Ryan 'Bullish' About Aon's Next 20 Years

The founder of Aon, Patrick G. Ryan, is “bullish” about the future of the world's second-largest insurance brokerage as it marks its 20th anniversary, predicting far more growth to come.

Mr. Ryan, now Aon's executive chairman, was also president and chief executive officer until 2005, when Gregory Case was named to those posts. He made his observations on the state of his brokerage during a recent conference call to discuss the firm's anniversary.

Mr. Ryan said that when looking at the growing markets in developing nations, the need for the advisory role the Chicago-based insurance brokerage plays will be even more acute as “identification of risk becomes more complex.”

It was 20 years ago, he explained, that a company of many diverse names was put under one umbrella called Aon. The intent of choosing that particular name–a Gaelic word meaning “oneness”–was to symbolize Aon's mission of bringing together multiple talents and markets, “centered around the client,” he explained.

Mr. Ryan said the firm has reached the vision he had for it 20 years ago of becoming a truly global brokerage. The turning point, he noted, was the acquisition of Hudig-Langeveldt in the early 1990s–a Dutch brokerage that eventually became the platform from which Aon would grow overseas.

He noted that at the time, many thought the brokerage business was in decline due to the rise of direct writers and new distribution technology, such as the Web. “The conventional wisdom was wrong at that time,” he added, contending that the complexity of risk has only reinforced the need for a skilled insurance broker.

Mr. Ryan said that despite the activity of some private equity firms to take insurance brokerage firms private, he believes Aon will always remain a public company. However, he characterized private equity activities as a validation of the brokerage model he envisioned 20 years ago.

“It is a great statement in the belief in the role of the broker that people are investing and taking some of these brokers private, because they believe that the best days for the industry are ahead,” Mr. Ryan observed.