Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Towers Watson Launches Crisis Management Team With Two Senior Hires

Global professional services company Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) has entered the crisis management market with the appointments of Christof Bentele and Chris Holt. The two industry veterans will lead Towers Watson’s new Crisis Management team, designed to help clients manage their risk exposure to unforeseen crises and to deliver response solutions if events do occur.

The Towers Watson Crisis Management team will specialize in terrorism, kidnap, ransom & extortion, product recall, and hostile environment risks. The company plans to build the team over the next 12 months. In addition, Towers Watson will leverage its insurance brokerage services by offering a combination of both crisis management consulting and insurance brokerage, which will create a more holistic risk management offering for its clients.

“The global crisis management market is large and growing, and clients across all industries are increasingly looking to combine both consulting and insurance brokerage,” said Ross Howard, global leader designate of insurance and reinsurance brokerage at Towers Watson. “Towers Watson is well positioned to help companies connect the human resource and financial implications of these risks with conventional risk transfer. We are fortunate to have two experts with such exemplary industry experience join us to build this service for our clients.”

Christof Bentele has 25 years of global experience in the risk consulting, underwriting and broking businesses. He worked at Aon for 12 years, most recently as the chief broking officer of Aon Crisis Management in London, prior to which he was with AIG, where he was director of its crisis management division. He is considered to be one of the leading global experts in crisis management, a prominent speaker on crisis management subjects, and an innovator and thought leader in this business. Christof joins Towers Watson in October and will be chief broking officer for the Crisis Management business, responsible for building a global team and delivering product, service, innovation and distinctive value to clients and prospects, insurance and reinsurance markets, and crisis response organizations.

Chris Holt is a crisis management and resilience professional who has directed special risk consultancy at the board level to large international organizations, notably in the management of terrorism, kidnap and ransom, and political risks. Previously, he was the consulting director at Aon Crisis Management and will fulfill a similar role at Towers Watson.

“Today’s business environment is full of crisis risk exposure. Preparedness and resilience are crucial to avoiding or recovering from a crisis that could threaten your company’s very survival,” added Tricia Guinn, global leader of Risk and Financial Services at Towers Watson. “Companies are seeking out partners who can help them prepare for crisis risk situations from both a risk management and insurance coverage perspective. We’re pleased to extend our approach into this crisis risk market, where we will provide new, world-class risk consulting and insurance brokerage solutions.”

Towers Watson Brokerage

Towers Watson provides reinsurance and insurance intermediary services and consulting expertise as well as capital market broker/dealer capabilities. The company advises clients about risk and capital management and helps them execute comprehensive solutions that achieve broad, cost-effective coverage.

About Towers Watson

Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) is a leading global professional services company that helps organizations improve performance through effective people, risk and financial management. The company offers solutions in the areas of benefits, talent management, rewards, and risk and capital management. Towers Watson has 14,000 associates around the world and is located on the web at towerswatson.com.

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