Willis HRH Appoints Two Executives to Growth Leadership Team
New York, NY, January 21, 2009 - Willis HRH, the North American retail
division of Willis Group Holdings (NYSE: WSH), the global insurance broker, has named Mike
Phillips as Regional Growth Leader for its South Central Region, and David Hofele as
Regional Growth Leader for its West Region, effective immediately. Phillips and Hofele join a
team responsible for enhancing client retention, expanding existing relationships, driving cross-selling strategies,
supporting and growing the Willis Client Advocate® program, and generating new business. They report
to Joe Gunn, Chief Growth Officer of Willis HRH.
"Mike and David's appointments strengthen our ability to bring all of our capabilities together to
deliver an outstanding service experience to our clients in the South Central and West
regions, as part of our Growth through Advocacy strategy," said Gunn. "Working
with our Willis Client Advocates, producers and the rest of the Willis HRH Growth
team, these two outstanding leaders will contribute both to our clients' success and to
ours, in all 200-plus local markets and 19 industry segments we serve in North
America."
Willis HRH's South Central Region includes the company's offices in Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma,
Kansas, Louisiana and Wyoming, while its West Region includes offices in California,
Oregon, Arizona, Nevada and Washington State.
With more than 20 years in the insurance industry, Phillips was formerly production team leader
for HRH of Colorado. Prior to joining HRH of Colorado in 2006, Phillips was
with Zurich Construction as Vice President of Large Construction. In addition, he held
several other titles while at Zurich, including Manager of the Denver Office, Vice
President of Business Development and Casualty Vice President of the Southwest Region. Phillips began
his career with Liberty Mutual as a Multi-line Claims Representative.
Hofele previously served as President of HRH's Bay Area and Northern California offices.
Prior to joining HRH in November 2006, he was Managing Partner, General Counsel and
Secretary at Palmer & Cay, Inc., a privately held insurance broker. Earlier, Hofele was
with the law firm of Suelthaus & Walsh, P.C., in St. Louis,
Missouri.
Phillips and Hofele join a team of Willis HRH regional growth leaders that include Jim
Wylie, Midwest Region; Tim Clarke, Northeast Region; and Andy Daniels, Atlantic and Southeast Regions.
Willis HRH is the North American retail brokerage business of Willis Group Holdings. The unit
has more than 200 local offices across the United States and Canada,
offering a full range of insurance and risk management services, specialist expertise and global
resources to large corporate, middle-market and small business clients.
Willis Group Holdings Limited is a leading global insurance broker, developing and delivering 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 20,000 Associates serving clients
in some 190 countries. Additional information on Willis may be found at www.willis.com.
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