Insurance Industry Leader Martin Sullivan Joins Willis in Key Global Roles

Willis Group Holdings (NYSE: WSH), the global insurance broker, today announced the appointment of Martin J. Sullivan as Deputy Chairman of Willis Group Holdings plc and Chairman and CEO of a new business unit, Willis Global Solutions, which will oversee brokerage and risk management advisory services for Willis’s multinational and global accounts. Mr. Sullivan will be based in New York City.

In Mr. Sullivan’s role as Deputy Chairman of Willis Group Holdings, he 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. 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. Building on the differentiated global capabilities already in place at Willis, this new unit will distinguish the company as a significant player in the global marketplace positioned to serve the world’s largest clients and challenge entrenched brokers who have a significant share of multinational business.

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, and will also include 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. "Across the length and breadth of the insurance industry, a client would be hard pressed to find a more experienced or skilled expert than Martin Sullivan. Martin’s deep, strong and lasting connections to all segments of the insurance industry will be an enormous asset to Willis, working for our current and future clients in the type of role that has earned him well-deserved recognition over many decades in our business.”

Grahame Millwater added: "Willis Global will bring together in one tightly coordinated organization many of the best qualities and capabilities that make Willis unique in the insurance business. The synergies and linkages within Willis Global make us stronger than the sum of our parts. Then add in our company’s integrated culture and the individual strength of each of our global specialist units and it gives Willis a truly unique position. In his role as CEO of Willis Global Solutions, Martin Sullivan will be instrumental in delivering a differentiated proposition to multinational clients whose demands for global services are unmet by larger, less nimble competitors in this sector.”

Martin Sullivan added: "In my four decades in the insurance industry, I have always had great admiration for the Willis organization and am delighted to have the opportunity of joining their senior management team. 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.”

Martin Sullivan, 56, began his career in insurance in 1970 and joined AIU, the non-life UK company of American International Group (AIG), 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 UK and Ireland. In 1993, he was named President of AIU’s UK/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. He served as CEO of AIG from 2005 to 2008.

Mr. Sullivan is an Associate Member of the Chartered Insurance Institute, a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership & Management and a Member of the Chartered Management Institute. He is also a former President of the Geneva Association and has served as Chairman of the US-ASEAN Business Council and currently serves as Chairman of the Business Advisory Committees of the St. George's Society and The British Memorial Garden Trust and is on the Board of Trustees of the American Associates of the Royal Academy Trust. He is also on the Board of Trustees of the Inner City Scholarship Fund.

Mr. Sullivan was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2007 and an honorary doctorate from Hofstra University. He is married and has three children.

Media Conference Call

Joe Plumeri will host a media conference call with Grahame Millwater and Martin Sullivan today, Wednesday, September 8, at 1:30 PM British Summer Time (8:30 AM Eastern Time) to discuss Mr. Sullivan’s appointment and the creation of Willis Global Solutions. Interested parties may access the conference call by dialing the following numbers with a passcode of "Joe Plumeri”:

Participants are asked to dial in a few minutes prior to the call to register for the event. All participants other than media representatives will be in a listen-only mode.

About Willis

Willis Group Holdings is a leading global insurance broker. Through its subsidiaries, Willis develops and delivers professional insurance, reinsurance, risk management, financial and human resource consulting and actuarial services to corporations, public entities and institutions around the world. Willis has more than 400 offices in nearly 120 countries, with a global team of approximately 17,000 employees serving clients in virtually every part of the world. Additional information on Willis may be found at www.willis.com.

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