Casserley has the right credentials but what challenges will he face?
Ever since Willis chief executive Joe Plumeri announced he would be stepping down next year, all of the talk has been about his departure.
But the real question is: what can Willis expect under the new leadership of Dominic Casserley?
What do we know about Casserley and his management style?
The 54-year-old is currently a senior partner at McKinsey & Company. Having joined the New York-based management consultancy firm in 1983 he worked his way up the ladder, leading the company’s Greater China and Ireland practises.
His international experience, which includes 12 years in the USA and five in the Asia, as well as a spell in Europe working out of London, will stand him in good stead for the task ahead as Willis seeks to expand its global footprint.
Casserley’s expertise in financial services - notably insurers - and emerging markets, also bodes well for his new remit of delivering long-term sustainable growth at the firm.
He also has the advantage of having seen everything from a board’s perspective, having served on McKinsey’s Shareholder Council for the past 13 years.
His position as chairman of McKinsey’s finance committee, also suggests he will have a good handle on the figures and getting the best out of his resources to produce consistently solid results.
But the task ahead is not one for the weak hearted. Rival brokers Aon is pushing its Global Risk Insight Platform placement database hard, while Marsh is enjoying similar success with MarketConnect.
One of the biggest adjustments Casserley will have to make is effectively going from the role of consultant to salesman.
Internal problems
Stifel Nicolaus managing director Meyer Shields believes Casserley has been brought in as a troubleshooter at Willis to iron out the problems identified by the board.
“The board has implicitly acknowledged that there are some problems, but it is also saying that this is the right step in terms of a solution,” he said.
Willis Group Holdings plc’s third quarter results released yesterday didn’t make pleasant viewing for investors as profits more than halved during the period and commissions and fees dropped 1%.
Meanwhile, investment income was eroded by $3m (£1.87) during the quarter as total revenues slipped lower. Simultaneously, salaries and benefits increased 3%.
The task ahead
Casserley will have the dual task of reviving flagging profits and cost cutting on expenses. He can take some heart from the 2% organic growth achieved in commissions and fees – an area that competitors have seized upon in recent times and one which he needs to build on.
And Shields believes that being an insurance outsider will work to his benefit.
“The fact that they are bringing in someone who is not an insurance broker, whose focus had not been exclusively in the insurance industry, and that he is a consultant, I think is incredibly significant,” he said.
Another factor in Casserley’s favour is that other former McKinsey employees have managed to carve out successful careers for themselves in the industry, the most obviously example being Aon’s chief executive Greg Case.
Casserley will want to stamp his own identity on Willis and build on the good work of Plumeri while taking the firm in a different direction in these changing economic times.
But he has to be careful not to rock the boat too much at this delicate stage with the firm’s North American operations having only recently undergone a big upheaval.
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