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About Tier One People

Fintech's executive search partner.

We connect high-growth fintechs, banks and investors with the leaders who scale them - through retained and interim executive search across Australia and beyond.

Our story

Built for the AI native era of talent.

Tier One People is a specialist executive search firm dedicated entirely to financial technology.

We partner with founders, boards and investors to place the CxO, commercial and product leaders who turn ideas and opportunities into category-defining companies. We know the sector because we live in it - from payments and crypto, lending to wealthtech, insurtech and digital banking.

Our approach is deliberately hands-on. Every search is led personally, backed by a network built over a decade and a genuine understanding of what makes fintech leadership different. We've been helping our clients build unicorn businesses since 2016 - and often times it's down to getting the right hire at the right moment. We are here with you in those moments.

10+
Years in fintech search
200+
Executive hires
1
Sector we obsess over
Founder

Meet Dexter Cousins.

DC
Dexter Cousins
Founder & Managing Director, Tier One People

Dexter has spent his career at the intersection of finance and technology, advising and placing leadership teams across some of the region's fastest-growing fintechs. He founded Tier One People to bring genuine sector specialism to executive search - pairing deep networks with an insider's read on what great fintech leadership looks like.

He's also the host of Fintech Chatter, the podcast where he sits down with the founders, operators and investors shaping the industry.

How we work

What sets our search apart.

01
Fintech only

We don't dabble across industries. Every mandate we run is in financial technology, so our market map and references are always current.

02
Partner-led

You work directly with the person running your search - not a rotating cast of junior researchers, AI agents and offshore resources handling the brief.

03
Network, not job boards

The best fintech leaders aren't applying to ads. We reach them through relationships built over years in the ecosystem.

04
Retained & interim

From permanent C-suite appointments to interim leaders who pivot and scale, we match the engagement to your moment.

05
Diverse shortlists

Great teams are built on diversity of experience. We hold ourselves to genuinely diverse slates on every search we deliver.

06
In it for the long term

We measure success in leaders who stay and thrive, not placements made. Most of our work comes from returning customers and people we've placed before.

Let's find your tier one team.

Whether you're hiring your next executive or exploring your own move, start the conversation.