Aon has appointed Eric Andersen, current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aon Benfield, and Michael O’Connor, current CEO of Aon Risk Solutions, as Co-Presidents of the firm.
The appointments come alongside the announcement that Aon will be retiring its remaining business unit brands, Aon Risk Solutions and Aon Benfield, creating instead an integrated global Operating Committee, co-led by Andersen and O’Connor.
This simplification of Aon’s structure follows the retirement of the Aon Hewitt business unit brand in 2017, and is designed to increase the rate of innovation across the firm and encourage collaboration between colleagues to better service clients.
As part of this ongoing effort and to accelerate reinvestment in innovation that serves clients, Aon previously announced a single P&L structure, overseen by the firm’s global Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Christa Davies.
As Co-Presidents, O’Connor and Andersen will continue to report to Aon’s CEO, Greg Case, whose contract has been extended by the Board of Directors until April 2023.
Case commented on the announcements: “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. 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.”
He 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.”
O’Connor and Andersen have been with Aon for 10 and 20 years respectively, during which time they have each served the company in a number of different senior leadership positions.
Andersen commented: “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. 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.”
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.”
Aon’s announcement also involves several solution line leaders adding additional responsibilities to their remit, such as Cary Grace, current CEO of Retirement Solutions, who will now also manage the firm’s Global Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Integration.
Additionally, John Zern, current CEO of Health solutions, will become CEO of North America for Commercial Risk Solutions, and John Bruno, Chief Operations Officer (COO), will take on the additional role of CEO, Data & Analytics Services, working closely with CFO Christa Davies.
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.”
