People Moves: BMS International Names Aon’s Gillett as CEO; Aon Taps WTW’s Bruce to Lead Climate Risk Consulting

This edition of International People Moves details appointments at brokers BMS and Aon.

A summary of these new hires follows here.

BMS Names Aon’s Gillett CEO of BMS International

BMS, the independent specialty insurance and reinsurance broker, announced the appointment of Nick Gillett as CEO of BMS International. He is anticipated to start in January 2023 as the business accelerates its global strategy and invests in further international growth.

Gillett, who also joins the BMS group executive and will report to Nick Cook, CEO of BMS Group, is a highly experienced broking professional with an impressive career history, said BMS. He was managing director of Aon Benfield Singapore before spending more than 20 years at Aon and its subsidiaries, holding several senior roles including chief broking officer at Aon’s Global Broking Centre and chief broking officer, Asia. He has also most recently been UK and EMEA head of market strategy and development.

Gillett will be supported in his role as CEO of BMS International by Peregrine Towneley, chairman of international operations and David Battman, managing director. The three will work very closely with BMS’ growing international operations around the world and will focus on creating increased scale in BMS’ target markets including Asia, Latin America, Australasia, Canada and Western Europe.

“It is fantastic that Nick is joining us as CEO of BMS International. He will become the third member of BMS’ trio of CEOs, which includes Ian Gormley, UK CEO who heads specialty, and Pete Chandler, president and CEO of BMS’ U.S. reinsurance arm,” commented Cook. “BMS’ strategic goal is to invest and grow our international platform and continue to accelerate our global expansion. This follows our seventh acquisition within the last two years, and in the last 12 months, we have announced acquisitions in Australia, Mexico, and Spain with further M&A deals in the pipeline. I am excited for the worldwide successes the three of them will create.”

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Aon Taps WTW’s Bruce to Lead Climate Risk Consulting

Insurance broker Aon plc announced the appointment of William Bruce as global managing director, Climate Risk Consulting in Aon Global Risk Consulting (AGRC). Bruce joined the firm on Aug. 15 and reports to Richard Waterer, Global Risk Consulting Leader, for Aon Commercial Risk Solutions.

With over 22 years’ experience in consulting, Bruce was most recently global head of Enterprise Risk Consulting at Willis Towers Watson, where he led a global team that designed and delivered Transition Climate Risk Consulting.

In his new role, Bruce is responsible for building and leading Aon’s global climate risk consulting team which is supporting clients through profiling and quantifying the risks and opportunities arising from the climate transition. This will incorporate climate risk identification and modelling, as well as risk management strategy in accordance with key frameworks, such as the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Bruce will also work with Aon’s global head of Climate Strategy, Richard Dudley, to ensure that Aon’s risk and analytics work supports the firm’s wider climate agenda of bringing capital to the climate transition, building physical resilience and reducing volatility associated with climate liabilities. Additionally, in collaboration with Dudley and his team, Bruce will ensure that Aon’s climate risk consulting solutions continue to address international frameworks and guidance.

“Supporting our clients’ climate transition journey and mitigating climate-related risks remains a core priority for Aon. I am delighted to welcome William to the team to bolster our offering and to help clients take an analytical-based approach to the identification, modelling and management of climate risk,” commented Waterer.

Topics Climate Change Aon Willis Towers Watson