Lefteris Karachalias
About Lefteris Karachalias
Lefteris Karachalias is a Data Scientist with extensive experience in financial crime analytics and machine learning. He currently leads a team of Fincrime Data Scientists at Starling Bank and has previously held roles at various organizations, including the Office for National Statistics and the Department for Work and Pensions.
Work at Starling Bank
Lefteris Karachalias currently serves as a Data Scientist at Starling Bank, a position he has held since 2020. In this role, he leads a team of Fincrime Data Scientists, focusing on financial crime strategy, data science, and analytics. His responsibilities include conceptualizing and building machine learning pipelines for various financial crime typologies. Additionally, he has developed a Python package that emphasizes financial crime detection, AutoML, AI fairness, and explainability.
Previous Experience in Data Science
Before joining Starling Bank, Lefteris Karachalias worked as a Senior Data Scientist at the Office for National Statistics from 2018 to 2020. He also held the position of Operational Research Analyst at the Department for Work and Pensions from 2015 to 2018. His early career included a research internship at SCK-CEN Belgian Nuclear Research Center in 2013, where he focused on radiation protection.
Sales and Advisory Roles
Lefteris Karachalias has experience in sales advisory roles, having worked at Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation and OTEplus between 2007 and 2011. These positions involved direct customer interaction and sales strategy implementation. His diverse background in sales complements his analytical skills in data science and financial crime.
Education and Expertise
Lefteris Karachalias holds multiple degrees in engineering. He earned a Master of Science in Nuclear Energy Engineering from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, studying from 2011 to 2013. He also completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Electrical & Computer Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens. His educational background provides a strong foundation for his work in data science and analytics.