Week 15 of 52 — Women in Tech Series
Welcome to our Women in Tech series. Over the next 52 weeks, we’ll spotlight inspiring women shaping the technology industry — sharing their stories, achievements, and insights.
From founders and engineers to designers, researchers, and community leaders, this series celebrates the diverse voices driving innovation and building the future of tech.
Ingrid Anusic
B2B CMO & Strategic Adviser | FinTech West and AI West
How did you first get into tech/innovation?
I was first exposed to tech during my Business Studies degree in Germany, where industry placements were compulsory. Between 2001 and 2004, I completed two placements at Siemens and continued working there part-time alongside my studies.
At the time, I was working in an area called Business over IP, focused on bringing voice and data together over internet-based networks for enterprise environments. In simple terms, this was part of the infrastructure that helped shape how we work today.
What stood out early on was the gap between what was technically possible and what the market understood or demanded. Without a technical background, I focused on what the technology meant for the user and translated the benefits into something commercially relevant. That experience has shaped how I approach marketing to this day.
When I moved to the UK in 2004, I joined a small trade show start-up as one of the early hires, working across conference production, sponsorship, sales and marketing on IPTV World Forum. It was a true start-up environment and gave me direct exposure to another emerging market, bringing together telecom operators, broadcasters, studios and infrastructure providers as the way we watch and access video began to change.
What did your career path look like before landing your current role?
Over more than 20 years across fintech, payments and SaaS, my career has evolved from hands-on marketing roles into senior leadership positions. At Creditcall, I led marketing during a period of strong growth, helping position the business for acquisition by US company NMI. Following the acquisition, I moved into a global role at NMI, leading brand and go-to-market integration across the UK and US. I then joined Moneyhub during a key scale-up phase, partnering closely with the CEO and leadership team to shape positioning, strengthen investor and partner narratives, and support growth.
Alongside my executive roles, I have increasingly worked at the intersection of industry, ecosystem and innovation. I led programme and stakeholder engagement for Bristol Tech Festival with techSPARK, bringing together founders, corporates, academia and creatives to showcase the region’s strengths and create meaningful connections.
Today, I combine fractional CMO and strategic advisory work with my role at FinTech West, the representative body for the South West fintech ecosystem. I am also involved in AI West, a cross-sector AI community for the West of England. I work closely with fintechs, financial institutions, professional services, academia and the public sector to strengthen collaboration and support innovation.
What does your role involve day-to-day?
My role is centred on bringing clarity and alignment in environments that are often complex and fast-moving. As a fractional CMO, I work closely with founders and leadership teams to define positioning, sharpen go-to-market strategy and ensure marketing, sales and product are working towards shared commercial outcomes. That includes shaping investor and partner narratives, supporting pipeline and demand generation, and building marketing functions that can scale with the business.
Alongside that, my work with FinTech West focuses on connecting the ecosystem: fintechs, financial institutions, professional services, academia and the wider industry, creating partnerships, programmes and initiatives that support innovation and growth. Across both roles, the focus is the same: turning complex opportunities into clear priorities, practical action and measurable impact.
What challenges have you faced working in tech, and how did you overcome them?
One of the most consistent challenges in fintech is dealing with complexity. Products, regulations and propositions can be difficult to communicate clearly, which can slow down growth if not addressed. This is compounded when technology is ahead of the market, and part of the role is to connect the dots and build demand before it fully exists.
The same technology can also serve multiple markets and use cases, which creates a challenge around focus. I have found it critical to be clear on who you serve and what problem you solve, and to communicate that consistently rather than trying to be everything to everyone.
Another challenge is ensuring alignment across marketing, sales and product, which often have different priorities. Anchoring teams in clear commercial outcomes helps bring those functions together.
Earlier in my career, being one of the few women in senior roles also required building confidence and credibility, which I did by staying close to delivery, building strong relationships and consistently demonstrating impact.
Was there a moment or opportunity that helped you break into the industry?
My time as a student in Germany was formative because it gave me practical industry experience early. Being able to apply what I was learning in real time helped me build confidence in technical and commercial environments, and showed me how closely academia and industry can work together when there is a clear bridge between the two. That combination made the transition into tech feel natural and gave me a strong foundation early on.
Through my work with FinTech West and AI West, we are now focused on bridging that same gap, working with partners such as the University of Bristol and UWE to create more practical, structured ways for collaboration, so ideas translate into real-world impact.
What advice would you give to women who want to work in tech or innovation?
You don’t have to come from a technical background to build a successful career in tech. Some of the most valuable roles sit at the intersection of technology, business and people. What matters is your ability to understand problems, think commercially and communicate clearly. It also means being thoughtful about the organisations you choose to join, looking for businesses where your values align with theirs.
Start building your network early, ideally during university or college, and keep nurturing it throughout your career. Many opportunities come through conversations and relationships rather than formal applications. Remember too that interviews are a two-way process: you are assessing whether a business is right for you just as much as they are assessing you.
Stay curious and don’t be afraid to say when you don’t understand something. The people who succeed are the ones who continue to learn and adapt. And be proactive: sending an email doesn’t mean the job is done. Follow up, pick up the phone, speak to people and keep things moving.
What do you love about working in the South West tech ecosystem?
What I value most is the strength of the community and the willingness to collaborate. It’s an ecosystem where founders, scale-ups, corporates, academia and the public sector are genuinely open to working together, with real depth of expertise across fintech and payments, AI and data science, robotics, advanced engineering, and the creative and immersive industries.
It is still close-knit enough for individuals to have a meaningful impact. You can bring people together, shape conversations and build initiatives that move things forward, rather than feeling like a small part of a much larger system. Through my work with FinTech West, I see how powerful that collaboration can be when it turns shared ambition into practical action.
Connect with Ingrid!
Follow Ingrid’s journey and connect with her on LinkedIn here
