Willis Group Holdings (NYSE:WSH), the global insurance broker, today announced two new appointments to the Willis Group Operating Committee and the company's Executive Committee.

Gioia Ghezzi has been appointed Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately. In her new role, Ghezzi will oversee a number of corporate functions and manage a global structure designed to drive revenue growth and increase operational efficiencies across the Group. She succeeds Tim Wright, now the CEO of Willis International, who served in the Chief Operating Officer role for four years.

Ghezzi brings 23 years of experience to Willis from a career spanning the management consulting, insurance, publishing and technology sectors. She joins Willis most recently from McKinsey & Co, where she spent 11 years as partner and leader of the Insurance and Health practices providing advice on company strategy, operations, and performance transformation to a large number of global clients.

Separately, the Company also announced that Adam Rosman will be appointed Group General Counsel, overseeing the Group's worldwide legal, compliance, risk, corporate secretary, and audit functions.

Rosman has served as Group Deputy General Counsel and General Counsel for Willis North America for the past three years, supervising the activities of Willis' attorneys worldwide and serving the legal needs of the North American business. He succeeds Adam Ciongoli, who is leaving the company in May to serve as General Counsel of Lincoln Financial Group.

Congratulating Ghezzi and Rosman on their appointments, Willis Chairman and CEO Joe Plumeri said: "We're delighted to welcome Gioia Ghezzi and Adam Rosman to these senior roles in the Willis Executive team. Gioia is going to play a big part in the next stage of sustainable growth and client satisfaction at Willis. She has a proven ability to look at a company, set a strategy to improve its operations and make it happen.

"Adam Rosman is a highly talented attorney with a keen legal mind and outstanding judgment and who understands the needs of the Willis Group inside out. I have the utmost confidence with Adam at the table, using his knowledge and experience of both the financial services industry and the regulatory environment in which we operate to help strengthen our franchise in the months and years ahead.

"I would also like to wish Adam Ciongoli the very best in his new endeavor and thank him for his extraordinarily valuable contributions and dedication to Willis over the last five years. It has been a pleasure working with such a consummate professional."

Ghezzi graduated from Universita' Degli Studi, Milan, and has an MBA from London Business School.

Rosman is a graduate of Stanford Law School and Union College and has lectured extensively as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center.

Ghezzi will be based at the Willis building in London while Rosman will remain in New York.

Willis Group Holdings plc is a leading global insurance broker. Through its subsidiaries, Willis develops and delivers 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 17,000 employees serving clients in virtually every part of the world. Additional information on Willis may be found at www.willis.com.

Notes to editors:
1. Photos and further biographical details for Gioia Ghezzi and Adam Rosman are available on request.
2. The appointments are subject to approval by the Board of Directors.

Media:
Willis Group Holdings plc
Sarah Robson, + 44 2031 247 452
sarah.robson@willis.com
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Investors:
Willis Group Holdings plc
Peter Poillon, +1 212-915-8084
Peter.Poillon@willis.com