Intel
Field notes from
the institutional bench.
Discreet observations on Cayman talent flows, regulatory changes, and hiring intelligence, written for principals, not the public.
Market Intelligence
Cayman Islands executive salary guide: what top-tier roles really pay in 2026
What Cayman executive roles actually pay in 2026, and why the base-salary number is the least useful figure in the offer.
Governance
PE-backed CFO transitions in Cayman fund structures: the 12 to 18 month window
Why finance leadership in Cayman-registered PE portfolio companies so often changes 12 to 18 months post-deal, and what a considered succession looks like.
Governance
Governance readiness for single-family offices before a CIO or COO hire
Why single-family office CIO and COO hires fail on governance, not candidates, and what board readiness looks like before the search begins.
Regulatory
What a CIMA VASP licence application means for your first compliance hires
A CIMA VASP application names your compliance key persons as part of the submission, so the first hire is due before approval, not after it.
Market Intelligence
What fund administrators see first when a portfolio company's finance leadership is failing
The reporting signals a Cayman fund administrator sees months before the board does when a portfolio company's CFO is on the way out.
Compensation
Family office CIO compensation in Cayman Islands: what the role pays and why
CIO pay at Cayman family offices varies more by mandate complexity than AUM: here is how the ranges work and what drives them.
Hiring
Retained vs contingency search for fund administrator C-suite roles in Cayman
Fund administrators under CIMA scrutiny face a thin senior candidate pool and real regulatory-vacancy risk. Here is why the retained model is structurally better suited to this mandate.
Market Intelligence
VASP licensing and the Cayman compliance talent gap: why qualified MLROs are genuinely scarce
Cayman's VASP licensing regime created statutory key-person obligations faster than the talent market could produce qualified compliance leaders. Here is what that gap looks like in practice.
Market Intelligence
Finding a General Counsel for a Cayman VASP: what the search actually involves
Cayman VASP licensing created a GC role at the intersection of offshore law, digital-asset structuring, and CIMA key-person accountability. The qualified pool is narrow, passive, and unreachable by posting.
Hiring
How to find a hedge fund executive recruiter (and what to ask them)
Most recruiters who claim hedge fund expertise cannot prove it. Here is what specialist knowledge actually looks like, and the questions that reveal it fast.
Hiring
Family office recruitment in the Cayman Islands: why the same roles keep turning over
Most family office turnover in Cayman is a brief problem, not a candidate problem. Here is how to fix the one that actually causes it.
Finance Recruitment
Hiring a CFO in the Cayman Islands: what funds and family offices need to know
A fund CFO is not a corporate CFO. Here is how to hire for Cayman regulatory fluency, the key-person question, and which search model fits.
Hiring
What a Cayman Islands headhunter actually does (and how to choose one)
What a Cayman Islands headhunter really does, how they differ from a recruiter, and the questions to ask before you hire one for a senior role.
Market Intelligence
Crypto legal jobs: what the digital-asset legal and compliance market actually looks like
Crypto legal jobs cluster around regulatory, compliance and transactional work, and the firms hiring them compete for a thin pool of lawyers who can read both code and statute.
Hiring
Retained executive search in the Cayman Islands: why it beats contingency for senior hires
Why retained executive search beats contingency for Cayman Islands C-suite and regulated hires: when the model is worth it and how the fees compare.
Market Intelligence
What is a compliance officer, and what does the role actually require?
A compliance officer keeps a regulated firm inside the law: owning the AML programme, advising the board, and answering to the regulator personally.
Compliance Recruitment
How to recruit an MLRO in the Cayman Islands before a CIMA deadline
Most MLRO searches in Cayman fail the first time because the talent pool is small and CIMA's key-person criteria are strict. Here is what a search that works actually looks like.
Market Intelligence
What to expect when hiring a Chief Compliance Officer in the United States
A regulated investment manager or RIA hiring a CCO faces a tight talent pool, specific SEC qualification expectations, and a search timeline measured in months, not weeks. Here is what that means for structuring the process.
Recruitment Strategy
Hiring in the Cayman Islands: what makes this talent market different
Senior talent in Cayman is not on job boards and not responding to postings. Here is what that means for how your next search should be structured.
Recruitment Strategy
Recruitment as a service: how the retainer model works and when it makes sense
RaaS replaces transactional contingency hiring with an embedded talent partnership. Here is how the model works, what it costs, and when the financial and structural case for it is strongest.
Recruitment Strategy
Contingency recruitment problems: why the model fails in regulated industries
Contingency recruitment problems are structural, not incidental. They are built into a fee model that rewards speed over fit. For regulated businesses filling compliance, governance, and legal roles, that misalignment carries real consequences long after the placement invoice is raised.
Fund Management
Why CIMA-Registered Funds Are Quietly Retiring Contingency Search
The shift is structural, not cyclical. Cayman fund managers are moving toward embedded recruitment models as CIMA scrutiny of compliance and governance talent intensifies.