Reflecting on her career and looking to the future of invoice financing, Sherie Culley, Head of Client Services at Optimum Finance, reveals all in an exclusive interview.
Sherie’s story shows that even without taking a ‘traditional’ route into the industry, it is skills, knowledge, an inquisitive mind, and hard work that ultimately shine through and lead individuals to the right careers and industry for them.
I have worked in the finance industry for over 30 years; my career began straight out of school at 16. Having completed my GCSE’s, I decided to go straight into full time employment as I was impatient and very independent, I wanted to buy my first car and to get out of London and travel. I started my career on reception in an accounts practice in central London before moving on to work in the finance department of an ad agency. I was there for four years before leaving to travel and was lucky enough to be offered a position in the Sydney office of the same agency where I worked for 6 months between my travels.
I met my husband who was working in a ski resort in Switzerland at the time and joined him where we ran resorts in Verbier and Lake Geneva for a few years for a well known travel company. We did quite a bit of travelling before deciding to return to the UK and get proper jobs in our late twenties.
I joined Optimum Finance back in 2018, a year after it was launched - which was, and continues to be, hugely exciting and rewarding. Being here from the early years has meant that I've had the opportunity to work in many roles throughout the business and have had the pleasure of leading multiple teams.
My Head of Role requires me to focus on driving operational efficiencies, streamlining process and ensuring our teams are giving consistent high quality support both internally and to our clients. I enjoy solving problems and supporting people to be and do their best.
I enjoy a challenge too which is what led me to take on a product ownership position in mid 2025 which I’m currently seconded on to.
I was really pleased to be considered for a Product Owner role, as it aligned closely with the way I like to work, digging into pain points and figuring out how to solve them. Having spent years improving processes and supporting teams, I was already tuned into what may not be working and where we could do better. Moving into product ownership gave me the chance to turn those insights into meaningful change.
Throughout my career, I’ve had the opportunity to work in a variety of roles, each one giving me new perspectives and challenges to grow from. I’m proud of the teams I’ve led, bringing people together, building trust, and helping them thrive has always been a highlight for me. I work with some of the most amazing people, their support of each other is phenomenal and they work so hard.
I have never felt restricted in the way that I work, I can always speak freely and put my ideas forward knowing that they will always be heard and considered. They will either be taken on board and implemented, or if they’re not, there is always a good reason why. Optimum is not a place where you’re afraid to challenge.
Over the years, the industry has become far more efficient. When I first started, everything was manual and clients depended on us for every step. Today, with greater automation, they’re empowered to self-serve, provided they have the right tools and support.
We’ve made it a priority to give our clients the confidence to manage things independently. To do this, we’ve developed short, practical training videos that guide them through managing their facilities. Internally, we’ve also encouraged our teams to challenge the status quo by asking “Why?” whenever a task didn’t seem to add value. If a process wasn’t serving a clear purpose, we removed it. This has freed up valuable time and, most importantly, allowed us to deliver funding to our clients more quickly.
I’m passionate about bringing new talent into the invoice finance industry, and I’ve seen real benefits from doing so. We’ve welcomed apprentices into the business, giving them hands on experience and a clear development path, which has been incredibly rewarding.
We’ve also hired people from outside the industry, and that’s brought a fresh perspective too, as old ways of thinking can be challenged which helps us evolve. I’d love to build stronger links with colleges and universities to expand our training programmes and show more people the opportunities this sector has to offer.
I don’t believe having women in financial services is more important than in any other industry, or more important than having men. What matters is having a diverse mix of people and perspectives to drive better outcomes. That said, if we want to see more women in senior or any role, flexibility is key. The industry has made progress, but there’s still work to do in creating environments where people, men or women can thrive without compromising other parts of their lives. When we focus on outcomes rather than rigid structures, we open the door to a wider range of talent.