Director, Business Development and Partnerships - Digital Assets

As Director of Business Development and Partnerships for Digital Assets at VanEck, you will build and manage the partnerships that drive adoption of VanEck's tokenized securities. You own relationships end-to-end with US-based centralized exchanges, fintech platforms, and DeFi protocols, from initial outreach through integration, commercial structuring, and long-term partnership management. You will also serve as the internal voice of the market, translating what distribution partners need into product and roadmap input for the broader team.

What you'll do

• Own relationships with US-based centralized exchanges and retail fintech platforms with the goal of securing product listings, featured placement, and structured distribution agreements for tokenized securities.
• Develop and execute partnership proposals that include revenue share arrangements, co-branded product features, and embedded placements that give platforms economic incentive to grow AUM.
• Work with internal compliance and BD teams to structure agreements that are executable within VanEck's broker-dealer framework.
• Track and report AUM attributable to each channel partner, with clear accountability for growth targets.
• Identify and pursue integration opportunities with DeFi protocols where tokenized securities can function as yield-bearing collateral, reserve assets, or base-layer liquidity.
• Build and maintain relationships with ecosystem leads, BD teams, and governance participants at major DeFi protocols and Layer 1 and Layer 2 networks with active real-world asset programs.
• Coordinate with internal product and technology teams to ensure tokenized products meet the technical standards and liquidity requirements of target DeFi integrations.
• Track onchain AUM and TVL attributable to DeFi integrations and identify follow-on distribution opportunities as protocols evolve.
• Source and develop distribution relationships with fintech platforms pursuing tokenized asset offerings, including neo-brokerages, digital wealth managers, stablecoin issuers, and emerging onchain financial applications.
• Identify early-stage distribution partners with real end-user reach and structure pilot programs that can scale into sustained AUM channels.
• Work with marketing and product to develop materials, onboarding flows, and co-marketing programs tailored to each partner's user base and commercial objectives.
• Serve as the primary internal voice on what distribution partners need, including preferred product structures, yield requirements, collateral standards, and compliance constraints, and translate that into product and roadmap input.
• Track competitive activity across the tokenized securities landscape and identify gaps that represent partnership or product opportunities.
• Represent VanEck at industry events, protocol governance forums, and ecosystem conferences relevant to real-world asset distribution.

What you bring

• 5+ years in a business development, partnerships, or distribution role at a crypto-native firm, tokenization platform, blockchain foundation, or digital asset-focused financial institution.
• A demonstrated track record of closing distribution agreements, exchange listings, or protocol integrations with specific outcomes, not general market familiarity.
• Existing relationships with centralized exchanges, DeFi protocol BD teams, and fintech platforms pursuing tokenized or real-world asset strategies.
• A functional understanding of tokenized securities infrastructure, including how transfer agents, custodians, and onchain distribution systems interact, sufficient to represent products credibly in technical partnership conversations.
• Familiarity with AML/KYC constraints on CeFi and DeFi distribution, and the ability to navigate compliance requirements without losing deal momentum.
• Comfort operating in a build environment and creating process rather than following it.
• Series 7 (General Securities Representative) license, required to sell tokenized securities through a registered broker-dealer (must obtain within 90 days of start if you do not already hold it).
• Series 63 (Uniform Securities Agent) license, required for state-level securities sales activity across US distribution channels (must obtain within 90 days of start if you do not already hold it).

Nice to have

• Prior experience at a tokenization platform in a role responsible for selling to or partnering with institutional asset managers or exchanges.
• Business development or ecosystem role at a major Layer 1 or Layer 2 blockchain foundation with a real-world asset or institutional focus.
• Experience at a crypto exchange in a listings, partnerships, or institutional sales capacity.
• Existing onchain presence such as active DeFi participation, governance involvement, or demonstrated familiarity with protocol communities relevant to real-world asset distribution.
• Prior exposure to traditional asset management distribution, fund sales, or structured product business development.

What we offer

• Base salary range of $175,000 to $200,000 for positions performed in whole or in part in New York City, with individual salaries varying based on skills, experience, and job-related knowledge.

About VanEck

VanEck is one of the few traditional asset managers with a live and growing suite of tokenized securities, building the infrastructure and distribution partnerships to scale tokenized asset offerings across centralized exchanges, fintech platforms, and DeFi protocols.