Meridian Finance Group, a Texel company, announced changes in the leadership of the Texel Group in the U.S., effective Jan. 1.

"As we move into the new year, I am pleased to announce a number of changes in the leadership of the Texel Group in the USA, effective at the beginning of this year," said Ben Roberts, President Meridian and Texel Americas.

The company welcomes James Tiarks as the new Managing Director of Meridian Finance Group, heading the team based in its Los Angeles, CA, office. He comes from Texel Asia in Singapore where he has worked for over six years supporting banking and corporate clients in the Asian and Australian markets.

"We are very excited that someone of James’s background will be leading the Meridian team going forward, and it won’t be too much of a culture shock as James has previously spent a lot of time in the United States."

With Tiarks' appointment, Meridian’s founder Gary Mendell steps into the role of Executive Chairman, supporting Tiarks and the team as Meridian enters its next chapter.

"I cannot do justice in a few words to the job Gary has done over the years leading Meridian. We are grateful that we will continue to have his experience and input," Roberts said.

Roberts has assumed the role of President of Meridian in addition to already holding that position at Texel Americas, the company's specialty lines business based in New York.

Having joined the Texel Group in 2017, Meridian aims to be the leading specialist trade credit insurance broker in the U.S. market.

"With the changes outlined during 2022, we will keep evolving and look forward to supporting our clients, collaborating with our partners, forming new relationships, and elevating the trade credit insurance industry," Roberts said.

On the Texel Americas side, the team is joined by Anna Rogers, who is relocating from Texel’s London office to New York to work on its growing team there. Rogers has been with Texel for over four years and brings a great amount of experience and enthusiasm to working with financial institutions and placing credit insurance with underwriters in the market.

Texel Americas works with commercial and specialized financial institutions, as well as development banks, using credit insurance to support their lending activities. The company also brokers coverage for commodity traders and corporates that utilize credit insurance and political risk insurance.