Former Aon Chief Ryan Nixed His Own Bonus

Former Aon Chief Ryan Nixed His Own Bonus

By Michael Ha

NU Online News Service, April 15, 4:28 p.m. EDT?Patrick Ryan, the longtime boss of Aon Corporation who relinquished his chief executive title earlier this month, declined his $1 million-plus bonus in 2004 because of his disappointment with the brokerage's performance, a regulatory filing revealed.[@@]

According to Aon's proxy statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this week, Mr. Ryan turned down a bonus last year that could have been as much as 1.8 times his $1.1 million salary, or up to $2.1 million. Mr. Ryan in 2003 received a bonus in the amount of $1.25 million.

"Mr. Ryan asked not to be considered for annual incentive compensation for 2004 because of his overall disappointment with the results of Aon," according to the broker's SEC proxy statement. Last year, Aon posted $654 million in annual profit, up 4 percent from $628 million the year before. But the broker's fourth-quarter profit slipped compared to the year-ago period.

Mr. Ryan's tenure at Aon, without the latest bonus, has still been highly remunerative. He currently owns close to 23 million Aon shares, worth more than $510 million. Mr. Ryan founded Aon's predecessor Ryan Insurance 40 years ago and grew Aon into the world's second-largest broker.