James Beedle

I started my journey at York in 1987 and completed a degree in Economics whilst part of Goodricke College.  Returning to my home in London following my time in York, I commenced my career in the reinsurance industry in September 1990 with Willis Reinsurance, which as Willis Re later became part of Willis Towers Watson.  In 1992 there was an opportunity to work in the Sydney office and having accepted the role, I embarked upon my career journey across Asia Pacific.  Despite only planning to stay in Australia for a few years, I ended up living and working in Sydney until 2010 by which stage I was Deputy Managing Director.  In 2010 I moved to Japan as CEO Willis Re Japan, and whilst based in Tokyo, had responsibility for Willis Re’s Japanese property and casualty portfolio, a role I held until moving to Singapore in June 2012 as Senior Managing Director, Willis Re Asia.  After some 26 years with Willis Re, in 2016 I was approached to move from broking to underwriting, and accepted the position of CEO, Asia Pacific P&C and CEO, Partner Reinsurance Asia and in 2019, I was appointed to the Group Executive Leadership Team.  In addition to my degree in economics from York University, I am a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, serve on the Executive Committee of the Singapore Reinsurance Association and a Board Member of the Singapore College of Insurance

My career journey was significantly influenced by my time at York.  Not only did it provide me with a world class education, it opened my eyes to the possibility of working overseas.  Had it not been for my time at York my career choices may have been very different, and for that reason I have always been interested in how I could give back to both the students at York and the alumni community which exists around the world.  The Alumni Advisory Board is an exciting opportunity to continue to build the lifelong connection with the University of York beyond the time spent studying there and I hope to be able to provide some perspective as someone who has lived away from the UK from the time I graduated but at the same time, maintained a strong and ongoing connection.