Ex AIG Exec Sullivan Named Deputy Chairman At Willis

Martin J. Sullivan, the former chief executive of American International Group, has joined insurance broker Willis Group Holdings as deputy chairman, the company announced today.

In addition to deputy chairman, Mr. Sullivan was named chairman and chief executive officer of a new business unit at Willis named Willis Global Solutions. The new business unit will oversee brokerage and risk management advisory services for Willis' multinational and global accounts, the firm said.

Mr. Sullivan, 56, will be based in New York City. He began his career in insurance in 1970 and joined AIU, the non-life United Kingdom company of American International Group, in 1971. He joined the property department of AIU in 1974 and continued to advance in a succession of underwriting and management assignments in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In 1993, he was named president of AIU's United Kingdom/Ireland Division and managing director of AIG Europe (UK) Ltd. He was elected senior vice president, foreign general insurance in 1996 and executive vice president, foreign general in 1998. In 1996 he was appointed chief operating officer of AIU in New York and named president in 1997. He was elected to the board of AIG in May 2002 and served as CEO of AIG from 2005 to 2008.

Mr. Sullivan will report to Joe Plumeri, chairman and CEO of Willis Group Holdings, and assist in managing and shaping the long-term growth strategy for the company, Willis said. He will also work with Mr. Plumeri and other senior leaders as a member of the company's executive committee.

As chairman and CEO of Willis Global Solutions, Mr. Sullivan will work with Grahame Millwater, Willis Group president, to develop and manage a differentiated service proposition in the large account sector.

Willis Global Solutions will be a unit of Willis Global, the chairman and CEO of which will be Grahame Millwater. Mr. Millwater will also retain his current title as president of Willis Group Holdings.

Willis Global will encompass Willis Global Solutions, Willis Re, Willis Global Specialties, Willis Global Markets, Willis Global Placement, Willis Facultative Reinsurance, Willis Capital Markets & Advisory, Willis Analytics, and Faber & Dumas, which comprises many of Willis's wholesale businesses.

Each unit will continue to operate under their current leadership teams.

"To meet the insurance and risk management needs of global organizations, we believe Willis will be second to none in the level, quality and expertise of the service it provides to clients from continent to continent and on the seas in between," said Mr. Plumeri in a statement.

"I look forward to working with Joe, Grahame and the team in building Willis Global Solutions into a significant service provider responding to the insurance and risk management needs of major companies around the world," said Mr. Sullivan.