An interview with Olivia Mark and Anne Le Bruchec: building Swan for the long term

At Swan, we talk a lot about building with intention. That goes for our product — and our company.

We’re growing fast, but we’re also trying to grow right: in a way that stays true to our values, supports the people behind the work, and strengthens the foundation for the long haul.

That’s where our two latest executive members come in. Late last year, Olivia Mark joined Swan as Chief Operating Officer, and Anne Le Bruchec as Chief People Officer. They bring deep experience, and a lot of heart, to this next phase of our journey.

We sat down with them to talk about scale, culture, and what drew them to this particular fintech adventure.

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How did you each find your way to Swan?

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‍Anne: I was at a bit of a turning point — reflecting on what I wanted after five intense and fulfilling years at a startup. Someone from Swan reached out, and what struck me was how human every conversation felt. Not just “What can you do?” but “Who are you?” That’s rare. And it stayed true all the way through the process. I felt welcomed for who I am, not just my resume.

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‍Olivia: Same here. I’d been describing the kind of company I wanted to join next — ambitious, moving fast, but grounded in real values — and two friends immediately said, “That sounds like Swan.” They were right. The people here are smart and kind. There’s real clarity of purpose, and a strong sense of care. That mix isn’t easy to find.

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You’ve both joined during a big growth phase. How do you think about scale — and what it asks of a company?

Olivia: It’s exciting, but also a real shift. Going from startup to scale-up means rethinking how things run under the hood. My teams — ops, support, KYC, fraud — are the backbone of the partner experience. And now it’s about making that experience reliable, scalable, and consistent across markets. I like to say: we’re upgrading from a beautiful bike to a high-speed train.

Anne: And with that shift, culture can wobble. The challenge is staying grounded. I’ve seen companies lose themselves in the process of scaling — and I really don’t want that to happen here. What helps is Swan already has strong values in place. Now it’s about using them not just as nice ideas, but as tools. I often think about how we need to put on our “values glasses” — to ask ourselves, how would we approach this problem if we were being truly human, or truly long-term?

So the values aren’t just posters on the wall?

Anne: That’s what we’re working towards. I already see them showing up in ways that are both intentional and totally unexpected. Like the Values Ceremony — it’s our version of the Grammys meets Eurovision, complete with green screen videos, memes, and trophies. It’s chaotic and funny but also really meaningful. People care. They take time to recognize each other.

Olivia: Or one of the cofounders, Nicolas Saison, who writes actual songs to fire up the team — like full-on anthems. There’s an internal playlist and everything. "Local IBANs" is a classic. And then there’s "Turn Up the BaaS," where two of the cofounders are rapping. They wrote their own stanzas themselves. They’re actually on Spotify. ^^

Anne: It’s hilarious, and kind of amazing. But culture can’t just be top-down. It has to live through people, and I see Swanees connecting in surprising and unique ways every day.

What about your own roles, what’s keeping you energized?

Anne: I’m focused on making sure people feel safe, supported, and like they can grow — not just professionally, but personally. It’s also about structure: setting up systems that protect the culture, not stifle it. HR can seem fluffy, but it’s not. It’s legal, financial, strategic, human.

Olivia: I’m especially interested in the impact AI can have on operations — in the best way. Moving from reactive to proactive, automating the boring stuff so teams can focus on the meaningful stuff. It’s an opportunity to bring more simplicity and excellence into how we work every day.

We’re also all aware of the Black Mirror side of things. There are plenty of ethical questions to enjoy thinking about. In fact, Swanees literally scheduled a book club to talk about this and the future of AI. So we’re staying curious and slightly freaked out, as one should be.

What’s something you’ve learned from the team since joining?

Anne: That kindness and ambition aren’t opposites. I’ve been really struck by how curious and caring people are here, and how much they want to get things right. That Be Human value? It’s real. You can count Swanees to point out when they feel we’re off mark, they really care about staying on track. I trust in Swanees for this. It can’t just be top-down.

Olivia: I’ve been impressed by the sense of ownership. I see people wanting to solve problems at the root, not just patch things up. That’s very long-term thinking. And it makes it easier to build processes that actually last, not just ones that get us through the next quarter. This is the kind of thinking we need at this stage.

What are you hoping to protect as Swan keeps growing?

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Olivia: The quirks. The fun. The weird little rituals. It’s easy for that to disappear when you introduce structure, but it doesn’t have to. We can build maturity and keep the magic.

Anne: And I want to make sure the values keep guiding us. The team set them a long time ago, but now is when they really matter. They can help us make tough decisions, navigate complexity, and stay connected to why we’re doing this in the first place.

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With Anne and Olivia onboard, we’re strengthening the team behind Swan — and putting our values to work as we grow. Not just to move faster, but to move forward — with clarity, care, and a little bit of music.