Nuvei Voices: Meet Ashlee Avila

From supporting merchants on the front line to leading teams across multiple regions, Ashlee Avila has built her career at Nuvei by taking on new challenges, improving how her teams work, and creating an environment where people can thrive.

Based in Arizona, Ashlee leads Nuvei’s Merchant Support Contact Center and Case Management Support teams, helping merchants and U.S. Bronze Partners resolve technical issues, navigate operational challenges and keep their businesses moving.

Supporting merchants when it matters most

No two days look the same for Ashlee and her teams. Alongside coaching leaders and improving processes, they are often called upon to respond to unexpected technical issues and major incidents in real time.

“Being on the front line, every day can bring something completely unexpected. If a system goes down or merchants are experiencing issues, we have to respond in real time - and that’s what keeps the role so dynamic.”

By the time a merchant contacts the team, something important is often not working. Ashlee encourages her teams to look beyond the support case and recognise the person and business behind it.

“We have all experienced frustrating customer service ourselves, so I always encourage our teams to approach every interaction with empathy. Sometimes merchants simply need to know someone genuinely cares about helping them.”

For Ashlee, the most rewarding moments are those when the team can move someone from frustration to relief.

“At the end of the day, we are not just resolving support cases - we are helping people keep their businesses running.”

Growing by making an impact

Ashlee joined Nuvei as a Contact Center Supervisor with previous fintech experience, but payment processing was a new area for her. Since then, she has progressed into a management role by embracing new challenges, broadening her knowledge of the business and looking for opportunities to make a meaningful impact.

“I’ve never really focused on chasing the next title. Instead, I’ve focused on making an impact wherever I can.”

That mindset has led her to volunteer for unfamiliar projects, ask questions and take on challenges before feeling completely ready. Advice from a former leader - to “lose the pride” and not be afraid of looking foolish when learning something new - helped shape her approach.

“I genuinely love learning and believe life becomes boring if you stop growing. Every new project or challenge became an opportunity to develop myself.”

By continually stepping beyond her immediate responsibilities, Ashlee has expanded her knowledge of the business, strengthened her leadership skills and created new opportunities throughout her career at Nuvei.

Improving support through collaboration

One of Ashlee’s proudest achievements has been helping transform the way her team works and supports merchants.

By listening to the team, identifying areas of frustration and partnering with colleagues across the business, she helped streamline processes, introduce greater automation and reduce unnecessary manual work.

“These projects significantly improved efficiency, reduced manual work and created a better experience for both our team and our merchants.”

The experience also reinforced the importance of building strong relationships across an organisation. For Ashlee, those connections make it easier to bring together the right expertise and solve problems more effectively.

“You never know when a relationship you build today will help solve a problem tomorrow.”

Leading people as individuals

Ashlee describes herself as a people-first leader and a strong believer in servant leadership. Her aim is to ensure people feel supported, challenged and confident that their leader is invested in their success.

Leading teams across different locations, cultures and time zones has strengthened her belief that effective leadership cannot follow a single formula. Communication styles, expectations and ways of working vary, so leaders need to adapt their approach to the people they are supporting.

““I never want people to feel like they’re simply data on a spreadsheet. The best leaders don’t expect everyone to respond the same way - they adapt to the people they’re leading.”

For Ashlee, trust develops when people know their leader genuinely cares about them. Once that foundation is in place, teams feel more confident speaking up, taking ownership and embracing new challenges.

“At the end of the day, everyone wants to feel supported, valued and that their work matters.”

Creating a workplace where people feel connected

Ashlee has also brought her passion for engagement into the Contact Center. Early in her Nuvei career, she developed a departmental engagement plan that included mentorship opportunities, recognition programmes, roundtable discussions, leader office hours and a dedicated internal social channel celebrating team achievements and milestones.

“I wanted to create more opportunities for people to connect, feel recognised and know that their contributions mattered.”

That same energy is reflected in the Arizona office, where Ashlee is known as both the “office hugger” and the “Karaoke Queen.” She helps organise karaoke events throughout the year and enjoys creating opportunities for colleagues to connect beyond their day-to-day roles.

“There’s something really special about the Arizona office. People feel comfortable showing up as their authentic selves.”

Life beyond work

Outside of Nuvei, Ashlee’s greatest priority is spending time with her three children. Earlier experiences in her career changed her perspective on work-life balance and taught her to be more intentional about being present.

She is also passionate about health and fitness and enjoys writing, motivational speaking and what she calls “side quests” - unexpected adventures and opportunities to try something new.

And, of course, there is always karaoke. Her go-to artists are Jewel and Alanis Morissette, although she is beginning to add more country music to her repertoire.

For anyone interested in building a career in customer support operations, Ashlee’s advice is simple:

“Volunteer for projects. Raise your hand. Build relationships. Don’t wait until you feel completely ready, because more often than not, growth begins just outside your comfort zone.”

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