LONDON, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Aon plc
(NYSE:AON), the leading global professional services firm providing
a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, has
announced that Eric Andersen, Chief
Executive Officer of Aon Benfield,
and Michael O'Connor, Chief
Executive Officer of Aon Risk Solutions, have been appointed
Co-Presidents of the firm, effective immediately. As co-presidents,
O'Connor and Andersen will continue to report to Aon's Chief
Executive Officer, Greg Case, whose
contract was recently extended by the Board of Directors until
April of 2023.
Aon also announced it will retire the firm's remaining business
unit brands – Aon Risk Solutions and Aon
Benfield, which follows the retirement of the Aon Hewitt
business unit brand in 2017 – and create an integrated global
Operating Committee, co-led by Andersen and O'Connor. Both moves
are designed to increase the rate of innovation across the firm and
make it easier for colleagues to work together to bring the best of
Aon to clients.
Aon previously announced a single P&L structure, which is
part of an ongoing effort to increase colleague connectivity and
accelerate reinvestment in innovation that serves clients. That
effort is overseen by Aon's global CFO Christa Davies, whose contract was also recently
extended by the Board of Directors until April of 2023.
"Aon's evolution into a leading global professional services
firm has been driven by the tireless efforts of colleagues to work
across our portfolio to deliver the best advice and solutions to
clients," said Aon CEO, Greg Case.
"This announcement recognizes those efforts and takes steps to
remove structural barriers so that we can innovate new sources of
value and realize the full potential of our firm."
Case added, "The appointment of Mike and Eric as co-presidents
reflects the enormous contributions that they have made to the
ongoing success of our firm. Both have proven track records and
have played critical leadership roles across Aon, ensuring that
they understand the breadth of our capabilities and how to bring
them together to best serve our clients."
"I've worked side-by-side with Mike for the better part of a
decade and am excited by the opportunity to continue that
partnership in this new role," said Eric
Andersen. "As much success as Aon has enjoyed, I believe
that we have only just begun to realize our potential. By working
together more closely, we can create more value for clients and
exciting new opportunities for colleagues."
Mike O'Connor added, "I look
forward to taking on this broader role and am energized by the idea
of doing so with Eric. Our new global operating committee has an
opportunity to further unite the business in a way that makes the
whole of Aon greater than the sum of its parts. In doing so, we can
bring our best to clients and deliver on the full potential of our
integrated firm."
Case concluded, "By almost any measure, Aon has never been
stronger or better positioned in the marketplace. That strength
comes from the depth of our senior leadership team. I'm grateful to
them for their support of these decisions and for agreeing to take
on additional responsibilities. Our other exceptional solution line
leaders, Cary Grace, CEO of
Retirement Solutions, and John Zern,
CEO of Health Solutions, as well as our Chief Operations Officer,
John Bruno, will each add
substantially to their remit."
"Cary Grace will now be
responsible for Global M&A Integration in addition to her
global leadership of Retirement Solutions, reinforcing the
importance of adding new capabilities to address emerging client
need and John Zern will add to his
global Health Solutions responsibilities by also becoming CEO of
North America for Commercial Risk
Solutions, further underscoring the opportunity we have to work
together across solution lines to create client value," said Case.
"Now, more than ever, we believe that the insights we deliver
through Data & Analytics are critical to unlocking the next
wave of value for our clients and driving our long-term growth.
That is why I have asked our Chief Operations Officer, John Bruno, to take on the additional role of
CEO, Data & Analytic Services, and work closely with me and our
CFO, Christa Davies, to enhance our
current offerings and accelerate the commercialization of new
data-driven, content solutions."
About Eric Andersen
Andersen has served in a number of important leadership positions
throughout his over 20-year career at Aon, most recently as CEO of
Aon Benfield and prior to that was
CEO of Aon Risk Solutions Americas. Andersen first joined Aon in
1997 via the acquisition of Minet. Prior to that, Andersen also
worked in London at Alexander
Howden. Andersen earned an MBA in Finance from Fordham University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in
Political Science from Colgate
University. He sits on the board of Covenant House New
Jersey, an organization that helps homeless, at-risk and runaway
youth.
About Michael O'Connor
O'Connor joined Aon in 2008 and has served in various important
leadership roles at Aon, most recently as CEO of Aon Risk Solutions
and prior to that as COO of Aon Risk Solutions and Aon Benfield. Prior to Aon, O'Connor was a
partner at McKinsey & Company, where he served as a leader for
the North American Financial Services practice and the North
American Insurance practice. O'Connor holds a Juris Doctor from the
University of Chicago and an MBA in
Finance and Management Information System as well as a Bachelor of
Business Administration degree from the University of Notre Dame. O'Connor serves on the
board of the Rush University Medical
Center.
About Aon
Aon plc (NYSE:AON) is a leading global
professional services firm providing a broad range of risk,
retirement and health solutions. Our 50,000 colleagues in 120
countries empower results for clients by using proprietary data and
analytics to deliver insights that reduce volatility and improve
performance.
Follow Aon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aon_plc
Sign up for News Alerts:
http://aon.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=58
View original content with
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aon-appoints-eric-andersen-and-michael-oconnor-as-co-presidents-of-the-firm-300648281.html
SOURCE Aon plc