VARA Approves Alya Marrakchi as Managing Director of GC Exchange FZE

Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has approved the appointment of Alya Marrakchi as Managing Director of GC Exchange FZE, placing her at the head of the group’s regulated Dubai entity.

The appointment supports GCEX’s next phase of institutional growth and opens a new chapter for the leadership of its Middle East business.

In January 2026, GCEX appointed Carmen Tan to lead its MENA operations. At the time, the company said Tan would pursue growth opportunities for its VARA-regulated entity, serve institutional clients and help position GCEX as a leading digital-asset prime broker in the region.

Less than eight months later, Marrakchi has now been given the formal mandate to lead GC Exchange FZE, replacing Tan as Managing Director.

GCEX confirmed directly to Unlock Blockchain that Marrakchi is replacing Tan as Managing Director, while Tan “will continue collaborating with GCEX to promote our offering.”

In a separate conversation with Unlock Blockchain, Tan confirmed that she left the Managing Director role on good terms. Her continued collaboration with GCEX suggests an amicable transition rather than an abrupt separation.

A New Phase in GCEX’s Regional Leadership

The transition follows a broader sequence of appointments around GCEX’s Dubai operation.

Mehtap Önder, who had led GCEX’s Dubai office since the group entered the market in 2022, left in October 2025 to join Fasset. Tan was then appointed Managing Director for MENA in January 2026. In July, Mohammed A. Mulla joined the board of GC Exchange FZE, before Marrakchi’s appointment as Managing Director in September.

The appointments reflect GCEX’s continuing effort to deepen its presence in the UAE and strengthen the governance of its regulated Dubai entity.

For a company serving institutional and qualified investors, continuity remains important. Clients assessing a regulated counterparty look for clear accountability and consistency in the relationships supporting their liquidity and execution needs.

Continuity Through an Internal Appointment

Marrakchi joined GCEX’s sales team in June 2025 and has worked on developing institutional relationships across the UAE and wider GCC. According to the company, she expanded its regional client base and pipeline, making her a central contributor to GCEX’s Middle East growth.

Before GCEX, she held business-development roles at Hubpay and Clarify B2B, having started her career at RisKover, a Moody’s Analytics partner focused on financial regulation and risk. She speaks Arabic, English and French and has worked across Paris, London, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

Her appointment therefore offers GCEX one potential advantage: she already knows the clients, the regional pipeline and the operating environment. The company has entrusted the Dubai entity to someone who has been involved in building its commercial momentum from within.

Lars Holst, Founder and CEO of GCEX, said the appointment gives Marrakchi “the mandate to match the impact she’s already having.” Marrakchi said the role provides an opportunity to build on the trust established with institutional clients and grow the regional team.

From Commercial Momentum to Institutional Continuity

GC Exchange FZE holds an active VARA license to provide broker-dealer services to institutional and qualified investors. Through other regulated entities, the wider group also provides digital-asset, FX and CFD services, alongside trading and brokerage technology.

Marrakchi now inherits a business operating in one of the region’s most closely watched regulated segments. Her immediate task will be to convert the relationships and pipeline she helped build into sustainable institutional activity.

Because Marrakchi comes to the role from within GCEX, she enters it with existing client relationships and direct knowledge of the pipeline. That should help preserve continuity while giving her a wider mandate to scale the business.

For GCEX, the appointment is an opportunity to combine the commercial momentum Marrakchi has already built with greater responsibility for the regulated entity. The next measure of success will be how effectively that familiarity translates into sustainable institutional growth.