As Chief Legal and People Officer at Cuscal, Freya Smith doesn’t just champion diversity, equity, and inclusion, she lives it. A female executive, mother and wife in a same-sex relationship, Freya is dedicated to building a culture where people from all backgrounds can bring their whole selves to work and thrive in their careers.
Driven by challenge
Freya Smith was raised on the slopes. She strapped on her first pair of skis at eight years old and eventually worked her way up to a snowboard (due to two painful knee reconstructions). In her family, snow sports aren’t just a hobby, they’re a way of life. So, when Freya first met her now wife, Marie, she had to lay out a firm, but loving, ultimatum.
“I said, ‘If you want to be with me, you have to embrace snow sports.’ To her credit, Marie took on the challenge and learned to snowboard when she was 28. It took a couple of years thinking it was the worst thing ever, but now she’s completely addicted. I knew I’d get her there eventually,” Freya laughs.
That tenacity and the ability to see a difficult learning curve and push through to the reward on the other side with relentless focus on outcomes and execution is exactly what Freya brings to her role at Cuscal. A lawyer by trade, taking on the Chief Legal and People Officer portfolio put Freya at the intersection of policy and people. To some, it might seem like a contradiction. But to Freya, it’s a perfect fit. “There aren’t many people who straddle those things, but from a legal and people lens, they go quite neatly together. Particularly when you think about employment law and regulation, complexity of remuneration or the governance behind diversity and inclusion – it’s well aligned.”
Before joining Cuscal, Freya knew it as the “brand behind the brand,” a B2B powerhouse in the payments industry. But it was the promise of a massive challenge taking the company public that drew her in.
“I had always wanted to take a company to IPO; that was a big part of what attracted me to Cuscal. But when I’m interviewing people or thinking about why I came here, it’s also that Cuscal is an amazing company with a world of opportunity ahead. The challenge is to take advantage of that opportunity and execute, which Cuscal has a very successful history of doing.”
Building infrastructure for inclusion
For many, an IPO is the finish line. For Freya, it meant the start of a new chapter in culture and capability. As an ASX-listed company, Cuscal now has public targets regarding diversity and inclusion and environmental, social and governance frameworks, among other things.
In Freya’s world, these aren’t just corporate metrics to be reported on; they’re lived realities. As a female executive in the male-dominated finance and tech sectors, and as a mother in a same-sex relationship, she sees how much value inclusion brings when it’s embedded into the DNA of the business.
“Cuscal is completely committed to diversity across all its lenses. When you have diverse people with different skills, life experiences, and ways of operating, you end up getting better outcomes in business. Diversity leads to better decision making. For us, it’s always been a no-brainer.”
While the vision is clear, Freya is honest about the fact that Cuscal is still in the early stages of this journey. She identifies neurodiversity, for example, as a key area where the industry and Cuscal has more to learn.
“We’re still at the very beginning stages of understanding what that means for our people and how we can build a workplace that supports that,” says Freya.
The gender gap is another big hurdle in the fintech space:
“Close to two-thirds of our workforce are tech people, and we’re running up against a market where there aren’t as many females in the talent pool.”
To rectify this, Freya is focused on how Cuscal can support school and university programs that encourage girls in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) to build the talent pools of the future. She’s also looking at the policies that support families of all shapes and sizes.
“We’re looking at how we can make our parental leave policies more flexible and easier to use, regardless of gender. Going hand in hand with that is our ‘hybrid by design’ philosophy and how we support people who need to work flexibility and build it into our policies.”
Leading through transformation
In the spirit of working “hybrid by design,” Freya was one of the champions behind Cuscal’s head office redesign and new ways of working.
“It provides flexibility for everyone. People can plan for in-person collaboration when it matters and deep-thinking time when they need it. Letting our people work the way they want means greater capacity and less task switching, which improves outcomes for Cuscal.”
Cuscal’s new workspace is only the beginning. As Freya looks to the future, she sees a landscape that will continue to shift. Under the weight of artificial intelligence (AI), regulatory changes, and constantly evolving tech, Freya believes adaptability is the key to survival.
“There’s that adage, ‘The only constant in life is change.’ Cuscal has always been a great innovator, we’ve predicted large strategic changes and been at the forefront. As leaders, we’re passionate about building a culture that embraces adaptability, innovation, and change and we’re thinking about how we can support our people to thrive in perpetual motion.”
Freya is determined that as technology becomes more complex, particularly through AI that the human experience at Cuscal remains supported, resilient, and ready for anything.
“Between our roles, how we work, and the nature of making payments, the future will look fundamentally different. We need to define what our workforce is going to look like as a result and start actioning the steps today that will help us thrive and scale. It’s a great opportunity – challenging, but also very rewarding.”
Join Freya for an accomplished career that’s growing.
Important Information: Information in this article is current as at 25 May 2026 and is subject to change. This article represents personal opinions and views only. This article is provided for general information purposes only and does not have regard to the situation or needs of any reader and must not be relied upon as advice. Before acting on this information, consider its appropriateness to your business Cuscal Limited ABN 95 087 822 455.
