034 Katie Hayes
Head of Marketing, Ozone API
Katie Hayes is Head of Marketing at Ozone API, who provide open banking and open finance technology to financial institutions. Her marketing team just won Best B2B Marketing Team at the Fintech Marketing Global Awards. She’s also a mentor at Fin.Tech Marketing Community and Open Banking Expo.
“Because what worked last week is already outdated.”
The interview
What’s your coffee ritual?
A cappuccino (with real milk, thank you) to start the day. Two max. After that, it’s willpower and water.
What was your first marketing job?
Internships at national newspapers in South Africa as a student, then my first full-time role was a graphic designer at a sports magazine publishing house. From print layouts to being a generalist fintech marketing leader - how far I’ve come!
What finance apps do you have on your home screen?
Monzo, NatWest, American Express, ClearScore, Xe.com, Currensea, and Splitwise Inc.. The last two are essential for international travel and splitting bills without awkward conversations.
Which newsletter, podcast, or book do you recommend most?
Tom Davies (VP at Yonder)’s Marketing is Hard! newsletter delivers practical insights with an honest, hilarious edge. The CMO Therapy podcast by Lucy Heavens is brilliant. And I’m a huge fan of Brené Brown’s book Dare To Lead.
What’s an underrated growth channel in fintech?
Partner co-marketing. Your ecosystem is your distribution channel. Joint press releases, thought leadership webinars, and remixing content for longtail campaigns unlock audiences you’d never reach alone. It works exceptionally well.
What keeps you up at night?
Whatever that week’s curveball is: event logistics going sideways, campaign optimization rabbit holes, the eternal ‘prioritise vs. backlog’ battle or my 18-month old twin boys.
What are the most useful measurement tools you use in your work?
We work with dojo., a team of marketing AI agents, in a ring-fenced environment pulling real-time data insights from Google Analytics, LinkedIn Ads, and more. Game-changer.
What’s one fintech brand (other than your own) that’s getting marketing right?
Monzo. Their social media is smart, human, and never boring. They’ve nailed the brand voice in a sea of corporate sameness.
Why is marketing so hard?
Because what worked last week is already outdated. Marketing evolves faster than we can keep up, and the goalposts never stop moving. But that’s what makes it fun and exciting too.