James Reynolds will become chief executive of specialist credit and political risk insurance broker BPL next year when the incumbent, Sian Aspinall, steps down for personal reasons.
Reynolds (pictured) is currently a co-deputy chief executive and will take on the role of chief operating officer between now and early 2026, BPL says.
Charlie Radcliffe, also co-deputy chief executive, will take on the role of chief commercial officer.
Aspinall intends to hand over leadership in the first quarter of 2026 due to “complex family health pressures” but will remain involved with BPL as a non-executive director.
Aspinall has been group chief executive since 2022, a period in which BPL nearly doubled its gross written premiums, the broker says, and secured a minority investment from Preservation Capital Partners.
“I am very proud of all that we have achieved together and am committed to supporting the company into this exciting new chapter with fresh investment and new leadership,” Aspinall says in a statement.
“The eventual transfer of the CEO role to James Reynolds has long been outlined in our succession plans – and in him we have exactly the type of leader that BPL deserves. The future is all to be made but the foundations are strong.”
Aspinall is a board member of industry group the International Trade and Forfaiting Association, and chair of its insurance committee. BPL says she played an important advocacy role during the development of the 2015 Insurance Act as well as recognition of credit insurance in capital requirements regulation.
“The impact that Sian has had on BPL and the CPRI [credit and political risk insurance] market cannot be overstated,” BPL chairman James Esdaile says. “On a personal note, we have worked very closely together over the past 10 years, and I have truly had a front row seat to how tirelessly she has worked to help make BPL what it is today. This has been alongside her efforts in putting aside competitive pressures to share intelligence and innovation across the market for the good of its collective development – and ultimately, the benefit of its clients.”
“She has our gratitude and of course, our full support as she dedicates this next phase to her family.”
