Paula Hawthorne ACII

Paula is an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Insurance and was previously a City loss adjuster and more recently worked at a Cambridge broker.

She has 15 years' experience in the industry, and particularly in claims and commercial broking.

Her private interests include music and being a "fair- weather" sailor.

Rachel Holmes ACII

Rachel , , , lsjkdfdlk;fopsej,,,, originally joined La Playa back in 2007 and returned to us in January 2011. Rachel has a law degree along with 11 years insurance experience at NFU Mutual, Smart & Cook and Hendersons. She’s also a county swimmer and half marathon runner and is a member of the La Playa walking club.

Catherine Lineham

With over 10 years insurance experience as both commercial underwriter and broker, Catherine spent seven years living and working in Spain in property. Catherine enjoys speaking (& learning!) Spanish, and regularly hits the gym.

Sonia Maio

After working on several key projects for La Playa we convinced Sonia to join us permanently in October 2008. Sonia comes from a commercial background with expertise in financial services.

A skilled seamstress - she can whip up a pair of curtains in a flash - Sonia is also something of an expert in Italian cuisine, growing her own herbs and tomatoes and cooking to her mother-in-law's traditional recipes.

She relaxes, albeit infrequently, with a really good book.

Tracey McCreath ACII

Tracey left the City to join us in September 2007 from Aon, where she advised businesses ranging from mid-sized to global on their insurance portfolios.

Tracey has nearly two decades' experience in insurance and spent a year as a Business Improvement Analyst.

She enjoys cooking, calligraphy, football, travel and cinema.

Mike Palmer Dip PFS

Mike joined La Playa in 2009 with more than 25 years experience in financial services, advising individuals and companies on a plethora of tax, investment and pension issues.

Heading up the new financial services arm, Mike takes a holistic approach to financial planning, providing a bespoke service for all his clients.

When Mike is not advising, he loves to travel with his family and especially enjoys visiting the Greek isles.

Laura Wellstead

Laura has 10 years’ experience of managing global insurance programmes, including 5 years at Marsh’s Media & Entertainment division. Passionate about high quality client service, regardless of company size, she relishes providing insurance solutions for the more ‘challenging’ entertainment risks. Laura loves shoes, wine and music – preferably in that order too.