What's the Company Culture Like at Wise?

Describe your company culture in one word.

Egoless. 

What made you pick “egoless?”

Our culture revolves around putting our customers’ needs first, always. This translates into a working culture where people are not just in it for themselves; one that is thoughtful, humble and mission-driven. Wisers are genuinely motivated by the fact that what we are building is changing the lives of others — something I have never experienced at any company I’ve worked in before. 

In 2022, I had the opportunity to participate in our “Customer Challenge,” an annual event at Wise’s company conference. I stepped into the shoes of one of our customer service agents and directly handled customer questions. In that time, I was able to help unblock a Wiser’s ability to pay for this child’s international tuition, help a business owner pay their employees in multiple locations and guide another customer to get the right ID set up so they could get started with their account. 

This opportunity provided me with a real insight into the daily experience of our customers. It’s a great reminder of why we come to work everyday — we are building something that has never been built before to meet real customer needs and help them lead international lives.

How long have you been with Wise?

I have been with Wise for almost three years now. I originally joined as our first external People Partner hire at Wise based first in our London office, but recently relocated back to my home state of Texas, based out of our Austin office. 

What professional growth or development have you seen in that time?

I have experienced immense growth in my role over the years. I started off as the People Partner for our global engineering team before expanding my role to oversee all of our tech and corporate functions partners. Now, I co-lead our Partner team, overseeing the ways my team works within specific departments at Wise to meet their unique needs. Across these roles, I have helped advance our People agenda and strategy, to create an irresistible employee experience which enhances our customer experience while optimizing ways of working to deliver at speed. 

I have also seen significant growth not just in my own role but across Wise as a whole. When I joined, Wise had around 3,500 Wisers globally and we have now grown to a team over 5,500 strong. In Austin, there are now over 300 of us. The growth of our teams worldwide speaks to the global demand for our products and the way Wise is able to meet our customers needs and expectations.

What is most exciting about the Wise platform, and why is it a compelling time to help bring this product to market?

At Wise, our mission is to make international payments fast, transparent and affordable for everyone. Millions of people and businesses across the United States have a need to move money across borders, but the solutions that exist today are often slow, expensive and difficult to use. 

Over the past 14 years, Wise has been singularly focused on building a network for the world’s money that conversely makes managing money internationally convenient and affordable for everyone. With the Wise Platform, we offer that same infrastructure and years of expertise to other financial institutions, allowing them to provide the same fast, affordable service Wise is known for to their own customers without having to overhaul their existing systems. So with every partnership we announce, we are making cross-border payments more accessible to hundreds of thousands — sometimes millions — of customers at a time. 

How has your sales team pushed ahead with fresh perspectives and innovative strategies? What’s ahead for the team, and what’s the team’s vision for continued growth?

At Wise, we foster a strong, collaborative culture where everyone’s voice is heard. We work closely with each other, as well as with our product, engineering, compliance, marketing and servicing teams, to continuously strengthen our offerings, ensuring they align with the needs of our partners and their customers. In this way, we benefit from the insights of colleagues outside of our core team, who offer a valuable change in perspective to keep us thinking innovatively and creatively. 

In the near term, as we’re rapidly growing, our focus is on scaling our teams to ensure we continue to provide outstanding service to our partners — both old and new. We are laser-focused on advancing our capabilities globally and hitting ambitious revenue targets that move us closer toward achieving our mission. This means hiring top talent, enhancing internal processes to meet the evolving needs of our partners and expanding our technical offerings to deliver an even greater impact.

What qualities or experience will help someone thrive on the sales team?

Our Wise Platform sales team includes some of the best minds in the industry, and we’re committed to bringing Wise’s international payments infrastructure to more partners in the United States. We are dynamic and ambitious and believe everyone should feel a sense of ownership and responsibility for their work. To succeed here, you’ll need to be a self-starter who thrives in a fast-paced, ever-evolving environment. 

We’re a team of problem-solvers who can identify blockers and turn them into opportunities. Whether it’s refining internal processes or collaborating with product and engineering to expand our technical offerings, we’re always looking for ways to make the Wise Platform and our products better. At the same time, we foster a vibrant, diverse culture, working together to create and convert partnership leads while continuously improving how we operate. If you’re someone who takes ownership, is eager to learn and can balance independent drive with teamwork, you’ll thrive on our sales team.

What’s your quotable philosophy on recognition?

Recognition isn’t a trophy we hand out for finishing the race; it is the fuel that keeps the heart of the runner beating. In a world that often demands we be “always on,” I believe the most powerful thing a leader can do is simply pause. It’s about looking someone in the eye and saying, “I see the invisible work you did to make this look easy.”

I lead with the belief that people don’t leave companies; they leave environments where their contribution feels like a ghost. When we fail to acknowledge effort, we risk making our best people feel invisible and invisibility is the enemy of innovation. Recognition is the act of making that contribution seen, felt and valued in real-time. It’s not about ego; it’s about belonging. For me, leadership is about transparency and being human enough to admit that none of us win alone. When we recognize each other, we aren’t just celebrating a win; we are honoring the humanity behind the work. It is a commitment to seeing the person, not just the professional and ensuring they know they matter as much as their productivity.

What data or policy shows it works? 

At Wise, we keep a pulse on employee engagement through internal surveys (”WiserPulse”). We’ve seen consistent growth in our engagement scores and feedback conveys a culture where people feel like they aren’t just a cog in the machine. Our survey results show that Wise scores above the benchmark for recognition, with scores continuing to increase year on year. We also see a big shift in how peers are acknowledging one another since we introduced an ‘anytime feedback’ tool which allows colleagues to recognize their peers. In the last quarter, we have seen a 42 percent increase of feedback overall which is amazing to see. When the team starts shouting out others without a leader prompting them, that’s when you know you’ve built something real. It shows that our team cohesion is rooted in mutual respect rather than a corporate mandate. I believe the organization’s true strength and resilience emerge when teams take the time to celebrate each other’s contributions. Teams with high peer-recognition rates are not only more productive, but they are significantly more empathetic toward one another during high-pressure cycles, creating a sustainable environment where people actually want to stay.

Which ritual keeps recognition alive?

In my team we deliberately kick off every single meeting with a dedicated space for highlights and recognition. Whether it’s a massive win or a small, quiet moment of support that happens behind the scenes, we make space for it first before we ever touch an agenda, a metric or a deadline. 

We also have a Slack channel for our whole people team, which is purely dedicated to acknowledging individual and team contributions and shouting out key milestones. Whether it’s celebrating a work anniversary or welcoming a new joiner in the team — everyone takes the time to let others know they matter.

Ritualizing these moments of recognition helps us to keep our energy focused on our collective wins — it is the foundation of how we stay connected as a team. It bridges the gap between our global offices, reminding us that regardless of the miles or time zones between us, we are one team with a shared mission. Moments of recognition also create a culture of transparency where we celebrate the “how” just as much as the “what.” It turns recognition from a “nice to have” into the very foundation of how we operate, ensuring every voice has the chance to be heard and every effort has the chance to be celebrated.