Ethical marketing leadership in fintech with Claire Smith

In this edition of Midland Mentors, Salt Solution’s Group UK & EMEA Director, Tim Bradley, speaks with Claire Smith, Marketing Director at Oakbrook, about ethical marketing leadership in fintech and how it’s evolving in a world shaped by AI, economic pressure and constant experimentation.

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Claire’s journey from email marketing to leading a regulated lending brand reflects a broader shift in marketing leadership, moving beyond campaign delivery to customer outcomes, shared accountability and disciplined performance. In a sector where responsibility matters as much as growth, she explains why learning speed, cross-functional collaboration, and data rigour define the next generation of marketing leaders.

From subject lines and experimentation to strategic leadership

Claire didn’t set out to build a career in marketing.

“I didn’t ever think, you know, marketing’s the thing for me.”

What hooked her instead was experimentation. Starting in email marketing during the shift from direct mail to digital, she was energised by the speed of feedback and access to data. That test-and-learn environment shaped her mindset early. But alongside performance discipline, another principle emerged: marketing cannot operate in isolation.

“You need to know what product’s doing. You need to know what tech’s doing. We need to really close with compliance. We need to be super close with credit risk.”

That cross-functional curiosity would go on to define her leadership philosophy.

Moving from campaigns to customer outcomes

Today, as marketing director at Oakbrook, Claire’s focus extends far beyond campaign metrics. “We are moving from owning just the campaign to the outcomes.”

For Oakbrook’s underserved customer base, that shift is critical. It is not simply about generating applications or driving cost efficiency. It means asking harder questions: is this the right product for this customer? Do they understand it? How are they using it? What support might they need?

“It’s having more of a holistic view rather than a purely transactional one.”

In a regulated lending environment, ethical marketing leadership means balancing growth with responsibility to ensure that performance does not come at the expense of customer outcomes.

Leading through economic turbulence in fintech

Claire’s growth into senior leadership coincided with some of the most challenging economic conditions in recent memory.

During COVID, lending decisions became significantly more complex. Bureau data, typically three months old, could not reflect real-time income changes. The team had to pivot quickly, incorporating alternative sources like open banking data and building new decision-making approaches. “It’s been super difficult. But I guess that’s when you learn the most.”

Rising interest rates and cost-of-living pressures only intensified the challenge, impacting both the business and customers. Claire’s promotion to Marketing Director represents not one defining moment, but “a lot of small wins over time”: resilience, adaptability and consistent delivery through volatility.

Breaking silos: building high-performance marketing teams

A defining feature of Claire’s experience in the Midlands is the absence of ego. Marketing sits alongside product, tech, credit and compliance. Leadership is accessible, and collaboration is embedded. But she is clear about what negatively affects performance.

When the team focuses narrowly on their own KPIs (clicks, sprint, velocity, feature output), the shared outcome can disappear. Marketing may optimise cost per click, product may prioritise build speed, and tech may focus on delivery metrics, yet no one owns the wider customer impact.

Siloed thinking limits growth. Equally, perfection can become a blocker: “We shouldn’t build and aim for perfection.” In regulated environments, some elements must be exact. But in marketing experimentation, waiting for something to be 100% complete can stall progress unnecessarily. Shipping at 80%, learning quickly and iterating is often more powerful than polishing for months.

“It’s okay to try stuff that doesn’t work. No one gets in trouble. We go ‘great’; we’ve spotted it. Now what are we going to do differently next time?”

Psychological safety and autonomy underpin high performance.

Discipline behind experimentation: stage-gated marketing investment

Experimentation at Oakbrook is encouraged, but it is tightly governed. For larger campaigns, Claire’s team agrees on clear KPIs and stage gates before launch. Budget is allocated to generate meaningful learning, but it is never open-ended.

“If on a particular campaign we have really no engagement and no applications, we kill that.”

Underperforming campaigns are switched off quickly, and budget is redirected toward what is working. Every initiative must link back to measurable outcomes, particularly when working with limited marketing budgets and customers who rely on responsible lending decisions.

For Claire, data is not a reporting exercise. It is the backbone of disciplined marketing leadership.

AI in marketing: acceleration, governance and human judgement

Oakbrook describes itself as “AI-first” across operations, credit modelling and technology build, with marketing evolving alongside it. Claire acknowledges the shift in perception AI has created.

“Six months ago, there was the thought that everyone can be a marketer now because ChatGPT can write you copy.”

AI lowers the barriers to entry and accelerates processes, but it does not replace customer understanding. Knowing whether messaging resonates, especially in regulated financial services, remains a human judgement.

Governance is critical; “nothing new will be shipped without human review ”.

One recent breakthrough illustrated the operational impact. Traditionally, even minor website changes required development tickets and sprint prioritisation. Now, AI-assisted coding tools can generate and publish updates to development environments within minutes – subject to human oversight. In one instance, a six-page application form was reduced to two pages in just a few minutes: “for us as a team, this is transformational.” The speed is powerful, but so is the risk. AI governance remains an evolving challenge across industries.

Why the Midlands builds stronger marketing leaders

For aspiring marketers, Claire believes the Midlands offers a distinct advantage.

“You can potentially learn how a business works rather than just how marketing function works.”

Smaller teams mean broader exposure. Responsibility often comes earlier. Cross-functional access is easier. The region also benefits from a strong mix of industries: fintech, SaaS, engineering and beyond. AI further levels the playing field; you no longer need London-sized budgets to compete.

However, Claire believes the region could be more confident: “We need to shout about it more.” The culture may be humble, but the capability is strong.

The future of responsible marketing leadership in 2026

Looking ahead, Claire sees marketing evolving beyond a standalone department.

“it’s moving from a marketing department to marketing capability.”

With AI lowering barriers and accelerating execution, marketing has become a shared responsibility across product, operations, and credit teams. Continuous optimisation replaces “big bang” campaigns. Experimentation becomes constant.

In regulated and data-rich environments, ethical marketing leadership will increasingly rely on judgement, understanding not only the capabilities of technology but also the demands of responsibility.

“It’s not about who does the best job of selling themselves or their branding. It’s who’s learning the fastest.”

The future belongs to the teams that stay closest to their customers, adapt quickly, and act with clarity.

Listen to the full interview on YouTube Read more Midland Mentors interviews

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Claire’s approach to ethical marketing leadership is grounded in discipline, curiosity and commercial responsibility. In a fintech environment shaped by regulations, AI acceleration, and economic volatility, she demonstrates that performance and ethics are not opposing forces; they are mutually reinforcing. The future of marketing leadership will not belong to the loudest brands but to the teams who stay closest to their customers, learn fastest, and act with clarity.

For marketers building careers in the Midlands and beyond, Claire’s journey is a reminder that leadership is earned through steady experimentation, cross-functional collaboration and accountable decision-making. Ethical marketing leadership is not a campaign theme; it’s a capability.

Tim Bradley, Practice Director & Host of Midlands Mentors