Welcome to our new series, Employee Spotlight, where we introduce you to the faces behind Privalgo—those who work diligently behind the scenes to make our services stand out. We’re kicking off this series with an insightful conversation with Bianca Bass, our Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).
We spoke about Bianca’s dynamic career journey in the finance, travel, commercial real estate, fashion, e-commerce, and sustainability industries. Bianca shares the valuable lessons she’s learned along the way, drawn from years of cross-industry experience and success.
Stay tuned for more stories from our team, as we continue to highlight the incredible individuals who drive our success.
What’s your job role and what does that entail on a daily basis?
I’m the Chief Marketing Officer at Privalgo. While no two days are the same, my role is a blend of brand-building, communications, customer insight, and commercial strategy.
What was your path to getting into fintech?
My path into fintech was slightly unconventional, but that has become a real strength for me. I’ve worked in several industries, including travel, commercial real estate, fashion, e-commerce, and sustainability.
This versatility has helped me in fintech because it’s allowed me to understand clients across different verticals better. Having empathy for a broad set of customer challenges is easier when you’ve worked in businesses of a similar nature.
In 2015, I worked for a venture-backed fintech until I received an opportunity to lead a team at TripAdvisor. Truth be told, I always felt my work in fintech was unfinished, and I returned to the sector in 2021 in a marketing leadership role that eventually led to a board appointment.
Being in fintech has given me so many opportunities, and I haven’t looked back.
What excites you about the payments sector?
As a marketer, I love the challenge of communicating something functional, such as payments, in an emotional and engaging way. Payments underpin our society in countless ways, but the way they’re marketed is often quite dull.
More broadly, I believe payments have a genuine impact on people’s lives and businesses. There’s an often-overlooked social responsibility to ensure people have positive financial experiences. I’m proud to contribute to this at Privalgo, where we prioritise customers and focus heavily on service.
What key piece of advice would you give someone entering the payments sector?
Finance can be intimidating – both for consumers and for new employees. Overcome that by learning how the business you’re joining really works. Get to know their processes. Read financial news – the more you understand it and the societal impact it has, the less boring it becomes. Understand the acronyms. Thoroughly test your company’s user journeys and be meticulous in gathering feedback.
Remember that nobody is better than you, and you’re not better than anyone else. Early in your career, it’s easy to feel that everyone knows more than you, but channel that insecurity into motivation to learn. Any fintech or payments business that wants to scale in today’s economy desperately needs diversity of thought. Your perspective matters, and it pays to use it.
What’s the best piece of career advice you’ve ever received?
I really like the concept of “designing yourself.” To me, that means being intentional about the books you read, the podcasts you listen to, and the conversations you have. It means being insatiably curious and training your brain to continually see new patterns and process new ideas.
It also means thinking about what you want to be known for and the impact you want to have on others. When people are in a meeting with you, how do you want them to feel? What kind of leader do you want to become? What are your personal values? Thinking through these questions and always being open to feedback can help.
Who’s your biggest inspiration in the workplace and why?
I have so many, and I believe that we’re all mentoring each other all the time. A few leaders I look up to include:
- Dr Maya Shankar is a behavioural economist at Google who runs the podcast, A Slight Change of Plans. Her communication style is so impressive to me.
- Adam Grant, an organisational psychologist at Wharton Business School, hosts the podcast Rethinking, which is a favourite of mine for challenging workplace conventions. I’m always looking for different ways to challenge my beliefs and opinions.
- Kim Scott, the author of Radical Candor and former Google and Apple exec. I was fortunate enough to be coached by her and she has positively influenced how I handle difficult conversations.
- Trinny Woodall, the CEO and Founder of beauty brand Trinny London, whose unrivalled customer focus and community-building reminds me never to assume and always ask.
- Amanda Symonds, the Managing Director of CarGurus, who gave me my first leadership position and championed me early in my career.
When and where are you happiest?
I’m always happiest on a sunny morning in Brazil with no time pressure or plans, simply enjoying the company of family and friends, reading, swimming, and seeing wherever the day takes me.
