8 Jun 2006 14:08
Marsh & McLennan Co Inc08 June 2006 News Release Media Contacts: Investor Contact:Robin Liebowitz Jim Fingeroth Mike BischoffMMC Kekst and Company MMC(212) 345-3963 (212) 521-4819 (212) 345-5470 MMC ANNOUNCES NEW LEADERSHIP FOR MERCER SPECIALTY CONSULTING John Drzik to Head Specialty Consulting Group; Succeeds David Morrison, Who Will Retire NEW YORK, NEW YORK, June 8, 2006 -- Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (MMC) todayannounced changes in the leadership of its Mercer Specialty Consulting Group,following David J. Morrison's decision to retire as President of the group andas President and Chief Executive Officer of its Mercer Management Consulting(Mercer MC) business. Mercer Specialty Consulting comprises Mercer Management Consulting (strategy andoperations consulting), Mercer Oliver Wyman (financial services and riskconsulting), Lippincott Mercer (brand strategy and design consulting), MercerDelta Organizational Consulting (organizational architecture and changeconsulting) and National Economic Research Associates (economic consulting). John Drzik, President of Mercer Oliver Wyman, will succeed Mr. Morrison asPresident of Mercer Specialty Consulting. Mr. Drzik will continue to lead MercerOliver Wyman, a position he has held since the firm's formation following MMC'sacquisition of Oliver, Wyman & Company in 2003. He will report directly toMichael G. Cherkasky, President and Chief Executive Officer of MMC. Mr. Cherkasky said: "We are grateful for David Morrison's leadership andcontributions to our company in the areas of thought-leadership, mergers andacquisitions, and management. Over the past three years, Mercer Specialty hasachieved tremendous growth and produced excellent results. We are fortunate thatJohn Drzik, who has distinguished himself through his outstanding performancetrack record and professional accomplishments, will lead the group and continueto build on the strong direction set under David's tenure. "Mercer Specialty has grown to $1.1 billion in annual revenue and has producedstrong results for the past five quarters, including revenue growth of 14percent, or 17 percent on an underlying basis, in the first quarter of 2006.This group's growth pattern throughout 2005, as well as its outstandingperformance in the first quarter of 2006, reflects strong revenue growth inMercer MC's strategy and operations business, Mercer Oliver Wyman's financialservices and risk management consulting business, and Lippincott Mercer." Mr. Drzik, 44, joined Oliver, Wyman & Company in 1984, became President in 1995,and was appointed Chairman in 2000. In 2003, he led the merger and integrationof Oliver Wyman into Mercer Specialty Consulting. He has played a key role inestablishing the firm's leadership position in financial services strategy andrisk management consulting and was a driving force in growing the firm's annualrevenues from less than $30 million in 1994 to well over $300 million in 2005. Mr. Drzik was selected as a "Top 25 Consultant" by Consulting magazine in 2005.He is the author of numerous articles on the financial services industry and afrequent speaker in the U.S., Europe, and Asia at industry conferences andregulatory forums. Mr. Drzik is also the founder of the Mercer Oliver WymanInstitute, a cooperative undertaking between the firm and leading academics,designed to accelerate knowledge transfer between the academic community and thefinancial services industry and a member of the Advisory Board at the WhartonFinancial Institutions Center. MMC is a global professional services firm with annual revenues of approximately$12 billion. It is the parent company of Marsh, the world's leading risk andinsurance services firm; Guy Carpenter, the world's leading risk and reinsurancespecialist; Kroll, the world's leading risk consulting company; Mercer, a majorglobal provider of human resource and specialty consulting services; and PutnamInvestments, one of the largest investment management companies in the UnitedStates. Approximately 55,000 employees provide analysis, advice, andtransactional capabilities to clients in over 100 countries. Its stock (tickersymbol: MMC) is listed on the New York, Chicago, Pacific, and London stockexchanges. MMC's website address is www.mmc.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange