NU Online News Service, Oct. 25, 2:57 p.m. EDT

The recent departure of two chief executive officers at Willis Group Holdings had nothing to do with ongoing company activity, the firm's chief executive says.

In a response to a question during an analyst's conference call today, Joe Plumeri, chairman and CEO of Willis Group Holdings indicates that the recent departure to two division CEOs was a personal decision.

“Their departure was not associated with any event,” says Plumeri. “They left the company. It was not related to any activity you are going to read about.”

While no executives were named during the exchange, Willis recently announced the departure of David Margrett, CEO of Willis International and Brendan McManus, the CEO of Willis Ltd., who also served as CEO of Willis United Kingdom and Ireland (WUKI).

Yesterday, Willis named Daniel Wilkinson as CEO, Willis United Kingdom & Ireland and Brendan McCafferty as president of WUKI, a newly created position.

Wilkinson, who has been with Willis for 16 years and is the longest-serving member of the WUKI executive team, will lead 1,100 associates in 22 offices across the United Kingdom.

After starting his career at a Lloyd's Marine syndicate, Wilkinson spent seven years broking for Miller Insurance and Fenchurch, before joining Willis.

For the last five years, he has successfully built up the corporate, credit, insolvency and private finance initiative units of WUKI, driving significant revenue and margin growth across all areas.

McCafferty, currently managing director of WUKI's commercial and network businesses has been at Willis for over three years. He was initially responsible for the creation of Willis underwriting programs prior to leading the commercial business unit.

Special Reports /

Plumeri Says Recent CEO Departures Not Company Related

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