This year, our Head of client management, Sally Owen, celebrates her 15th anniversary with Acquis. To mark this milestone, we sat down with Sally to talk about her time at Acquis, how she’s seen her role evolve and what she loves about working with our clients.

 

Congratulations on your 15-year anniversary Sally! With such career history and experience at Acquis, what has been key to developing your career here?
The key has been the variety and the challenges that come with the role, along with the opportunity to work alongside such a supportive team. No two days are the same, whether it’s problem-solving for clients, refining internal processes, or exploring new ways of working. I genuinely enjoy seeing the positive impact Acquis has, not just for our clients, but also for their customers and our own teams. The collaborative culture is something I really value, we’re encouraged to share ideas, innovate, and continuously improve.

How has your role evolved during your time at Acquis?
When I first joined, Acquis was essentially a start-up, we didn’t yet have a live client and were focused on making an imprint on the UK market. My role was primarily in customer service and claims, supporting the early, foundational aspects of the business. Since then, we’ve grown beyond all recognition and have live client programmes across 2 continents, 17 different countries and are partnering with over 130 leading brands in asset finance. Such significant success within a decade and a half has perhaps out-performed my original expectations but it’s been such a fantastic experience for me, to be part of that story.

As the business has expanded, so has my role – it’s shifted from what was originally a role focussed on establishing processes and delivering  operational efficiencies, to one that is client-need oriented, focussed on building successful partnerships. Today, I’m involved in shaping long-term client strategies, supporting international growth, and helping to refine and scale our processes to meet the needs of an increasingly complex and global market. The detailed knowledge I developed early in my career at Acquis in the operational aspects of the business has gone a long way to helping me successfully support clients in meeting their objectives today.

From your perspective, what makes Acquis different?
It’s the unique combination of deep expertise, flexibility, and genuine partnership, which I believe you can’t find elsewhere. In those early foundational days I was just describing, we chose to specialise in insurance for asset finance and have remained dedicated to the leasing industry, and because of that we have developed unrivalled knowledge of what works for this market.  We don’t offer a one-size-fits-all solution, we take the time to understand each client’s business and tailor our approach accordingly. That personalised, collaborative way of working, based on deep sector knowledge, is something clients really value.

It’s clear that you aim to go above and beyond to help clients achieve their objectives. How does Acquis approach this challenge and what real value are you adding for clients ?
I think from the start of every client partnership, we set out to do more than simply provide insurance coverage for equipment. From the design of our insurance product, which is purpose built for leased equipment, to the continual investment we make in process improvement to ensure the best possible customer journey, we really do seek to add value to our clients in everything we do.

We run the programme on our own software platform which is managed by our team of in-house developers, which my team works closely with to ensure we’re supporting our clients. This gives us an added advantage in that we can quickly and efficiently respond to client needs and provide a best-fit solution for their business. It also means we have access to data and reporting that our clients tell us gives them invaluable insight into portfolio performance.

The knowledge we’ve built up over the last 15 years of running hundreds of insurance programmes means that we can offer our clients optimised pricing models that deliver high performance and confidence about the revenues a programme will generate.

And of course, another significant value-add comes from the fact that we handle all the end-to-end insurance servicing on behalf of our clients. In doing so we remove any administrative or operational burden, and free their teams to focus on the finance, knowing that their portfolios are secure.

What’s the most rewarding part of working with clients and seeing the impact Acquis can have on their success?
Often it’s being seen as more than just a supplier, but as a true partner. Knowing that we help relieve the administrative burden, enhance the customer journey, and enable our clients to focus on their core business while we manage the detail is incredibly rewarding. When clients share how our support has improved their efficiency and helped increase profit margins, it really reinforces the value of what we do.

Building strong working relationships is key to your role. What’s your approach to building trust and partnerships that last?
Trust starts with listening. Taking the time to understand a client’s unique challenges and priorities, I focus on being reliable, transparent, and proactive. I also believe in regular, open communication, it builds credibility and allows us to adapt quickly as our clients’ needs evolve.

Can you share an example of where Acquis’ approach made a real difference to a client’s business?
A recent example springs to mind. This was something we uncovered during a routine portfolio analysis, an exercise we conduct regularly to ensure the performance of our insurance programmes remains optimised. During the analysis identified a specific area of the client’s business that had been unintentionally excluded from the Acquis programme. After working closely with them to assess the opportunity, we were able to include this segment in the programme, ensuring more comprehensive coverage. As a result, the client saw a significant revenue boost. It’s a great example of how our proactive, data-led approach can uncover hidden opportunities and deliver real, measurable value.

The leasing and finance industries have changed a lot in recent years. What trends are you seeing, and how is Acquis helping clients adapt?
There’s been a noticeable shift towards digitalisation, tighter regulation, and increased expectations from end customers. Clients are looking for partners who can not only keep up with these changes but help them stay ahead. At Acquis, we’re continually investing in technology, building more flexible solutions, and ensuring our programmes meet the highest standards of governance and service delivery.

Looking ahead, what excites you most about where Acquis and the industry are heading?
I’m excited about the continued innovation in both technology and customer engagement. For Acquis, it’s about staying at the forefront, evolving with the market, expanding our global footprint, and finding new ways to add value for our clients. Even after 15 years, it still feels like a journey and one I’m proud to be part of.