Keyrock is hiring a Head of Marketing (Director) in Marketing — Chicago. The overview below is synthesized from the employer posting on jobs.ashbyhq.com: factual requirements and scope are preserved, but prose is rewritten with editorial context. Verify details and apply via the employer link.
About Keyrock
Company context from the listing:
Since 2017, Keyrock has been a change-maker in digital assets. We're a global, remote-first team of 200+ people across 40+ nationalities, with hubs in Brussels, London, Paris and New York.
We provide liquidity across 80+ centralized and decentralized exchanges - a position cemented by our Series C, led by SC Ventures. Today we run a full spectrum of capital markets businesses across centralized and on-chain venues: market making, high-frequency trading, options, OTC, DeFi trading desks, advisory, and asset management.
We're building toward the agentic investment banking capabilities for the era of digital finance. A proprietary agentic layer runs the mechanics of the market, so our people can focus on the work code cannot do: the deal, the relationship, and the judgement.
We're not just envisioning the future of finance - we're building it.
The Opportunity
We are hiring a Head of Marketing to take full ownership of our marketing strategy, rebrand Keyrock and reposition us as the market evolves from crypto-native to institutional, merging with traditional finance.
This is not a maintenance role. It is a transformation mandate with full discretionary decision-making on how to implement our commercial strategy.
The team is lean by design: 2-3 direct reports plus heavy use of AI and agentic tooling. We are looking for someone who inspires and sets direction, not someone who runs campaigns.
What You Will Do
- Own and execute the complete rebrand and repositioning of Keyrock in the market
- Define and drive the marketing strategy across institutional and crypto-native audiences
- Build a premium, forward-looking brand identity. Think distinctive, audacious, credible to both institutional allocators and crypto-native operators
- Push information into the market in ways that make people pay attention and take Keyrock seriously
- Partner closely with the CCO and commercial team to drive measurable commercial impact
- Build and lead a small, high-impact team augmented by AI tooling
- Shape how Keyrock is perceived as the industry converges with traditional finance
Who You Are
Experience and skills the team lists as required:
- Crypto-native. You have been through market cycles. You understand blockchain technology deeply but you are pragmatic, not ideological. You know this is not a binary world.
- A brand-builder, not an ops person. You are inspiring, not operational. You set direction, tone and creative vision.
- An exceptional communicator. You can face institutional allocators who care about regulation and licensing, and crypto-native counterparties who value speed and edge. You switch between both with ease.
- Confident and assertive. You project authority. You bring conviction and directness - you challenge constructively and don't default to consensus. You bring edge, energy and a slightly audacious style.
- Human-centric. You connect with people, build followership and bring teams along.
- Detail-oriented. Despite the strategic focus, you sweat the details on brand consistency, messaging precision and design quality.
- A challenger mindset. You dare to think differently, question the status quo and push things forward through constructive tension.
Our Recruitment Philosophy
We look for self-aware candidates who bring both the core skills required for the role and a deep alignment with our performance principles. We seek fiercely passionate, mission-driven people who communicate with purpose and practice proactive ownership.
Experience and Background
Required
- Significant experience in marketing leadership at a crypto or digital-asset firm
- Deep understanding of the crypto market, its participants and its culture
- Track record of building or transforming a brand in a fast-moving, commercially-driven environment
- Strong communication skills Exceptional fluency in English, both written and spoken.
Preferred
Additional experience noted as a plus:
- Experience positioning a firm through a TradFi/crypto convergence narrative
- Exposure to publicly listed or IPO-track companies
- Familiarity with EU regulatory environment (MiCA) and how it shapes marketing and financial promotions
- Experience working with or building AI-augmented marketing functions
Why Keyrock
- Step-up opportunity. Own the function globally, report directly to the CCO, shape the brand from scratch.
- Transformation moment. Keyrock is pivoting from appreciated-but-underrated to a firm that commands respect. This is a before-and-after career story.
- Commercial partnership. Not a siloed marketing role. Deeply embedded in commercial strategy with commission upside.
- Lean and AI-augmented. Small team, big impact. No bureaucratic bloat. Use agents and tools to move fast.
- Global footprint. Offices across EU, UK, US and Switzerland. International exposure from day one.
- Competitive offer. A base compensation package ranging from $145.000 to $215.000 p/a, attractive global benefits, and a performance-based variable.
- Annual Team Retreats. A yearly offsite dedicated to strategy, celebration of our wins and fun team activities