Aon Announces New Ventures Group

Aon plc has announced that it is taking another significant step to realize the full potential of its Aon United growth strategy by establishing a New Ventures Group and assigning a team of proven senior leaders to further accelerate the creation of new sources of value for its clients.

“Earlier this year we took a series of steps, including the creation of the Aon Operating Committee, the appointment of our new co-presidents and our transition to a single Aon brand,” said Aon CEO, Greg Case. “All of which were designed to make it easier for our colleagues to bring the best of Aon to clients and help us deliver on the growth potential of our firm.”

Case added, “With that growth foundation in place we are taking additional steps to further accelerate innovation that delivers new value to clients and expands the marketplace. As Chief Innovation Officer, Tony Goland will be responsible for mobilizing the activities of our New Ventures Group, which will include senior leaders from across the firm – including myself – that will increasingly commit their time to the rapid incubation and delivery of new sources of client value.”

Initial members of Aon’s New Ventures Group Leadership Team:

• Tony Goland, Chief Human Resources Officer, has been appointed Chief Innovation Officer and will be responsible for organizing Aon’s New Ventures Group. As CHRO of Aon, Goland was an architect of the talent and culture strategy that has accelerated growth across the firm and made it easier for colleagues to bring the best of Aon to its clients. In his new role, Goland will coordinate management of the overall innovation portfolio, and assume leadership of selected priority growth opportunities. Prior to joining Aon in 2015, Goland was a senior partner at McKinsey & Company where he spent thirty years advising leading organizations on how to maximize client value and expand shareholder return by accelerating growth.
• Christa Davies, Chief Financial Officer, Aon. As CFO of Aon over the last decade, Davies has overseen incredible value creation on behalf of the firm, including a 25% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in free cash flow and a 16% CAGR in total shareholder return. In May of this year, Davies announced the appointment of Maggie Westdale, formerly Chief Financial Officer of Aon’s Reinsurance Solutions business to the new created position of Business CFO, providing Davies the opportunity to join the New Ventures Group and devote more of her time to exploring new high-growth, high-margin revenue opportunities. Prior to joining Aon in 2007, Davies was the CFO of Microsoft’s Platform and Services Division, which at the time was the largest and most profitable division within the company.
• Bryon Ehrhart, Global Head of Strategic Growth and Development. In his 25 years at Aon, Ehrhart has played founding and senior leadership roles in reinsurance solutions, investment banking and advanced analytics. Since taking on his strategic growth role in 2016, Ehrhart has been primarily focused on leading Aon’s large and high-growth market strategy. As a member of the New Ventures Group, Ehrhart will focus on assessing innovation opportunities in key high-growth geographies. Prior to joining Aon, Ehrhart served as an auditor and consultant at Coopers & Lybrand, a precursor to multi-national professional services network, PwC.
• John Bruno, Chief Operations Officer, Aon and Chief Executive Officer, Data & Analytic Services. Since joining Aon in 2014, first as Chief Information Officer and then as Chief Operations Officer, Bruno has re-architected the back-office and middle-office operations of the firm to modernize its technology backbone and create a stronger foundation for growth. In May of this year, Bruno was named CEO of Data & Analytic Services, with oversight of Aon’s global Centers for Innovation and Analytics, and as a member of the New Ventures Group will be responsible for accelerating the commercialization of new data-driven, content solutions. The insights Aon delivers through Data & Analytics are critical to unlocking the next wave of value for clients and foundational to the long-term growth of the firm. Prior to joining Aon, Bruno played a variety of senior leadership roles at NCR Corporation that were critical to its reinvention from a hardware provider into a leader in the consumer transaction technologies space.

“I am excited about Aon’s potential to create meaningful new sources of value for clients,” said Tony Goland, Chief Innovation Officer, Aon. “I look forward to working closely with our incredibly talented leaders across Aon to accelerate the future growth of our firm.”

Goland’s new role is effective November 1st, 2018. Aon has appointed Siobhan Cifelli, currently the Global Human Resources Leader for the Aon Operating Committee, to the role of interim CHRO while Aon completes a comprehensive internal and external search to fill the CHRO role.