Willis appoints Pat Donnelly as Head of Risk & Broking, North America
Willis, a WTW business, (NASDAQ: WTW), announced the appointment of Pat Donnelly as the new Head of Risk & Broking (R&B), North America, reporting to Lucy Clarke, President, R&B.
Donnelly, a highly respected and accomplished leader in the insurance and risk management industry, brings a wealth of experience having held various leadership roles at Marsh, JLT and Aon.
Most recently, he has served as President, Specialty & Global Placement at Marsh. Donnelly joined Marsh as part of the acquisition of JLT. His other Marsh experience includes President, Marsh U.S. and Canada, overseeing the company’s insurance broking and risk advisory businesses across North America.
Earlier in his career, Donnelly was the CEO of JLT Specialty in North America, where he successfully built the company’s U.S. retail business. His extensive background also includes a significant tenure at Aon, where he held the position of Chief Broking Officer for U.S. Retail.
Lucy Clarke, President, Risk & Broking, commented: “We are so excited to welcome Pat as the new Head of Risk & Broking for North America. Pat is one of the leading figures in our industry globally, widely respected as a committed, inspirational and thoughtful leader by clients, carriers and colleagues. His experience makes him the perfect fit for this critical role.
“His leadership will be instrumental in driving growth, continuing and strengthening our specialist approach and ensuring that we deliver exceptional service and value to our clients.”
Donnelly will be based in Chicago and is expected to join WTW in the second quarter of 2025.
Aurora engages with WTW to transform commercial insurance for SME market in tough trading conditions
WTW (Willis Towers Watson, NASDAQ: WTW) has announced a new engagement with Aurora, a UK specialist commercial insurance provider for the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) market. The combination of WTW’s Radar Live and Aurora’s digital insurance platform will help to deliver real time commercial quotations, both directly to SME businesses and through intermediaries via an omni-channel distribution mechanism.
Launched in 2021, Aurora is a customer-centric digital platform specialising in delivering insurance products tailored specifically to meet the needs of the SME market. Exacerbated by the global pandemic, SMEs continue to experience tough trading conditons and rising commercial insurance prices. So finding a ‘best fit, best value’ insurance programme that does not leave them exposed to under-insurance is crucial.
Tim Rourke, UK Head of P&C Pricing, Product, Claims and Underwriting, WTW, said: “The complexity of small commercial insurance means that data and analytics play a critical role to improve efficiency, as well as pricing, underwriting and product relevance. This makes Aurora’s vision to redefine the small commercial market compelling and it is exciting that Radar has been chosen to support their algorithmic underwriting ambitions, while enhancing their pricing capabilities with sophisticated and adaptable real-time pricing for uniquely optimised products.”
Bijal Patel, Chief Technical Officer at Aurora, said: “We have a clear, customer-centric vison for Aurora, underpinned by our pricing, underwriting, claims, data and analytics capabilities. Radar Live will support the implementation of our innovative commercial insurance offering and, as Aurora’s primary analytics engine, it will power our real-time analytics and algorithmic underwriting capabilities.
“Our aim is to change the way commercial insurance is purchased and managed by creating a two-way dialogue throughout the lifecycle of the customer’s business, helping to drive greater operational efficiency, transparency and understanding of customer preferences, while reducing underinsurance.”
«Παγώνει» η έρευνα των ρυθμιστικών αρχών για την εξαγορά της Willis από την ΑΟΝ
«Παγώνει» προς το παρόν η έρευνα των αντιμονοπωλιακών ρυθμιστικών αρχών της ΕΕ για την πρόταση εξαγοράς της Willis Towers Watson από την Aon, ύψους 30 δισ. δολαρίων, καθώς αναμένουν από τον αμερικανικό ασφαλιστικό κολοσσό περισσότερα στοιχεία για τη συμφωνία.
«Αυτή η διαδικασία στις έρευνες επί συγχωνεύσεων ενεργοποιείται εάν τα μέρη δεν παράσχουν εγκαίρως σημαντικό μέρος των πληροφοριών που ζητεί η Επιτροπή», δήλωσε εκπρόσωπος της Επιτροπής Ανταγωνισμού της ΕΕ και εν προκειμένω η Aon αρνήθηκε να προσκομίσει στοιχεία κατά την προκαταρκτική εξέταση της συμφωνίας από τις ευρωπαϊκές αρχές.
Η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή ξεκίνησε την έρευνά της τον Δεκέμβριο προκειμένου η δημιουργία του μεγαλύτερου ασφαλιστικού κολοσσού στον κόσμο από τη συγκεκριμένη εξαγορά να μην μπορεί να βλάψει τον ανταγωνισμό σε μεγάλες αγορές. Σημειώνεται ότι εάν το deal επιτευχθεί, η συγχωνευθείσα εταιρεία θα ξεπεράσει σε μέγεθος τον σημερινό παγκόσμιο ηγέτη του κλάδου των ασφαλειών, Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc.
Η Aon αρνήθηκε να σχολιάσει το θέμα, σύμφωνα με το Reuters.
Johan Forsgård to take new Nordics leadership role at Willis Towers Watson
Re/insurance broker Willis Towers Watson (WTW) has named Johan Forsgård as the leader of its new Nordics region structure
As Head of the Nordics, he will manage the newly formed region consisting of Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Norway.
Forsgård was previously Head of Sweden and Finland at WTW, having held that position since 2016.He joined the company in 2005 and has worked in a range of leadership positions, becoming Head of Sweden in 2012.
“Johan is a dynamic and committed leader, and this new role enables him to build on his many successes in the region,” said Anne Pullum, Head of Western Europe at WTW.
“We have established a strong reputation in the Nordics, and clients there have shown a growing appetite for our wide range of global solutions.”
Forsgård also commented: “I am honoured to be given the chance to lead the Nordic region, where we have very strong businesses, and excellent people and leaders.
“I know our Nordics businesses well from my long career with the company, and I have a strong background in our corporate risk and broking business,” he added.
“We are well positioned to accelerate our existing strategy and deliver value to our clients in the shape of a more integrated Nordic team.”
Willis Tower Watson announces leadership changes in Singapore & South Asia
Global re/insurance brokerage Willis Towers Watson (WTW) has appointed Leng Leng Ng as Country Leader for Singapore as Vivek Nath transitions to lead the company’s Corporate Risk and Broking (CRB) operation in South and Southeast Asia.
Ng takes on the responsibilities in addition to her role as Head of CRB in Singapore and brings 17 years of insurance broking and underwriting experience to the role. She has been with WTW for the past three years, and has played an important role in the development of a strong team of risk advisors in Singapore.In her new role, Ng takes responsibility for working with numerous business leaders across the brokerage to identify an effective sales and client management strategy in the region.
She takes over from Nath, who will now operate in a dual capacity as Head of South Asia. In his new leadership role, Nath will work with the company’s country and CRB leaders across the ASEAN region and India to strengthen its portfolio, advance strategic initiatives, and enhance client relationships.
Nath has been with WTW for the past 14 years, during which time he has held numerous leadership positions in the firm, including as Managing Director for WTW’s country portfolio’s including India, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Asia.
Scott Burnett, Head of Asia and Head of CRB Asia, commented:
“The South Asian countries including Singapore continue to be key markets in our Asia portfolio, and one where we hold significant opportunities for strategic growth. At the same time, we continue to grow our regional talent base and expertise by adding new leaders throughout our organisation in Asia.
“Both Leng Leng and Vivek bring extensive experience and diversity to complement our team of experienced leaders. Their new and additional roles will enhance our advisory and execution capabilities, strengthening the delivery of our client offerings and innovative risk management solutions to help clients stay resilient and navigate a rapidly evolving landscape in Asia.”
Aon will not buy Willis Towers Watson
Re/insurance broker Aon has said it will not buy Willis Towers Watson. Its announcement comes within 24 hours of it revealing it was exploring a possible deal with the world’s third biggest broker.
The company has effectively said it was forced to admit that very early stage talks had taken place because of media speculation combined with the fact that Willis is bound by Irish regulatory requirements.
In a statement, Aon said: “Consistent with Aon’s stated focus on return on invested capital the firm regularly evaluates a variety of potential opportunities within and adjacent to its industry.
“Aon had considered such a possibility with regard to Willis Towers Watson. News of that consideration subsequently became public and Aon was required to issue a statement because Willis Towers Watson is an Irish company and is subject to Irish regulatory requirements.
“As a result of media speculation, those regulations required Aon to make the disclosure at a very early stage in the consideration of a potential all-share business combination. Aon today confirms that it does not intend to pursue this business combination.
“As a result of this announcement, Aon is bound by the restrictions set out in Rule 2.8 of the Irish Takeover Rules. Aon reserves the right within the next 12 months to set aside this announcement where so permitted under Rule 2.8 (including Rule 2.8(c)(ii)).”
Aon said on Tuesday March 5 that a takeover of its competitor WTW, the third largest insurance broker, was under consideration in a statement as per Irish regulatory requirements after media speculation initially broke the story.
Shares in WTW rose by more than 8 percent following initial reports of the bid in the media.
Aon did state at the time, however, that any deal was “in the early stages” and there “can be no certainty that any transaction will take place nor as to the form or terms on which any transaction might be pursued”.