Meet the team
CEO & Founder
Holly Mackay has been working in investment markets since 1998. She read Modern Languages at Oxford, with a special focus on Medieval French which was deeply interesting and arguably utterly useless. From 1998 – 2007, she worked in both Australia and the UK, for Big Global Investment Firms with Increasingly Important-Sounding Titles.
Likes: Time with her kids, red shoes, the sea, surfing, India and wine (not Indian wine).
Dislikes: Pompous bores, broken technology, laziness, the tube.
Least boring thing: Holly was in a stand-up comedy show at the Edinburgh Festival ages ago with people who are now much more famous than she is!
Research
Elwira Costello - Head of Research
Elwira started her adventures in market research almost 20 years ago, first in academia and then in the commercial world. She is a mixed methodology practitioner who loves helping her clients use insights to answer the ‘so what’ question. She started in a small consultancy where she learnt the ropes across all stages of a research project, moving on to specialise in finance and affluent audiences. She has been advising clients across retail and private banking, insurance, investments, and pensions.
Likes: spending time with her family, mystery books, football (Brentford fan and avid supporter of son’s youth team), good food and wine, and travelling
Dislikes: glass half empty people, rudeness, and cold weather
Least boring thing: did 3 months internship in EU office in Bursa (Turkey), finished the Young Diplomats Academy, and walked down the frozen Mississippi River in Minnesota while studying there
Georgiana Brown - Head of Bespoke Research and Advisory
Georgiana’s been in market research and consumer insight since 2010, with a focus on financial services - think pensions, banking, investments, and beyond. She even had a wild civil service stint during the COVID-19 response, and a role at an impact investment start-up, before finally landing at Boring Money.
Likes: Country walks, a west coast sunset, opera, good food and wine.
Dislikes: Fake news and post-truth, manspreading and mansplaining.
Least boring thing: Georgiana once got lost alone in the African bush and filmed documentary videos, to be found if she didn’t make it out alive…
Clare McCay - Research Director
Clare specialises in quantitative research, blending stats with behavioural psychology. She authored Boring Money’s Advice and Sustainable reports this year, and now helps clients navigate Consumer Duty. Her work dives deep into data, making complex findings understandable and actionable.
Likes: Yoga, Queer Eye, rosé de Provence.
Dislikes: Exercise that feels like exercise, psychological thrillers, £14 cocktails (love/hate relationship!).
Least boring thing: Travelled solo to explore the jungles, deserts and mountains of South and Central America.
Zoe Davies - Associate Director
Zoe is a mixed-methods researcher with particular experience in managing projects for financial services brands, including wealth managers, investment firms, banks and insurers. Most recently Zoe has spent time at a customer-centricity consultancy, helping brands to become more customer-centric through Closeness and Qualitative research methodologies.
Likes: Fitness, creating Spotify playlists, people watching.
Dislikes: Slow walkers, moths and narrow-mindedness.
Least boring thing: Zoe once rode a mountain bike down Death Road in Bolivia.
Mahdi Shabir - Lead Insight Analyst, CFA
Mahdi graduated from SOAS in 2019 with a first-class degree in Economics & Arabic. He started at Boring Money as a Research Analyst, diving into platform performance data and qualitative interviews and in 2024 he completed rigorous training to achieve his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter.
Likes: Lime-filled white chocolate lindt, Lebron James and Lord of the Rings.
Dislikes: Taking Ls, long lines and Liverpool's recent success.
Least boring thing: Mahdi has been blessed with the opportunity to successfully complete ‘the walk of the free’ twice.
Gaia Gambacciani - Research Manager
With a BSc in Psychology and an MSc in Finance, Gaia blends behavioural insight with financial savvy. At Boring Money, she explores how people make decisions and respond to their environment. Her fascination with markets and human quirks makes her a unique asset in decoding consumer behaviour and spotting emerging trends.
Likes: Running, Sun, Campari Spritz.
Dislikes: Running, Rain, Mint Chocolate.
Least boring thing: To complement her interest in human behaviour, Gaia is continuing her studies in Psychology while also participating in triathlon races here and there.
Aliz Gyenes - Research Manager
Aliz joined Boring Money after working in asset management research for institutional clients. She began as a survey analyst, mastering scripting and data analysis, before shifting to broader market research across platforms. Her main areas of expertise span insurance, pensions, alternatives, and the ESG landscape.
Likes: Bali, espresso martinis, espresso martinis in Bali.
Dislikes: Rain (chose the wrong place to live, I know!).
Least boring thing: Aliz has a black belt in karate!
Siân Hanson - Research Manager
After earning her BA in Political Science and French, Siân plunged into qualitative research - running interviews, focus groups, and ethnographies across finance, healthcare, and tech. Fascinated by how money shapes real lives, she pursued an MSc in Public Policy at Edinburgh before joining Boring Money to keep asking the big questions.
Likes: Travelling, reading, wool socks, Welsh cakes.
Dislikes: Any temperature above 25C, sauerkraut.
Least boring thing: Siân once rode a camel through (part of) the Sahara Desert!
Rebecca Edmonds - Project Manager
Rebecca has worked in market research since 2021, with a strong focus on qualitative methods. She specialises in participant recruitment, making sure each project captures diverse, relevant insights. Passionate about people and great conversations, she supports research that helps clients make smarter decisions and spark innovation - one carefully selected voice at a time.
Likes: Walks, travelling, theatre shows and baking.
Dislikes: Ketchup, TV and film spoilers and people who recline their seat all the way back on an airplane.
Least boring thing: Rebecca has completed the 5k, 10K and soon-to-be 15k tough mudder course.
Athena Peberdy - Senior Research Analyst
Athena graduated from the University of Glasgow in December 2022 with an MSc in Asset Pricing & Investment, after a complete switch-up from a BSc Hons in Chemistry. She then began her career in finance working for a VAT recovery company, where she was brutally introduced to the world of 9 to 5 - what a way to make a living!
Likes: Golden retrievers, pineapple on pizza, astrophysics, and crime thriller TV shows.
Dislikes: Dragonflies, pigeons, seaweed at the beach, and people who always skip songs halfway through.
Least boring thing: Athena summited Mount Kinabalu on a school trip to Borneo, with blue lips, after developing altitude sickness during the trek.
John Keon - Senior Research Manager
Graduated in Economics & History from the National University of Ireland, Galway before moving to London, and has been working in market research for just under 9 years. Most of that time has been spent in financial services, with a brief detour into FMCG brand tracking. He is particularly interested in what drives people’s decisions.
Likes: reading, outdoor activities, general exercise, gaming, film and tv, football, experiencing different cultures, bridges, pubs with live music
Dislikes: Lisbon Airport, groups of people taking up the whole footpath, misinformation
Least boring thing: Had an Indian wedding, ran a marathon in Florence
George Watson - Research Manager
George specialises in quantitative research, with four years experience simplifying complex data into actionable insights for clients in the investment and FMCG sector. An ever-curious Psychology graduate, George is a strong advocate for behavioural science in finance, and is training towards his Level 4 Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning.
Likes :Football, Fitness, Festivals, Music and the Outdoors!
Dislikes: Spiders, VAR, Arsenal-induced heart attacks every Spring
Least Boring Thing: George once climbed Snowdon during a yellow weather warning (and will never do so again)
Marketing & Customer Solutions
Melina Konstantinidi - Head of Growth
Melina started off in the world of journalism and the winding paths of life led her to the challenging and exciting world of retail. The roles she was employed in tapped into the 360 life-cycle of products. This has given her understanding of the challenges that come along the way to compromise customer experience. Her mission to solve them! She has now decided to take that knowledge and apply it to enhancing the customer experience of a different product, one that makes a real difference to people’s lives at Boring Money.
Likes: Home, the people in her life, The Good Life in general, nature (especially the sea) and her cats.
Dislikes: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome, nasty people.
Least boring thing: Ohhhhh Melina's boring we’re afraid but you can hear her coming a mile away as she is so insanely loud so runnnnn!
Veronica Delirio - Lead Growth Marketing Manager
Having graduated in Italy with a master's degree in Literature, Veronica worked as a Humanities teacher before switching her career into Marketing, a field she could put creativity, communication skills, and analytical abilities to good use. Before joining Boring Money, she worked in the investment industry and for a technology company.
Likes: TV series, podcasts, stationery, plants, Medieval art, gelato.
Dislikes: Pineapple and chicken on pizza, rudeness, coffee, cockroaches, awkward silences, mugs that get too hot in the microwave.
Least boring thing: Completed an overnight 26 mile walk with a group of friends supporting a national charity!
Alex Algara - Digital Marketing Manager
Alex came to England 6 years ago from Barcelona, Spain. He graduated in Business Management and Administration at Pompeu Fabra University in 2013. In 2015 he studied a masters in Strategic Sales and Marketing Management at University of Barcelona. He's got 4 years experience working in B2B and B2C Marketing. Alex has a real interest in developing his career in Finance after his last experience with Zurich Insurance UK.
Likes: TV and cinema, running, eating all types of food (with special interest in McDonald's) and travelling around the world.
Dislikes: Rudeness, face masks whilst wearing glasses and green beans.
Least boring thing: Alex went to the Dominican Republic in 2020 to find his dad's side family that he left 50 years ago. Luckily, Alex found them and managed to reunite them after all these years.
Elisabeth Hall - Content Marketing Manager
After finishing her studies in Multimedia Broadcast Journalism and Creative Writing, Lisa went on to recruit creatives across design, video and copy. Whilst there, she decided she wanted to be the creative herself. Now, Lisa is a multifaceted content creator, using her passion for journalistic accuracy and her love for storytelling to help uncomplicate content for customers and clients alike.
Likes: Jellycats, The Lake District, Lego, and Horrible Histories.
Dislikes: Pickles, spiders, spirit drinks, and inclines.
Least boring thing: Lisa played the main role in a school production of Shrek when she was 12.
Molly McKinnel - Insights Communication Manager
Molly's background is in corporate communications, helping clients including Tesco, Aviva, and M&G tell their stories to investors and key audiences through their annual and sustainability reports. She has also written for GoFundYourself - an online community that provides readers and followers with useful information across lifestyle, career, and money. She has a degree in History from Bristol and has never known quite what she wanted to do, but is incensed by the prevalence of financial illiteracy and is excited to play a small part in changing that.
Likes: her family and friends, the sea, most forms of exercise, Perello olives
Dislikes: pushy crowds, snails eating her tomato plants
Least boring thing: she ran a 50km trail race last year (and won't be doing it again)
Commercial
Mikhail Ismail - Commercial Marketing Director
Mikhail started out as an investment analyst before crossing over to marketing and comms for asset managers and investment solutions providers. During his post grad he worked as a project manager for start ups in media production before returning to financial services. He oversees marketing strategies and execution across Boring Money's B2C and B2B arms.
Likes: Sarcasm.
Dislikes: Sarcasm.
Least boring thing: During a prolonged stint as child stunt performer, Mikhail found a niche playing fantasy creatures and feral children.
Dan Jefferson - Head of Sales & Industry Relations
Dan has worked in advertising for over 30 years. Before Boring Money, he worked at Interactive Investor, Prospect magazine, 14 years in Contract Publishing, The Daily Star, Gruner & Jahr, IPC magazines and DMG. A keen historian who will recount various relatives having their heads cut off during the Jacobean Revolt, or perhaps how he is distantly related to Arthur Stanley Laurel Jefferson. The trick is don’t get him started.
Likes: Vinyl and mixology (latter can also be cocktails), rugby (proper sport), drinking beer, anything that’s fun or making things not fun, fun.
Dislikes: Anything that’s not fun.
Least boring thing: Started to climb Pico Humboldt in the Andes after drinking 9 beers and at 4pm, DJ’ed as a warm up for Whigfield’s Saturday Night (awful). Has been to Space Ibiza and the Hacienda!
Hollie Till - Sales and Commercial Executive
Over the last 5 years, Hollie has worked as a personal assistant at St. James’s Place and in Project Administration for a global Electrical Engineering firm, working with companies such as NASA & Rolls-Royce before finding Boring Money.
With years of experience within client facing roles, Hollie’s focus is on supporting strong client relationships and delivering value in every client interaction.
Likes: sunsets, hiking, chocolate, pretty much all genres of music & festivals
Dislikes: artists being late to their own performance & salad cream
Least boring thing: I can leg press 350KG
Tech & Data Insights
Matt Jacobs - Head of Development
Matt started work at BT developing applications to locate telephone cables over 20 years ago. The excitement was too much so he moved into digital/web development and have worked for a variety of different brands from Sainsbury's to Nike, as both a developer, and in more recent years, a manager of developers. Technology doesn’t have to be difficult. Matt's a pragmatist and just likes to get things done.
Likes: Football (West Ham), 80’s action movies, my mad Schnauzer, good coffee.
Dislikes: Bad coffee, The Only Way is Essex – in fact all Z list celebrity, real life programs, the Tube.
Least boring thing: His dogs.
Chris Johnston - Senior Front End Engineer
Having originally graduated with an International Politics degree and deciding a career within politics was not for him, Chris eventually found his passion coding interactive and modern user interfaces. Before Boring Money, Chris worked at a few different places, ranging from a trade association for companies that supply the Royals to a pension scheme.
Likes: Classic cocktails, HBO dramas, dogs.
Dislikes: Oxford Street on weekends, Microsoft Excel, e-waste.
Least boring thing: Being an accidental extra in the Alan Partridge movie.
Atanas Nikolaev - Data Manager
Atanas discovered his love for data and research at Bournemouth University, trading his PT career for the thrill of insights and creative thinking. Since then, he’s worked across sectors including leisure, housing, not-for-profits, and government. He’s happiest when turning raw numbers into smart stories that actually mean something.
Likes: A challenge, fitness, coffee, travelling, data, humour, books.
Dislikes: Doing things for the sake of doing things, meetings that could have been emails, running, small talk.
Least boring thing: On a trip to Zanzibar the locals offered Nas barter – 50 cows for his girlfriend...