Chicago-based insurance broker Aon Corp. said Lester B. Knight has been named the non-executive chairman of the board. He will replace Patrick G. Ryan, who retires Aug. 1.

An independent director since 1999, Mr. Knight, 50, is a founder and managing partner of RoundTable Healthcare Partners, a health care-focused private equity investment firm.

Prior to RoundTable, he was the chairman and chief executive officer of Allegiance Corporation. In addition, Mr. Knight serves as a Trustee of Northwestern University and as a director of Evanston Northwestern Healthcare and Junior Achievement of Chicago.

Andy McKenna, Aon's lead director and chair of the ad hoc nominating committee, said in a statement, “Aon's choice of an independent non-executive chairman is consistent with best governance practices of leading global firms. The Aon family and our shareholders should be confident in Lester's ability to sustain the independent oversight of their interests.”

Mr. Ryan said, “As I have remarked many times since announcing my retirement earlier this year, Aon is extremely well-positioned for growth and success under the leadership of Greg Case and his management team. Our board has never been more excited about the future of Aon. Lester is a wonderful choice and will ensure continued close collaboration between the board and management.”

“I am gratified to serve Aon's shareholders in a new capacity and want to thank Pat [Ryan], Andy [McKenna] and the board for honoring me with this opportunity,” said Mr. Knight. “I look forward to working with the board, Greg [Case] and the management team to ensure Aon continues to strengthen and extend its position of global market leadership.”

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader

Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.