James Kennedy is a principal in Vanbridge’s New York office focused on assisting Private Equity Firms & Family Offices with insurance due diligence, transaction advisory, and overall risk management needs.

Before joining Vanbridge, James was employed by Stephens Inc. one of the largest privately-held investment banks based in North America. James served as SVP & co-head of the Private Equity and Mergers + Acquisitions Insurance practice, working with financial sponsors, family offices and strategics on due diligence, placement, and execution of insurance-related matters. Prior to Stephens Inc. James served in a similar capacity with McGriff, Seibels & Williams.

James is a recipient of the M&A Advisor’s Emerging Leaders Award (Service Provider ‘19) and the highly selective Lloyds Global Development Programme Andrew Beazley Broker Academy (London ‘15). James graduated with a BA from Hampden Sydney College and has served on the Advisory Committee for Indian Mountain School in Lakeville, Connecticut since 2014.