How the right marketing leadership drives revenue, raises investment and defines your brand in the financial technology space.
In a crowded and competitive FinTech market, building the right team isn’t just about hiring engineers or salespeople. The difference between a business that scales and one that stalls often comes down to a role that’s historically under-prioritised: the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).
At Harrington Starr, we’ve helped numerous FinTech firms across New York and London make their first strategic marketing hire. In this blog, we explore why hiring a CMO (or Head of Marketing) is business-critical, especially for start-ups and scale-ups, and how to get it right the first time.
Why FinTechs Overlook Marketing, Until It’s Too Late
Founders often wear multiple hats in the early days, leading product, managing investor relationships, and even generating early leads themselves. But as FinTech companies move from product-market fit to growth, they often delay hiring a dedicated marketing lead, assuming sales will carry the load.
This is a mistake.
Without strong marketing leadership, FinTechs face:
- Inconsistent brand positioning
- Low lead quality and misaligned GTM efforts
- Poor investor messaging during fundraising rounds
- A lack of differentiation in a saturated space
Hiring your first FinTech CMO brings structure, clarity and direction to your growth plans, especially when entering new markets or launching new products.
What a CMO Can Do in a FinTech Business
A great FinTech CMO (or Head of Marketing) doesn’t just “run marketing.” They operate as a strategic business partner, aligning commercial goals with execution and acting as a bridge between product, sales and brand.
1. Clear Go-To-Market Strategy
CMOs lead the creation of a unified GTM plan that ensures product, sales and customer success are working towards the same objectives, reducing time-to-value and increasing conversion rates.
2. Brand Clarity
In a highly regulated and trust-based industry like finance, your brand isn’t just how you look, it’s how prospects feel about buying from you. A marketing leader will shape a consistent narrative across touchpoints.
3. Measurable Pipeline Growth
Modern CMOs are performance marketers. They build marketing engines that feed sales through organic, paid and partner channels, ensuring scalability and strong ROI.
4. Investor Confidence
Whether you’re going out for Series A, B, or preparing for exit, investors want to see a robust marketing plan. A CMO who can speak the language of growth metrics, CAC, and LTV makes your FinTech far more fundable.
When Is the Right Time to Hire a CMO in FinTech?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but here are some indicators that you’re ready to make your first strategic marketing hire:
- You’ve achieved product-market fit and want to accelerate growth
- You’re preparing for a funding round and need consistent messaging
- Your sales team is generating leads but struggling with brand alignment
- You’re expanding into new markets (e.g., North America, EMEA, APAC)
- Your competitors are outpacing you in visibility despite inferior products
For FinTech companies in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, we typically see CMO hiring take place around the Series A or B stage, or once a business surpasses 20–50 employees.
What to Look for in a FinTech Chief Marketing Officer
At Harrington Starr, our FinTech marketing staffing/ recruitment specialists advise clients to focus on the following attributes when hiring a CMO or Head of Marketing:
Industry Understanding
Your marketing leader must understand the nuances of B2B financial services: regulation, sales cycles, buyer personas, and compliance. Experience in SaaS, payments, trading tech, or RegTech is highly valuable.
Performance-Driven Mindset
This is not a branding-only role. CMOs need to understand conversion metrics, build funnel models, and work in tandem with sales teams to optimise revenue performance.
Storytelling and Strategic Comms
Whether it's crafting investor decks or PR messaging, the best CMOs are exceptional communicators. They turn complex solutions into compelling stories that resonate with decision-makers.
Team-Building and Leadership in Financial Tech Marketing
Even if your first hire is a solo marketer, they need to know how to scale a team over time, across content, digital, design and demand generation.
FinTech Marketing Hiring Trends in London and New York
London: Hiring Marketing Leaders for European Scale
In London, Financial Technology firms are increasingly hiring CMOs with experience launching across EMEA, navigating multi-country campaigns, and managing multilingual content. Rebrand experience is also in demand as firms gear up for funding rounds or M&A activity.
We’re currently seeing strong demand for:
- CMOs with RegTech and banking infrastructure experience
- Growth leaders who can balance lead generation with compliance
- Marketers who’ve scaled from Series A through Series D
New York: Data-Led Marketers for Performance and Scale
In New York, the focus is often on performance marketing and analytics. FinTechs here want CMOs who are obsessed with data, know their MarTech stack, and can speak to investors in metrics.
Key roles we’re filling include:
- VP Marketing for US expansion at UK-based FinTechs
- Heads of Demand Gen for payments and digital asset firms
- Marketing leads for start-ups moving into institutional sales
VP of Marketing vs. CMO in FinTech: What's the Difference?
One common question we hear from FinTech founders is whether they need a VP of Marketing or a full Chief Marketing Officer. While the titles are sometimes used interchangeably, the scope and expectations can be quite different, especially in scaling businesses.
VP of Marketing
This is often a hands-on executor who builds and runs marketing campaigns, leads small teams, and works closely with sales to drive demand. A great choice if you’re still early-stage but ready to formalise your growth strategy.
Typical profile:
- Experience leading marketing functions at Series A or B companies
- Strong background in demand generation, content, and events
- Focused on tactical execution, reporting to the CEO or CRO
Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
A CMO is a strategic partner at the executive level, expected to set vision, represent the brand externally, and build a full marketing organisation underneath them. Ideal for FinTechs preparing for scale, internationalisation, or exit.
Typical profile:
- Leadership experience at Series B–D or post-IPO companies
- Strategic oversight of brand, comms, growth, product marketing and ops
- Often part of the board or executive leadership team
Building a FinTech Marketing Team Around Your First Hire
Once you've made that first strategic hire, what’s next?
Here’s a typical early-stage FinTech marketing team structure we recommend post-hire:
- Content Marketing Manager – Thought leadership, case studies, web copy
- Digital Marketing Executive – Campaigns, SEO, paid ads, email
- Product Marketing Manager – Positioning, enablement, competitor analysis
- Marketing Ops / RevOps Support – Analytics, reporting, MarTech stack
You don’t need to hire everyone at once, but building a phased plan ensures your marketing function can scale alongside your business.
Interview Questions and Success Criteria When Hiring a CMO
Hiring your first CMO is a major decision. Here are some key questions we recommend asking:
- How have you built a marketing function from scratch?
- How do you measure marketing success?
- How have you aligned marketing with sales and product?
- Tell us about a failed campaign and what you learned.
- How have you contributed to investor relations or funding rounds?
As a specialist FinTech marketing recruitment agency, Harrington Starr supports clients through each stage of this process.
Hiring for Permanent and Contract Marketing Roles in FinTech
As the FinTech landscape evolves, businesses are embracing both permanent and contract solutions to scale their marketing operations. Each approach offers distinct benefits, and knowing when to hire permanently or bring in flexible talent can make a significant impact on your commercial success.
Permanent Marketing Roles
Permanent hires are best for FinTech firms looking to:
- Build long-term brand and revenue strategies
- Secure leadership-level marketing talent like CMOs or VPs
- Develop in-house expertise across content, digital and product marketing
- Maintain consistency in tone of voice, campaigns and customer messaging
- A permanent CMO or Head of Marketing will drive strategic vision and enable the business to scale over time
Contract and Interim Marketing Roles
Contractors, freelancers, or interim professionals are ideal for:
- Quick turnarounds on product or brand launches
- Managing maternity or long-term leave cover
- Supporting time-sensitive campaigns or funding announcements
- Implementing systems like HubSpot, Salesforce, or marketing automation tools
- Testing new markets without long-term commitment
In London, we’re seeing a rise in demand for interim Heads of Marketing and freelance content marketers supporting B2B SaaS launches. In New York, contract demand gen experts are increasingly being hired to accelerate the pipeline during high-growth quarters.
At Harrington Starr, we help FinTech firms find both permanent and contract marketing professionals who deliver impact, whether you need someone long-term or on-demand.
For Marketing Employees: Why Now Is the Time to Consider a FinTech CMO Role
If you’re a marketing leader in SaaS, data, or enterprise software, FinTech offers an unmatched opportunity.
What companies are looking for:
- Experience launching products in regulated sectors
- The ability to simplify complexity and tell compelling stories
- Confidence in board-level communication
- Familiarity with hybrid revenue models
- Passion for technology and financial transformation
Whether you’re exploring CMO jobs in New York or marketing leadership roles in London, Harrington Starr works with the most ambitious FinTechs scaling for growth.
Working With Harrington Starr Recruitment to Hire FinTech Marketing Leaders
We solve growth challenges through expert FinTech marketing recruitment across the UK, US and Europe.
We offer:
- In-depth role scoping and talent planning
- Access to high-impact CMOs, VPs, and Heads of Marketing
- Support with branding, benchmarking, and offer design
- Post-placement support to ensure success
Whether you're hiring in the UK, Europe or America, we’ll help you secure the right marketing leader to unlock your next phase of growth.
Hiring your first CMO isn’t just a marketing decision, it’s a business-critical investment. A skilled marketing leader defines your voice, drives your revenue, supports your funding narrative, and sets your FinTech apart in a competitive global market.
If you’re ready to grow, start by hiring the person who can tell the world why you matter.
Speak to Harrington Starr’s Marketing Staffing Experts
Hiring in the UK or the US? Looking for your next marketing leadership role?
Speak to our FinTech Sales & Marketing team today.
