Directors
Shaun Leach
Director
Email: accounts@acastaeurope.co.uk
Shaun has worked in Finance since graduating 16 years ago, working across various industries. Notably within the cosmetic surgery industry, during which time he became a Chartered Accountant after completing CIMA, following on from AAT. Shaun’s worked in the insurance industry for the last five years, gaining experience managing a Finance team predominantly in ATE insurance. Having started with Acasta a year ago as Financial Controller, Shaun has now taken up the role of Director. He’s looking forward to the continuing management and development of the Finance team and driving the continued success of the company with the established Board.
Data and Underwriters
Lloyd Taylor
Head of Pricing and Data
Email: data@acastaeurope.co.uk
Lloyd has worked in various data science and analytical roles for the last 8 years after completing a BSc in Mathematics and an MSc in Actuarial Finance. For the last 3 years, Lloyd has led the Car and Van Pricing team at one of the UK’s major insurance companies. Recently joining as the Head of Pricing and Data, Lloyd will be applying his skills to price new opportunities and support other members of the data team.
Andreas Levendi
Data Analyst
Email: data@acastaeurope.co.uk
Andreas joined the team as a Junior Data Analyst in 2021 after graduating from Manchester Metropolitan University with a bachelor’s degree in Financial Mathematics. He has since been promoted to Data Analyst. Amongst his other responsibilities, he mentors other professionals within the team, providing invaluable support to the company.
Thomas Reid
Underwriter
Email: underwriting@acastaeurope.co.uk
Tom joined Acasta in early 2023 as a Level 2 Underwriter. After coming from a background working within the claims management sector, he joined Acasta to develop his underwriting and risk management skills and gain valuable experience within the financial services industry.
Muhammad Ayaz
Underwriter
Email: underwriting@acastaeurope.co.uk
Muhammad joined the Acasta team in early 2023, bringing with him an adept and innovative approach to the Underwriting department. After graduating from the University of Leicester with a degree in Maths, he has been able to apply his various expertise in sales and Microsoft Excel to his work here at Acasta and has a keen eye for detail. His work currently involves assessing current and new brokers’ performances and offering appropriate advice for the brokers and the company.
With an aspiration for sustainability and helping the world be more eco-friendly, he is also eager to assist with the company’s desire to lower carbon emissions and eventually, carbon neutrality.
Product Analysts
Lauren Souness
Head of Products
Email: products@acastaeurope.co.uk
Lauren has worked in the motor sales industry for over 6 years and has recently joined the Acasta team as the Underwriting Team Leader. Lauren is excited to develop her knowledge of underwriting and broaden her expertise within the insurance sector. As Underwriting Team Leader, Lauren is responsible for the management of the underwriting department along with ensuring that products are in line with regulatory requirements, observing market trends and assessing and analysing potential risks.
Bilal Iqbal
Product Analyst
Email: products@acastaeurope.co.uk
Bilal initially joined Acasta in 2022 as an auditor after graduating from Manchester Metropolitan University with a degree in Law. He has a strong legal background, with experience in dealing with small-track claims. Bilal recently joined the underwriting team as a product analyst, where he will be liaising with brokers and to participate in product development.
Mackenzie Smith
Product Analyst
Email: products@acastaeurope.co.uk
Mackenzie joined our Insurance Trainee Programme in September 2023, to fully explore the insurance underwriting sector and find his ideal role. Since then he has found a calling for Underwriting and has joined the Underwriting department as a Level 1 Underwriter. Mackenzie will be supporting the department in maintaining broker relationships and broadening his own skill set.
Emmanuel Ukasoanya
Product Analyst
Email: products@acastaeurope.co.uk
Emmanuel joined Acasta as a Product Analyst, bringing almost two years of experience from CarFinance 247, where he worked as a FOS Complaint Handler. During this time, he developed strong analytical, problem-solving, and customer-focused skills while handling complex financial complaints and ensuring fair outcomes.
Emmanuel also holds a Master’s degree in International Management, providing him with a solid understanding of business strategy, operations, and organisational management.
As a Product Analyst, Emmanuel supports the Product Team by assisting with product development, analysing market trends, reviewing product performance, and helping to ensure products continue to meet customer needs and regulatory requirements.
Compliance
Rebecca Macfadyen
Head of Compliance & Data Protection Officer
Email: compliance@acastaeurope.co.uk
Rebecca joined us with 10+ years in the Consumer Credit and Insurance Financial Services industry, working for a variety of small-medium sized general insurance, credit broking and credit lending firms across the North-West. Additionally, Rebecca has worked as a specialist in FCA Regulatory Compliance for 8+ years, which started with Second Line Compliance Monitoring. At Acasta, Rebecca will be responsible for overseeing the Compliance team, ensuring Acasta’s compliance with all relevant laws, regulations, and industry standards in the insurance sector. Rebecca is excited to be supporting the growth of Acasta through the ongoing development of the Compliance function in line with the business trajectory.
Sabah Ali
Compliance Advisory Manager
Email: compliance@acastaeurope.co.uk
Sabah joined Acasta Europe in 2022, following her graduation in Law from Lancaster University. With a solid legal foundation, she quickly became an essential part of the team. Initially serving as Compliance Support, she led significant projects including onboarding due diligence and the development of Compliance Plans. Her efforts and expertise led to her promotion to Compliance Advisory Officer, where she continues to offer expert compliance guidance to the team.
Shane Fulham
Compliance & Legal Oversight Officer
Email: compliance@acastaeurope.co.uk
Shane joined us with extensive experience in legal, claims, and compliance oversight functions within regulated environments. Throughout his career, he has developed expertise in litigation support, contract review, investigations, evidence analysis, claims management, and regulatory compliance. Shane has worked closely with internal and external stakeholders to manage legal and regulatory risks, support governance frameworks, and ensure adherence to applicable laws, regulations, and internal policies. At Acasta, Shane supports the oversight of the third-party claims handlers, expressing his legal, regulatory, and governance experience across matters for the business. Helping to maintain robust controls, promote fair customer outcomes, and strengthen the firm’s compliance framework as it continues to grow.
Harry Tomlinson
Compliance Officer
Email: compliance@acastaeurope.co.uk
Harry recently transitioned from the Underwriting department to the compliance team, where he will develop and implement policies to ensure product compliance with legal and regulatory standards. In this role, He will conduct monitoring reviews, collaborate with agents to resolve non-compliance issues, and support the onboarding of new agents through due diligence.
Harry will assist the Head of Compliance in establishing regulatory standards and maintaining accurate records for audits and inspections. Additionally, he will help manage the compliance and complaints inbox to ensure smooth communication within the team.
Operations
Ahmad Raza
Systems and Operations Coordinator
Email: info@acastaeurope.co.uk
Ahmad completed an apprenticeship in Software Development in 2019 before moving onto a full-time role as a junior developer where he worked with C# programming and succeeded in getting his ISTQB Foundation certificate. After that, he moved on to working for Flowbird as a test engineer to widen his knowledge and experience before finally arriving at Acasta as the operations and systems coordinator and is looking forward to the new challenges and experience this role has to offer.
Accounts
Tracy Evans
Assistant Financial Accountant
Email: accounts@acastaeurope.co.uk
Tracy joined the Acasta team in 2018. Since gaining her AAT qualification Tracy has worked in finance for over 30 years. She has worked in several different industries and has experience in all aspects of accounts. Tracy works closely with the financial controller looking after the company accounts.
Charlotte Banski-Grayson
Assistant Financial Accountant
Email: accounts@acastaeurope.co.uk
Charlotte joined us in May 2021. She will work within the finance team looking after the company accounts. She has worked in finance for the last 14 years for a Legal Expenses Insurance company where she studied AAT and looks forward to using her experience here at Acasta.
James Bidmead
Client Account Manager
Email: accounts@acastaeurope.co.uk
James joined Acasta in September 2020 as part of the Accounts team, to focus on the running of client accounts. James has experience working within an accounts capacity in the insurance field having previously worked at an Insurance Brokerage for 8 years. He’s gained knowledge of a variety of general insurance products and is looking forward to applying that experience to his role at Acasta.