How Legacy Financial Brands Can Become Next-Gen AI Leaders — Arunima Mehta, FSS

With having 21 years of experience across global powerhouses like L’Oréal and Vodafone, Arunima Mehta understands that marketing is a living pulse. Now at the helm of Global Brand Marketing for FSS, a titan in payments technology, she is tasked with a high-stakes pivot. It is to reposition a global leader as a “next-gen AI pioneer.” Additionally, Mehta argues that in a rapidly changing industry, a leader’s most crucial quality is curiosity about advanced discussions to manage the major impact of technological change.

How does 21 years of marketing DNA shape a global brand leader?

Arunima Mehta discusses her journey from consumer goods to the cutting edge of financial technology.

“Marketing is in my blood. I’ve been a marketing and digital enthusiast for over 21 years. I have had the pleasure of working across a wide range of brands, categories, and geographies, including with companies like L’Oréal, Vodafone, and Abbot in both India and Africa.

Currently, I head Global Brand Marketing at FSS, a leader in payments technology for financial institutions. My role sits at the intersection of brand strategy, communications, and scale. Our current focus is centered on AI. We are working to reposition FSS as a next-gen AI leader in the payments technology space. The world of payments is changing incredibly fast, and AI is key to driving not only scale but also the innovations that make transactions easier and more accessible.”

Why is action the only metric that matters for modern CMOs?

Moving away from vanity metrics, Mehta defines success by a marketing team’s ability to directly influence the sales pipeline through meaningful engagement.

“In the past, marketing success was often about the campaigns you launched. Now, it’s all about the action you can drive. An initiative is only successful if it triggers a meaningful conversation with a customer or helps the sales team unlock a pipeline. Any reaction, may it be positive or negative, is better than no reaction at all.

This is how marketing makes the leap from being a support function to becoming a true growth partner. The success of our work depends on the tangible actions we are able to create. If you wait three months between engagements, you’ll find yourself on a different island altogether.”

What happens when the buyer journey becomes fragmented?

Mehta addresses the challenge of reaching an “always-on” customer whose path to purchase is no longer a straight line.

“The entire buyer journey, which used to be linear, is now extremely fragmented. Customers’ attention spans are short, and in a world where they are bombarded with messages, trust is hard-earned.

We now have lots of data, but the challenge is what to do with it. How do you use that data fast, and how do you make it scalable? How do you connect with an always-on customer at the right point in time with the right content? It’s far more complicated than it used to be. You have to be on your toes, constantly thinking of new and innovative ways to keep your customers engaged.”

How do flagship events like “Simply Payments” drive industry-wide trends?

Mehta highlights the success of high-level networking and thought leadership in creating conversations that resonate far beyond the boardroom.

“We’ve had great success with our flagship thought leadership series, ‘Simply Payments.’ We invite senior bankers and financial leaders to delve into insightful conversations about payment trends and challenges.

The event has been successful because we bring in the right thought leaders and provide a crucial forum for high-level networking. Our last event was the most talked-about event in the country on the day it was held, trending at number one on social media. This showed us that the insightful conversations were resonating not just with the attendees, but with a much wider audience as well. It proves that leaders need these high-level conversations to stay informed and grow.”

Why is AI the ultimate “Growth Enabler” for marketing leaders?

By reducing the time required for research and feedback, AI enables marketing directors to lead transformations in real time.

“Without a doubt, the biggest opportunity is AI. The time it used to take to decode data and identify insights has been crunched like anything. We no longer have to wait months for a research report. We can get information instantly.

AI is helping us lead transformations and truly play the role of a growth partner in an organisation in a way that was never possible before. However, the core of marketing, making human connections, will not change. Those connections will just become much more intelligent. The future lies in balancing emotional storytelling with data-driven decisions.”

What advice would you give to the next generation of growth architects?

Drawing on her extensive experience, Mehta emphasises curiosity, customer intimacy, and the role of the “Growth Enabler.”

“I have three key pieces of advice. First, know your customer intimately. You have to live with them and understand what’s going on in their mind. Second, be like a sponge. Absorb everything without preconceived notions. And third, continuously upskill yourself.

If I could describe my role in one word, it would be ‘Growth Enabler.’ Our role is to help the organisation connect with customers in a more meaningful way, which ultimately unlocks business. In a world where trust is hard-earned, we create compelling stories that build trust and drive authenticity.”

Join the Conversation: The Ortus Club’s Executive Network

Arunima Mehta’s success with “Simply Payments” reinforces a vital truth: the most valuable insights come from the people sitting across the table from you. In an industry as volatile as fintech, “staying on your toes” means engaging with peers who are facing the same fragmented journeys and AI disruptions.

At The Ortus Club, we specialise in these executive roundtables. We provide the neutral, high-level forum that Arunima identifies as a crucial forum for networking. When a global brand head says she needs these conversations to drive business results, it’s a signal to every other executive: to grow, you must be part of the dialogue.

FAQs

Q: What is the “Simply Payments” series?

A: It is a flagship thought leadership platform by FSS that gathers senior bankers and financial leaders to discuss emerging payment trends and AI innovations.

Q: How does FSS use AI in its marketing strategy?

A: FSS uses AI to rapidly decode market data, allowing the team to pivot their go-to-market strategies and reposition the brand as a next-gen technology leader.

Q: Why is executive networking important for brand growth?

A: High-level networking builds the hard-earned trust required in B2B sectors. It allows leaders to share insights that data alone cannot provide, fostering authenticity and collaborative problem-solving.