Gemma Acton
Growing up on New Zealand’s coast, Erin Burke was schooled early in financial literacy. Her parents had her work full-time during summer holidays and save a portion of her paycheck. Initially working in government, her career unexpectedly pivoted into the fast-paced world of finance. Her latest role? Leadership at a global FinTech platform. So, is she a game changer? Let’s find out.
Gemma Acton: Erin, let’s start with your childhood and how your experiences during that period set some guiding principles for you.
Erin Burke: I grew up in a small beach town, which I loved. It meant I grew up in a very close-knit family, and that’s flowed through into my adulthood. I’m still very close with my parents and my sisters—we talk all the time.
My parents didn’t grow up with a lot, so they were keen that we were educated and had strong financial literacy skills. That’s helped me a lot in my job. I deal with budgets, and I maintain: if you can run a household budget, you can run a company budget to a certain degree.
It gave us a strong work ethic—we needed to make sure we could always take care of ourselves. That’s really guided my career decisions. I’ve always been conscious about making choices that set me up for success and longevity.
Gemma: You obviously grew up with a very healthy respect for money and earning. When was your first job?
Erin: I think I worked in a fish and chip shop when I was about 14 or 15. Then there was a supermarket job and various jobs during university.
My parents covered all our educational needs and gave us a small allowance. But if we wanted to do anything beyond that, we had to get a job and pay for it ourselves. We were taught to save a portion of what we earned for future goals. They weren’t there to fund our lifestyle—they believed if we wanted something, we were old enough to work for it.
Gemma: So you were taught not to go for instant gratification, which is a lesson many could benefit from. Aside from managing money, what else did those early jobs teach you?
Erin: Just getting in and getting stuff done. Even that fish and chip shop job—you had to work the cash register, the fryer, wrap orders, take phone calls. At uni, during summer jobs, you worked as much as possible to avoid working during the academic year.
It taught me: doesn’t matter if it’s not your job—just get it done if it needs doing.
Gemma: I love that. It sounds like it was very fast-paced, which probably set you up quite well for your current career, sitting at the junction of technology and finance.
Erin: Very much so. Pepperstone is a global company with offices all over the world. We move at pace—both in terms of technology and client experience. Our goal is always to provide a premium client experience. There’s no slowing down.
I thrive in that environment—I love a bit of chaos. But you need resilience and an ability to take care of yourself. If you run a million miles an hour constantly, you’ll burn out.
Gemma: You also need resilience for your specific role—head of procurement and support for the entire company. Not for the faint-hearted!
Erin: No, it’s not! It requires negotiation, standing your ground, knowing your value. I learned a lot of that from my parents—both worked in banking. My mother was a mortgage broker, my dad in business banking. I saw a lot of relationship-building growing up.
That’s how I manage contracts and supplier relationships now. I can have hard conversations because there’s trust. I can say, “You’re not performing,” or “We need a better deal,” but we all walk away knowing it was respectful. That’s key—it’s about partnership.
Gemma: One company you’ve partnered with for a long time is Logicalis. Tell us about your initial involvement with them.
Erin: I worked with them five or six years ago, back when they were called Thomas Dureya, if I remember correctly. There wasn’t the same level of partnership then, but even at that point, they were responsive—which I respect. I move fast, and I need suppliers who do, too.
Since then, I’ve worked with them at several companies. At Pepperstone, I brought them in again. Depending on the company’s needs, they’ve done different things—but they’ve always stepped up. If I need help urgently, I know I can pick up the phone and they’ll respond.
To them, it’s not about today’s transaction—it’s about a five-year relationship. That aligns with my values.
Gemma: You’ve done extremely well already—head of procurement is a big job. Finance and tech are traditionally male-dominated industries. Has that helped or hindered you?
Erin: A bit of both. I’m not going to pretend there haven’t been times where I was selected over a male candidate to hit diversity targets. But I firmly believe I still had the right skills and experience.
There have been times where people assumed I was the team administrator or asked me to get coffee—even though I was one of the most senior people in the room.
Over time, I’ve learned to take up space. I’m not going to apologize for being there. If someone speaks over me, I’ll say, “Can you please let me finish?”
You can be professional, firm, and clear. But yes, it takes resilience. It’s not an everyday battle, but it does pop up regularly.
Gemma: Has that resilience and confidence developed over time?
Erin: Definitely. When I was younger, I didn’t think it was okay to ask questions. I didn’t think my opinions were as valuable. But I’ve got two very successful sisters, and we hype each other up. We remind each other: you were hired for a reason. You’re good at what you do. You have every right to be heard.
It’s like building a muscle—you have to be brave. Sometimes you feel sick after, but it gets easier. And I’ve never been accused of being unprofessional. When I stand my ground, people usually don’t do it again.
Gemma: It’s important for you to bring other women along with you.
Erin: 100%. A lot of what I do is about role-modelling. When younger women ask questions after meetings, I encourage them to speak up during the meeting instead.
Same with my friends—I tell them, “Ask for what you deserve. We deserve to be here. We deserve to be paid fairly.”
I’ll help in any way I can, but we all have to be a bit brave.
Gemma: It’s a big job, and there’s a mental load, not to mention the physicality of going to battle every day. How do you keep life in balance?
Erin: I move my body—that’s key. Whether it’s Pilates or weight training, it gets me out of my head. I focus on the numbers: “Only eight reps left, that’s a small number.” That mental shift gives my brain a break from work.
At this level, it’s hard to switch off—even on weekends. So having moments where I focus on something good for my body helps me stay balanced.
Gemma: It’s such a fascinating time in tech. AI has been the buzzword for a while now, and the pace keeps accelerating. What big developments do you see in tech and your role specifically?
Erin: AI is huge. It’s in every product in my ecosystem right now. But you really need to ask: what’s the actual value?
There’s a mad rush to market, but a lot of the tooling isn’t great—and it’s expensive. So my role is to ask: how are we going to use it? How do we enable our teams to get value from it? Because turning it on isn’t enough—people need to know how to use it.
In finance, there’s also crypto—how that plays out in the next few years will be big. Governments are still figuring out how to respond.
In procurement, there’s a real shift away from transactional relationships with suppliers.
Gemma: You’ve worked with Logicalis for years. Has it been the culture that’s endured, rather than just one-on-one relationships?
Erin: 100%. I value my account exec highly—we’ve worked together for years. But he’s brought in different team members over time, and they all show up with the same energy: “How can we help?”
No one says, “This is what we do—take it or leave it.” It’s always collaborative. That’s the consistent culture I see from Logicalis.
Gemma: Any projects you’ve worked on that made a big impression on you?
Erin: Recently we transitioned from one productivity suite to Microsoft. Those projects can drag on and be very disruptive without the right partner.
But with Logicalis, we did it in four months—which is almost unheard of. It went really well because they helped us buy only what we needed and made sure we were set up for success moving forward.
Gemma: Finally, for anyone struggling to get their voice heard or be taken seriously, what advice would you give?
Erin: First—ask questions. A lot of people don’t speak up because they’re not confident about the content. So get clear first.
Second—be brave. It feels scary, but nothing bad is going to happen if you’re respectful and polite. You were hired for a reason. You are skilled and experienced. It’s okay to show that off. Back yourself.
Gemma: Terrific advice to end on. Erin, thank you so much for coming into Game Changers today.
Erin: Thanks, Gemma.
