In a region defined by speed, ambition, and an appetite for scale, the question many professionals are asking isn’t whether to build big, but where that kind of building is actually possible.

For Rachel Conlan, Global Chief Marketing Officer at Binance, the answer became clear not through glossy employer branding or well-rehearsed interviews, but through lived experience. Having worked in organizations where momentum stalled beneath layers of alignment and process, she describes a familiar frustration: “You’re busy, but not actually moving anything forward.”

“Binance as a place of work is the opposite of that,” Conlan says. “It’s built for people who want ownership, intensity, and the satisfaction of solving real problems for real users at a massive scale.”

That difference matters in the Middle East, where timelines are tighter and expectations are rising. Binance’s culture, Conlan explains, is intentionally demanding. It does not try to accommodate every working style. Instead, it prioritizes pace and accountability, which can be uncomfortable but effective.

FREEDOM AS THE OPERATING SYSTEM

Binance is global and remote-first. Work spans multiple time zones, and the day rarely follows a predictable rhythm. 

“Some weeks, you’ll take early calls; other weeks, you’ll be answering a teammate who’s just coming online across the world way past your dinner time,” Conlan says. The reality of time zones requires discipline and self-management, especially when focus time is as valuable as meeting time.

The tradeoff is autonomy. “You’re trusted to manage your time like an adult and deliver outcomes without someone hovering over your shoulder,” she explains. “It’s high-trust because you own your schedule, output, and impact.”

That flexibility is not theoretical. Co-Founder and Co-CEO Yi He once described it in human terms: she can “still have the flexibility to give my kids a hug between important meetings.” For Conlan, that sentiment captures Binance’s version of freedom, not less responsibility, but more control over how you carry it.

RADICAL CANDOR WITHOUT THE CORPORATE CUSHION

Many organizations claim to value feedback. Few operationalize it.

“At Binance, feedback is part of the job; direct, specific, and often immediate,” Conlan says. She recalls receiving blunt feedback early on. “It hit hard, and then it made the work better within the same week.”

The culture assumes that leaders can’t see everything. As one Binance leader put it to her: it’s everyone’s responsibility to speak up when something’s off. Silence doesn’t preserve harmony. It delays solutions and shifts the burden onto others.

“This can feel intense if you’re used to ‘compliment sandwiches,’” Conlan acknowledges. “But if you’re here to improve, it’s a gift. You get better quickly when you stop defending your pride and start sharpening the work.”

COLLABORATION WITHOUT HEAVY HIERARCHY

Decision-making at Binance doesn’t wait for titles to enter the room.

Teams are expected to move, not escalate. Collaboration is practical and execution-driven: write clearly, share context, ask directly, and follow through until it’s done. Meetings matter less than momentum.

“In a global, asynchronous environment, trust is built via follow-through,” Conlan explains. “You might never meet a teammate in person, but still feel like you’re working side-by-side, because the work is visible and the outcome is clear.”

For professionals who crave structure for its own sake, this can feel uncomfortable. For those energized by smart peers and shared accountability, it’s liberating.

WHAT “HARDCORE” REALLY MEANS

Crypto doesn’t pause, and neither does the environment in which Binance operates. Clarity is often imperfect, timelines are compressed, and the external context shifts fast. Inside the company, that reality has a name: “hardcore.”

But hardcore, Conlan is quick to clarify, isn’t about grinding for grind’s sake. Long before crypto, she developed her leadership framework at Creative Artists Agency, working alongside elite athletes. What separated the best wasn’t raw talent—it was mindset. They embraced difficulty, actively sought feedback, and trained within systems that made intensity sustainable. “They choose the hard path because they want what’s on the other side,” she says.

That philosophy now shapes how she runs her marketing team. Conlan thinks of them as corporate athletes: expected to move fast and perform under pressure, but supported with the stamina, skill-building, and recovery required to avoid burnout. High standards are paired with care; spotting fatigue early, reinforcing ownership when things break, and celebrating wins amid the constant sprint. The goal isn’t survival. It’s capacity.

This is also why Binance’s hiring process is deliberately transparent. The so-called anti-pitch gives candidates a clear-eyed view of the pace and expectations, so they opt in fully. “I want people to choose it, build capacity, and thrive—not just survive,” Conlan says.

THE USER IS NEVER ABSTRACT

At Binance, user-centricity isn’t a slogan. It’s a daily expectation.

Yi He articulated it clearly: “Everyone at Binance is part of customer support, starting from day one. In our industry, there is no success without taking responsibility for the community. If it’s not meeting time, it’s community time.”

That mindset reshapes how work is done; rewriting for clarity, obsessing over edge cases, and removing friction wherever possible. And when something launches, it’s not theoretical. It’s implemented, immediately and globally.

EXACTLY RIGHT FOR BUILDERS

The conclusion, Conlan says, is simple: Binance isn’t for everyone.

“It will stretch you, ask you to take ownership, handle feedback, and keep learning in a fast-moving environment,” she says. But for those energized by that challenge, especially builders looking to make an impact both regionally and globally, the payoff is real.

“What you’ll find here is a culture where standards are high, and the work truly matters,” Conlan reflects. “For me, the simplest way to put it is this: I’d rather be tired from building than from waiting at the sidelines.”

In a region where the future is being constructed in real time, that may be the clearest differentiator of all.