Bridgeport Search

Bridgeport Search is a boutique executive search firm focused on senior leadership appointments in Marine Insurance and Shipping Finance.

We deliver discreet Executive Search and Specialist Search mandates at C-suite and senior functional level, working with boards and executive teams where leadership decisions carry long-term capital and institutional consequence.

Our focus is deliberate. Marine insurance and shipping finance sit at the centre of risk and capital management within maritime. Appointments in these environments require deep sector understanding and careful evaluation, not just process.

Focus by Design

Bridgeport operates selectively, working on a limited number of concurrent mandates.

We prioritise depth over volume, long-term relationships over transactional placement, and considered evaluation over speed alone. Our work is research-led and relationship-driven, grounded in active engagement across major maritime hubs.

Our sector focus allows us to provide informed benchmarking and succession perspective beyond a single mandate.

Founder

Bridgeport Search was founded by Paul Ratcliffe.

Over more than a decade operating within maritime, insurance and finance markets, the firm has delivered senior leadership search across major international maritime and financial centres.

Paul has spent over 20 years delivering executive search and senior leadership recruitment, including 16 years focused within maritime markets across marine insurance, shipping and maritime finance. Over that time, he has built long-standing relationships with shipowning platforms, marine insurers, brokers and maritime finance institutions across Europe and Asia.

His work has centred on leadership appointments where judgement, risk oversight and capital allocation are critical – including C-suite, divisional and senior functional roles across underwriting, claims, legal, treasury, corporate finance and financial control.

Bridgeport represents a deliberate shift toward deeper sector focus and more selective senior mandates.

London-Based, International in Reach

Bridgeport is based in London, operating globally across established maritime and financial centres including London, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai and key European hubs.

We serve institutions that operate across jurisdictions and funding structures, where insurance and finance leadership must balance regulatory discipline, capital exposure and operational complexity.

Our network is international, but our positioning remains anchored in the institutional traditions of London’s maritime and financial markets.

Our Approach

Senior appointments in marine insurance and shipping finance are rarely standalone hiring decisions. They are often connected to succession depth, capital strategy, regulatory pressure or structural evolution.

We approach each mandate with structured market mapping, calibrated assessment and discreet engagement of individuals who are frequently not active participants in the recruitment market.

We work quietly and deliberately, recognising that many of the conversations we are entrusted with are sensitive in nature.

Bridgeport Search operates at the intersection of marine insurance and shipping finance leadership, serving boards and senior executives where decisions shape capital protection, risk oversight and long-term institutional stability.