Innovate Finance, an independent not-for-profit industry body representing the UK’s fintech ecosystem, has released its annual Women in Fintech Powerlist, recognizing the women leading innovation in financial services.
Although female participation in the workforce has significantly improved over the past few decades, women are still underrepresented in senior management and leadership roles in the finance and technology sectors.
This is according to a new report by FT Partners, an investment banking firm focused exclusively on the fintech sector, which looks at trends around women in finance, tech, venture capital and fintech.
Now in its 7th year, the 2021 Powerlist shines a spotlight on 250 women across nine fintech categories, namely the Senior Leaders, the Rising Stars, the Professionals in Financial Services, the Technology Professionals, the Policymakers and Regulatory Experts, the Investors and the Marketers and Communicators.
For this list, we look at the fintech marketing, PR and communications experts selected in the 2021 Women in Fintech Powerlist, putting the spotlight on their professional backgrounds and accomplishments.
Ani Petrova, Founder, AP Marketing Solutions
Ani Petrova is the founder of AP Marketing Solutions, a remote boutique marketing consultancy specializing in the fintech industry.
Petrova started her career with Arkk Solutions, one of the UK’s fastest growing regtech startups, working directly with the founding team and being responsible for all marketing efforts. She later moved to the UK subsidiary of Saxo Bank Group where she worked closely with the senior management team to help shape and deliver the company’s regional marketing strategy.
Prior to founding AP Marketing Solutions, Petrova worked for Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) where she managed the company’s UK retail marketing operations specializing in product marketing. She was also in charge of the regional content marketing strategy, communications and various digital projects.
Anna Panayi, Product Marketing Manager, Claro Money
Anna Panayi is the product marketing manager of Claro Money, a financial planning app from the UK. She is a user-focused product manager focused on global consumer-facing products with years of product and operations experience at JP Morgan.
Panayi brings proven experience in defining and shaping product strategy, delivering products from concept through to launch, and has successfully managed cross-functional teams, collaborating closely with technology and design teams. She’s also experienced in using data and customer insights to define the direction of new products and optimize existing features.
Becci Furnell, Head of Global Press Office, Open Banking Excellence (OBE)
Becci Furnell heads the global press office for Open Banking Excellence (OBE), a community of open banking and open finance pioneers. She brings a decade of experience in management, training and development processes to the table.
Furnell also has a background in social media and graphic design, and works across OBE’s portfolio of sponsors and partners, including Railsbank, Mastercard and MoneyHub.
In her spare time, Becci advocates for invisible illnesses via her #MyInvisibleProject on Instagram and was nominated for six awards in the WEGO Health Awards 2020 for her advocacy work.
Caroline Vaughan, Head of External Affairs and PR, Minna Technologies
Caroline Vaughan is the head of external affairs and PR at Minna Technologies, a Swedish tech company helping retail banks deliver superior digital experiences within subscription management.
In her role, Vaughan focuses on building a stronger communication platform supporting Minna Technologies’ customers and partners in their journey to deliver world-class banking services and subscription solutions.
Before joining the startup, she led the commercial and business development at Innovate Finance, the UK industry body for fintech. Vaughan’s portfolio career includes roles in sales, PR, professional services with a vested interest in how digital is transforming every industry.
Christy Fung, Global Lead, Customer Success, Checkout.com
Christy Fung is the global lead of customer success at Checkout.com, a global payment solutions provider and one of Europe’s most valuable fintech startups.
Fung brings innovative thinking and an adaptive approach to businesses, acting as a change agent and growth strategist. She’s experienced in both multi-national companies (Expedia, PayPal) and startup environments, and knows how to validate, scale and optimize new business model and products, especially in Asia Pacific (APAC).
During her career in technology, hospitality, gaming and loyalty, she has motivated teams to explore untapped potential beyond the traditional boundaries, and is a seasoned leader who’s able to identify talent in people and maximizes their strengths.
Courteney Way, Marketing Director, Funding Options
Courteney Way is the marketing director of Funding Options, a UK marketplace for businesses to access financing. Way has ten years of experience spanning across early stage startups and scaleups, helping them design and execute integrated marketing and global communications strategies to launch new products and services to market, drive new business and customer acquisition and establish brand leadership across multiple territories.
Her key focus areas include integrated marketing strategy and execution, growth and demand generation, go-to-market strategy and execution, brand and content strategy, strategic communications, though leadership and PR, and team and stakeholder management.
Elise Brown, Marketing Director, Anthemis Group
Elise Brown is the director of marketing of Anthemis Group, a leading global early stage venture capital (VC) firm. In this role, Brown oversees the marketing team at Anthemis and its portfolio of 100+ early stage startups. Additionally, she is responsible for communication, events and business development efforts for the investor community.
Brown has more than ten years of experience as a strategic marketer in the financial industry, having worked as a senior marketing manager at a private equity firm, a marketing program manager for the Americas at JP Morgan Asset Management, and a marketing and relationship manager at Edward Jones.
Most recently, she was recognized for her leadership in the industry by New York Fintech Women and listed as an Inspiring Fintech Female 2020. Her insights have been featured in Fast Company and podcasts catering to the marketing and founder community.
Emily Thomas, UK Consumer PR Lead, Klarna
Emily Thomas is the UK Consumer PR Lead of Klarna, the world’s leading buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider. Thomas is an experienced marketing and communications professionals with a demonstrated history of working in the financial services industry and major corporations including Omni Capital Retail Finance, one of the UK’s leading providers of customer credit, and Pernod Ricard, the world’s second largest firm in wines and spirits.
Georgie Scott, Head of Brand and Partnerships, Wagestream
Georgie Scott is the head of brand and partnerships of Wagestream, a benefit provider that allows employees to access to their earned wages. Scott is a global business-to-business (B2B) marketer who has worked across a different array of B2B industries at companies including the Financial Times and Canon. She is expected across many marketing disciplines, from PR and communications, to product and digital marketing.
Harriet Allner, Fintech Director/Fintech Lead, Common Industry
Harriet Allner is the fintech director and fintech lead of Common Industry, a purpose-led communications agency focused on telling the stories of businesses and individuals who are changing the world with their work.
Alongside business development and supporting the growth of Common Industry, Allner specialize in developing and executing PR and digital marketing strategies for fintechs, technology businesses, and founders, particularly those with a social purpose.
Previously, she led the communications team at Starling Bank, having joined the company pre-launch as one of their marketing managers. During her time at Starling, she helped to build Starling’s brand identity, launch their current account in the UK and Europe, and raise the profile of both the CEO and business in national and international media.
Isha Chander, Executive Director, Head of EMEA Marketing, Payments, JP Morgan Chase & Co
Isha Chander is the executive director and head of marketing for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) for JP Morgan’s payment division. Chander has more than 15 years of experience delivering high revenue impact initiatives in fast paced environments, and has a proven track record of developing data driven multi-channel campaigns and strategic initiatives to drive retention and new customer acquisition.
She is passionate about building and leading high performing teams to enable organizations to achieve their growth ambitions, and was featured in Innovate Finance’s Women in Fintech Power List in 2017 and 2018 and 2021.
Leigh Rimmer, Senior PR Manager, LendInvest
Leigh Rimmer is the senior PR manager of LendInvest, a non-bank mortgage lender in the UK, and property lending and investing platform. Rimmer currently heads up the PR and communications function at the company, is a member of its Corporate Social Responsibility Committee, and acts as a key support for the marketing and investor relations teams.
At LendInvest, Rimmer has led the PR launch for LendInvest’s initial public offering (IPO) and admission to trading as a public company on the London Stock Exchange in July 2021, its entry into the buy-to-let market, multiple major financial partnerships with financial institutions including JP Morgan, Barclays and HSBC, and its residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) securitization program.
Lucy Heavens, Chief Marketing Officer, 10x Banking
Lucy Heavens is the CMO of 10x Banking, a B2B digital banking platform provider. In her role at 10x Banking, Heavens is responsible for defining the company’s marketing strategy and delivering growth across the business. She works closely with business development and product teams, Lucy is responsible for bringing the 10x narrative to life and telling the story of banking transformation to support the commercial vision of the company.
Heavens has more than 20 years of experience in marketing, having previously held senior positions at both international technology giants and high-growth scale-up firms, including Fiserv, SimCorp, Equipos, Qumram, CUBE, and Wealth Dynamix. Her marketing expertise ranges from product and partner marketing through to digital marketing, to demand generation and communications.
Heavens is recognized internationally for her thought leadership and expertise spanning fintech, regtech, wealthtech, big data and digital transformation, and is a widely-followed industry commentator. She co-founded not-for-profit association Regtech Women in 2019, and is an advisory board member for the Fintech B2B Marketing community.
Lucy Woolfenden, Founder of The Part-Time CMO and Scale Up
Lucy Woolfenden is the founder of The Part-Time CMO and Scale Up, a tech marketing hub to upskill and support bootstrapped teams. She is a growth marketer with 18 years of experience of launching brands, growing their audiences and making them profitable. Her portfolio of tech startups includes launching Skype for Mobile, Starling Bank, and Yolt.
Woolfenden also mentors startup founders and teams from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Nicola Cowburn, Founder and Managing Director, Finarama Marketing
Nicola Cowburn is the founder and managing director of Finarama Marketing, a company that works with scaleup fintech startups to boost visibility, boost pipeline and accelerate growth. She is an award-winning marketer with 25+ years of experience in go-to-market strategies, product marketing, marketing communications and content marketing, having worked with notable companies in the fields of fintech, regtech and wealthtech.
Cowburn is a recognized thought leader who champions financial services innovation, and was featured in Planet Compliance Top 50 Regtech Influencers list, the Onalytica Top 100 Regtech Influencer list and has appeared on the Women in Fintech Powerlist since its inception in 2016.
Olivia Minnock, Editor, Fintech Alliance
Olivia Minnock is the editor of Fintech Alliance, a government-backed digital ecosystem bringing together the UK fintech ecosystem. Having previously launched Fintech Magazine, Minnock writes and curates content around the changing world of finance and supports fintechs in accessing funding, building partnerships and growing their customer base.
Payal Raina, Founder, Fintech B2B Marketing
Payal Raina is the founder of Fintech B2B Marketing community, the very first B2B fintech marketing community built for and by fintech marketers.
Raina is also the global head of marketing at Torstone Technology, a provider of cloud-based post-trade technology to financial institutions. In her role at Torstone Technology, Payal oversees planning, development and execution of the company’s marketing, PR and branding initiatives across global markets.
A recognized fintech marketer, Payal has been in the fintech industry since 2004 and has over two decades of experience in B2B marketing for global financial and technology companies including Microsoft, General Electric and Barclays in Europe and North America.
Outside her corporate role, Payal serves as a mentor, and has lectured in marketing. She is also an influential thought leader, and is a frequent keynote speaker at industry forums and public events.
Rachel Kerrone, Director of Brand and Marketing, Starling Bank
Rachel Kerrone is the director of brand and marketing of Starling Bank, an award-winning digital challenger bank in the UK. She is a marketing and brand specialist that has worked in global teams for some of the world’s biggest financial services organizations, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, JP Morgan, and ABN AMRO.
Kerrone’s specialist areas include brand, strategic planning, integrated marketing campaigns, partnerships, sponsorships and events.
Sarah Aird-Mash, Former Head of EMEA Marketing, Currencycloud
Sarah Aird-Mash is the former head of EMEA marketing of Currencycloud, an international payment solutions and infrastructure provider. She specializes in market strategy for key programs, product market strategy, end user engagement, digital engagement and program growth, and has worked for companies including eBay, Google, and Monster.co.uk.
