CHICAGO, March 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Patrick G. Ryan, founder and executive chairman of Aon Corporation, today announced he intends to retire from Aon effective August 1, 2008. Aon is the world's largest insurance and reinsurance intermediary, and a global leader in human capital consulting.
Ryan commented, "The transition to a new management team under the sound leadership of Greg Case is complete. Aon is extremely well-positioned for continued growth and success. After 41 years as CEO and three years as Executive Chairman, it is time to retire from active involvement. I will of course continue to be a dedicated and interested shareholder."
Ryan, 70, founded Aon, which has its origin in a small insurance agency he started in 1964. That agency eventually became Ryan Insurance, a firm focused on a strategy of providing advice, consulting services and distribution of insurance products to the automotive industry.
In 1978, Ryan Insurance purchased the insurance brokerage subsidiaries of Esmark Corporation, expanding into risk management solutions for commercial and industrial clients. In 1982, following a merger with Combined Insurance Company of America, the company acquired Rollins Burdick Hunter, then the 7th largest insurance broker in the world. The company continued to expand through organic growth and acquisition, and in 1987 changed its name to Aon Corporation. Through the late 1980s and into the 1990s the company continued its strategy of acquisition and became a global leader in the insurance/reinsurance brokerage and human capital consulting fields. Today Aon operates with more than 500 offices in 120 countries generating revenues in excess of $7 billion.
Gregory C. Case, president and chief executive officer of Aon
Corporation, said, "Pat Ryan is one of the great visionaries and leaders in
the insurance industry. His vision of creating a truly global company in
the fields of risk management and human capital consult
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