Pensions and SIPP consultancy Barnett Waddingham has promoted Nick Cooper to be CEO of BW SIPP, as the business says it enters a new phase focused on market growth.

Mr Cooper, currently head of SIPP proposition at BW SIPP, will replace Simon Foster ahead of his retirement later this year.

The firm said the appointment follows a carefully planned leadership transition from ensuring continuity of strategy while bringing fresh commercial focus to the business.

Mr Cooper has more than three decades of experience across the SIPP and Master Trust markets, including international experience.

During his time at BW, he has been involved in the business transformation, playing a key role in developing the new SIPP360 platform – a cloud-based SIPP administration solution.

Before joining BW, Mr Cooper held senior roles at firms such as Aviva, Zurich and Clerical Medical, developing retirement propositions and managing strategic partnerships.

He also played a key role in the development of Embark Group's SIPP proposition for digital wealth platforms and spent three years as head of master trust proposition for XPS and SEI.

Mr Cooper said: "Having helped shape strategy and delivery over the past year, I can clearly see how well placed the business is competitively with significant opportunities ahead.”

Scott Eason, managing partner for wider areas, Barnett Waddingham, said: "Nick's appointment represents the natural evolution of our SIPP leadership. He combines deep market expertise with direct involvement in our transformation journey.

"His proven strengths in growth strategy, commercial delivery, and people leadership make him the ideal person to lead as we enter our growth phase.”

He thanked Simon Foster for “his contribution to BW SIPP's transformation and strengthened operational performance."

Barnett Waddingham is a UK consultancy involved in risk, pensions, investment, and insurance. It has 1,790 staff, 99 of whom are partners, based across ten offices nationwide: Amersham, Birmingham, Bristol, Cheltenham, Glasgow, Guildford, Leeds, Liverpool, London, and Manchester. 

Barnett Waddingham was acquired by insurance intermediary and benefits firm Howden for an undisclosed sum in March.

Howden was founded in 1994 and provides insurance broking, reinsurance broking and underwriting to clients ranging from individuals to the largest multinational companies. The group operates in 55 countries across Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, the USA, Australia and New Zealand, employing 20,000 people and handling $44.7bn of premium on behalf of clients.