You will be responsible for the strategy to source and support high-quality startups, deepen our institutional credibility in FinTech and TradFi, and activate a network of accelerators, VCs, and partners critical to scaling a financial ecosystem. Your team will play a central role in expanding XRPL's footprint among founders while catalyzing regional momentum.

This role is both strategic and operational, requiring strong leadership across venture, business development, go-to-market, and growth—with a deep understanding of institutional finance, Web3 fluency, and product-aligned ecosystem thinking.

WHAT YOU'LL DO:

• Develop and own the ecosystem growth strategy for XRPL across Americas and EMEA markets,
• Lead and scale a distributed, high-performing team of and ecosystem growth leads,
• Coach and provide actionable feedback to team members and collaborators; encourage upward feedback and continuous development,
• Champion internal mobility and team development, identifying opportunities for growth, realignment, and retention across the org,
• Review and evaluate applications for grants and accelerator programs, assessing founder quality, product potential, and ecosystem fit,
• Manage a portfolio of strategic partners (accelerators, VCs, and service providers) to deliver results against growth metrics,
• Drive founder and partner sourcing, building top-of-funnel pipelines via programs, grants, and direct outreach,
• Guide startups from early-stage formation to mainnet deployment, ensuring technical and go-to-market readiness,
• Collaborate cross-functionally with DevRel, Partner Engineering, Product, PMM on strategy,
• Expand XRPL's ecosystem presence by identifying emerging trends and activating new growth partners and institutional channels,
• Support funded teams and partners by facilitating introductions, aligning resources, and accelerating their growth trajectory,
• Continuously identify gaps and opportunities within the ecosystem and launch initiatives to unlock innovation and community momentum,
• Anticipate obstacles and apply expertise to recommend and drive implementation of scalable, innovative solutions,
• Pressure-test growth strategies and ensure thoughtful tradeoff analysis across teams and priorities,
• Leverage insights, data, and strategic narratives to influence cross-functional stakeholders and executive leadership.

WHAT YOU'LL BRING: 

• 8+ years in venture capital, platform partnerships, ecosystem leadership, FinTech / TradFi, or growth roles
• Proven ability in deal structuring and execution, from sourcing to close, especially for early-stage teams or strategic partnerships
• Strong growth and metrics fluency, including funnel KPIs, retention analysis, and partner performance benchmarking
• Technical acumen—capable of engaging with product and infra teams to assess feasibility and ecosystem readiness
• Institutional Finance Competence: Deep understanding of financial instruments and market structure (equities, bonds, repos, collateralized lending, etc.). Strong grasp of collateral management, capital efficiency, and how DeFi can impact these processes
• Experience in product-aligned go-to-market programs for financial or blockchain platforms
• Clear, influential communicator with experience shaping cross-org narratives and executive-level consensus
• Demonstrated success in leading cross-functional teams, with a bias toward feedback, mentorship, and team development
• Comfortable navigating ambiguity in fast-paced environments with autonomy and accountability
• Bonus: Previous roles in product management, growth, or ecosystem expansion