NEW YORK, Sept. 24, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Willis North America, a unit of Willis Group Holdings (NYSE: WSH ), the global risk advisor, insurance and reinsurance broker, today announced the appointment of Eric Joost as Chief Operating Officer. Joost has been serving as Chief Executive of Willis North America's Specialty Practices since 2009. He will report to Todd Jones, CEO, Willis North America.
Willis North America is the North American retail brokerage business of Willis Group Holdings. The business, which in 2012 reported revenues of more than $1.3 billion, has more than 100 local offices across the United States, Canada and Mexico, offering a full range of insurance and risk management services, specialist expertise and global resources to large corporate, middle-market and small business clients.
In this newly created role, Joost will lead the development and execution of Willis North America's growth and operational strategies. He will work closely with business unit leaders across North America and collaborate with Willis Group leadership to ensure Willis has the proper specialization, structure and operating models in place to support growth. Joost will continue to lead the North American Specialty Practices, which feature dedicated specialty brokers serving key marketplace sectors including construction, health care, financial services, real estate and life sciences; as well as dedicated insurance products to protect unique risks such as executive risk and environmental liabilities.
Commenting on the appointment, Todd Jones said, "Eric is well-suited to lead our operational strategies in North America. His experience aligning our specialty practices and product capabilities with our business platforms combined with his strong leadership skills and client focus makes him ideally suited to help us achieve our goal of improving connectivity across all of Willis to ensure we are positioned to support a much deeper and broader delivery to each and every client."
New York-based, Joost joined Willis in 2006 and has more than 25 years of experience in the insurance industry as a specialist broker and underwriter. Prior to joining Willis he held leadership positions at Allianz and Aon. He received his M.B.A. from Kellogg School of Management and his B.S. in industrial engineering from Northwestern University.
About Willis
Willis Group Holdings plc is a leading global risk advisor, insurance and reinsurance broker. With roots dating to 1828, Willis operates today on every continent with more than 17,000 employees in over 400 offices. Willis offers its clients superior expertise, teamwork, innovation and market-leading products and professional services in risk management and transfer. Our experts rank among the world's leading authorities on analytics, modelling and mitigation strategies at the intersection of global commerce and extreme events. Find more information at our website, www.willis.com , our leadership journal, Resilience , or our up-to-the-minute blog on breaking news, WillisWire . Across geographies, industries and specialisms, Willis provides its local and multinational clients with resilience for a risky world.
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