Willis chief gives expansive speech at Lloyd's
Jo Plumeri, Willis chairman and chief executive, was on form when speaking to a packed old library at Lloyd’s this week. While lifting his arms skywards to the galleries like an evangelist possessed, he dished out a few classics.
On Willis’ recent acquisition of Insurance Noodle: “What a stupid name. I’m gonna change it to Insurance Pasta instead.”
On the insurance industry: “We’re dependable, we have integrity. We’re Volvo.”
On Eliot Spizter: “I’m gonna write a book: Eliot and Me.”
But there was more on Spitzer. Apparently, Plumeri sat next to the (now disgraced) ex-governor at an awards convention aboard the USS Intrepid in New York, where both received the freedom of the city. Unfortunately for Spitzer, Plumeri was accompanied by a 40-strong cohort of Willis badge-wearing co-workers.
The result? “When we collected our awards, I definitely got a bigger cheer than he did. In fact, when he started his speech, he said, ‘Let me tell you how I met Joe.’ He got shouted down by all the Willis guys,” says Plumeri.
