At its Annual General Meeting in London last week, the Association of Bridging Professionals announced its Chairman for 2016/17 and a new addition to the Executive Committee.

Russell Martin, Managing Director of Finance 4 Business, was welcomed by outgoing Chairman Rob Jupp as the new head of the Association. Rob, CEO of Brightstar, has served as Chairman since 2013 and has spearheaded progress in the way of education, compliance and lender-broker relations in the bridging market.

Speaking about his tenure as Chairman, Rob said: “I’ve really enjoyed my 30 months at the helm of the AOBP and am confident that I leave the Association in good health. Russell was the obvious choice as a successor and I know he will drive it on to even headier heights.”

Russell, a member of the EC since October 2012, had this to say about his new role: “I am delighted and honoured to be taking the reins as Chairman of the AOBP. The Association is going from strength to strength, reinforced by the excellent AGM last week which was a fitting send-off for Rob Jupp who has done a fantastic job during his tenure. With the support of an excellent Executive Committee I am confident I can add further value to the AOBP and continue to improve the value added to all members.”

At the AGM, held at the St Martins Lane Hotel on 11 November, Rob also announced his resignation from the Executive Committee and introduced Brightstar’s Director of Bridging, Kit Thompson, as his replacement on the board.

Kit commented: “I’m delighted to have been appointed to the AOBP EC and very much look forward to working alongside Russell Martin and the rest of the Committee to continue to support and add real value to both our broker and lender partners. Rob has done a great job over the past two years and Russ is the perfect chairman to move the Association forward to the next stage.”

The AGM hosted special guest and well-known entrepreneur Gerald Ratner as its keynote speaker.