Financial Crimes Digital Asset Transformation Lead, Executive Director

Job Overview

Morgan Stanley is seeking a Financial Crimes Digital Asset Transformation Lead, Executive Director to establish a robust, risk-based financial crimes program for the firm's digital asset products and services, including crypto trading on E*TRADE. This critical role ensures the program effectively addresses the unique and heightened financial crimes risks inherent to digital assets, working closely with business stakeholders and compliance teams to ensure adherence to relevant financial crimes standards, policies, and regulations.

Department Profile

The WM and U.S. Banks Financial Crimes Risk Team operates as the first line of defense within Morgan Stanley's business lines. The team is dedicated to identifying, assessing, and escalating potential money laundering and reputational risk associated with higher-risk client types. Responsibilities include supporting client onboarding, enhanced due diligence, and negative news processes.

Key Responsibilities of the Digital Assets Transformation Lead

• Design and build a scalable financial crimes program for digital asset products, ensuring controls are risk-based, forward-looking, and appropriate for blockchain-enabled activity.
• Streamline financial crimes program processes to accurately identify, capture, risk stratify, and manage digital asset clients.
• Translate evolving regulatory expectations and industry best practices for digital assets into actionable financial crimes controls, collaborating with Legal and Compliance.
• Provide strategic leadership and subject-matter expertise on emerging digital asset risk typologies, such as pseudonymity, wallet-to-wallet transfers, cross-border flows, stablecoins, DeFi exposure, and tokenization.
• Participate in program risk assessments to identify vulnerabilities and ensure control alignment with specific business risks and requirements.
• Partner with stakeholders to harmonize and streamline financial crimes requirements for digital asset products and clients.
• Proactively identify and address gaps or inefficiencies to enhance program effectiveness.
• Actively contribute to initiatives transforming and enhancing financial crimes controls to align with evolving business models, technological advances, and regulatory requirements.
• Represent the business's interests in financial crimes risk management within committees and governance forums.

Qualifications and Experience

• Industry or native crypto experience is highly preferred.
• Over 10 years of relevant experience with BSA/AML Regulations within the financial services industry or at a financial services regulator (e.g., FINRA, SEC, OCC, Federal Reserve Bank).
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Finance, or a related field.
• Demonstrated expertise in implementing and executing Financial Crimes Programs requirements.
• Familiarity with international Financial Crimes laws and regulations and best practice first-line procedures.

Required Abilities

• Deliver high impact with a strong sense of urgency.
• Innovate and propose appropriate solutions for complex challenges.
• Manage competing critical priorities effectively while demonstrating tangible progress.
• Navigate complex and fast-paced environments with diverse stakeholders.
• Communicate complex matters concisely and action-orientedly to various stakeholders, including executive management.
• Lead confidently in high-paced, high-profile environments with minimal supervision.
• Multitask effectively and execute actions promptly.
• Understand the broader organizational picture to assess and improve value propositions.

Key skills/competency

• Financial Crimes Risk Management
• Digital Assets Compliance
• BSA/AML Regulations
• Blockchain Technology
• Regulatory Interpretation
• Program Development
• Stakeholder Management
• Risk Assessment
• Crypto Trading
• E-Trade Platform