We are joined this week by Aon CEO Greg Case, who shares his thoughts on how Aon is heading into 2022 with more momentum than ever before. Greg discusses how the firm has expanded its ability to help clients and innovate at scale to address their emerging needs in an increasingly complex and interconnected world. Greg dives into the importance of inclusive people leadership and how creating an environment that fosters accountability and transparency is crucial to the success of Aon. He shares why he is inspired by Aon colleagues coming together to support each other during the COVID-19 pandemic and notes how this only proves the concept of Aon United – working together as one firm to shape decisions for the better and drive sustainable growth.
We are joined this week by Aon CEO Greg Case, who shares his thoughts on how Aon is heading into 2022 with more momentum than ever before. Greg discusses how the firm has expanded its ability to help clients and innovate at scale to address their emerging needs in an increasingly complex and interconnected world. Greg dives into the importance of inclusive people leadership and how creating an environment that fosters accountability and transparency is crucial to the success of Aon. He shares why he is inspired by Aon colleagues coming together to support each other during the COVID-19 pandemic and notes how this only proves the concept of Aon United – working together as one firm to shape decisions for the better and drive sustainable growth.
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Voiceover:
Welcome to “On Aon,” a podcast featuring conversations between colleagues on, well, Aon. This week, we hear a special conversation with CEO Greg Case as he reflects on 2021 and looks forward to 2022. And now, this week’s host, Chief Marketing Officer, Andy Weitz.
Andy Weitz:
Hey, On Aon listeners. My name is Andy Weitz, and I've been with Aon since 2014 and lucky enough to be serving as Chief Marketing Officer since 2017. It's a thrill to be with you today. I'm very excited to be here today, not only because it's my first time hosting an On Aon podcast, but even more so because we have our CEO, Greg Case, as our special guest today. Thanks for being here, Greg.
Greg Case:
Andy, it's such a pleasure to be here with you.
Andy Weitz:
Well, the feeling is mutual and let the record show that I think this is the 21st episode. So to be clear, they didn't really trust us to take the reins of this enterprise until well into its run. I hope we can live up to what's come before us today and cover some fun stuff.
Greg Case:
I fully understand that Andy, but do you know, at 21, we'll get it right, hopefully.
Andy Weitz:
Yeah, we got a shot. Now to that point, it's my understanding, it's a custom here at On Aon to ask a warmup question, just a way to help our listeners get to know guests better. And really, as I think about this and put ourselves in the shoes of our colleagues, maybe even clients or candidates, folks who might be interested in working at Aon, this is a great window into your leadership style, what makes Aon tick. And so before we get into the serious stuff, I just wanted to ask you, is there one lesson being CEO? What is that you take away that has taught you, or you keep returning to that you think everyone should learn at some point in life?
Greg Case:
Wow. One lesson, I don't know if I could boil it down to one, but I'll tell you an observation. Coming up on 17 years, privileged to be in the role supporting my colleagues from around the world, a theme just keeps coming up and you just see it year in, year out and it's the idea, Andy, that momentum never sleeps. And let me describe that. It really means, as we make progress as an organization, there's no such thing as inertia anymore. Things just don't drift along and do just fine. You've got to be actively leading, working together, supporting each other to strengthen the firm or your firm doesn't grow. It's not innovative. It's not robust in terms of how it evolves over time and momentum never sleeps means it really is, we got to work together to build the firm.
Greg Case:
And I will tell you, as I've seen Aon in action, it's amazing what our colleagues do when they come together and support each other to build the firm. It's really extraordinary. And you see it really, even outside of Aon, leading organizations foster and nurture individual development and excellence, no doubt. Individual excellence, critical, but they also celebrate collective achievement in so many ways. And I've just seen it in so many ways at Aon. It's been one of the real privileges of being in my role and seeing colleagues who really, when they come together, have the capacity for achievement that's almost, Andy, limitless. And I know you've seen it too, countless examples over the years. And it's why Aon United, for us, is so fundamental, bringing the best of our firm to our clients every day. That means we can be better for them now and better for them in the future as we evolve and support them in every way we possibly can. So the idea of momentum never sleeps is maybe one thought I'd leave with listeners here today.
Andy Weitz:
Greg, I love that. I think it's definitely applicable to leading an organization like Aon, but it's applicable to life. You got to be, I think, cognizant of the fact that you're either moving forward or you're moving backward. This notion of plateau, I don't know, I think that it's unlikely, especially in today's business world. And, gosh, I think back to so many great companies over the last 10, 20, 30 years who maybe lost sight of that. There's very few organizations that are constantly challenging themselves to move forward, to constantly raising their game. You mentioned Aon United in there, for those listeners who aren't as familiar with it, can you just talk for a moment about what Aon United is and why it's helped us tackle this idea of momentum never sleeps and that we can do better together, move the firm forward, as you talked about?
Greg Case:
Love it. Listen, even on this journey, with me together as partners from the beginning. You think about it, better part of 10 years ago, we looked around, we were doing fine. Some would say even better than fine as a firm, but we understood that our clients were evolving faster than we were, certainly faster than the industry was. And we looked and said, "Listen, how can we evolve? How can we innovate? And not just keep up with them, but on the topics that really matter that we can support the on, we've got to be better than, faster than, more innovative." And the idea was really clear, when we work together, support each other and bring the best of our firm, we are better in the here and now, but we're also in a position where we can bring ideas to bear and scale them globally in ways we could never do if we weren't a united firm.
Greg Case:
So we coined the phrase, the idea, Aon United. How do we bring the best of our firm to our clients every day and also innovate at scale on their behalf? And that's been a journey, Andy, you know it very well, we've been on for the better part of the decade plus, and it's served us so well. And what it's really done, we've proven the concept of Aon United and we've seen so much possibility as we move forward and looking forward to as we're going to 2022, all of this is going to bring for us as we work together to support each other, ala, Aon United.
Andy Weitz:
Well, great. I appreciate you laying it out because I think we'll probably return to that concept more than once in the course of this discussion, and it's great context for our listeners. I kind of want to jump in though to some topics that are on my mind that I think the team and other stakeholders out there are probably thinking about. 2022, it is upon us. We're all excited. I think as a firm, we felt that it was a pretty eventful, to say the least 2021, but we closed the year really strong. There's a sense of momentum that I feel in my interactions with our team around the organization as we go into the New Year and you want to be careful here, because the effects of the pandemic are still very real right now. So that uncertainty we've been facing for almost two years now is still out there, but there's also a lot of cause for excitement.
Andy Weitz:
When you think about the prospects for '22, if you were to run into somebody on the, it's hard to say the street these days or in the hallway, because we don't do as much of that. But when you have conversations with folks, what do you come back to? What are the key points? Why is there this level of excitement and momentum around the firm?
Greg Case:
Well, listen, Andy, I love the question and you're right, 2021 had so many challenges, but back to the idea of Aon United and coming together and supporting each other, we're going into 2022, I would say Andy, I don't know about your perspective, with more momentum going into 2022 than at any time in the history of our firm. And that really is a credit to all of our colleagues and what they've done to support each other. And when you think about it, there's a level of opportunity out there in terms of client need greater than ever before, all the different things clients are facing and our ability to support clients at a time of high need. And you think about the work we've done that really does clarify the strategy of the firm and the story of Aon and what we're trying to get accomplished.
Greg Case:
I mean, all the work we did on the purpose and proposition of the firm, you coined this, to shape decisions for the better, to protect and enrich the lives of people around the world. I mean, this is inspiring stuff that matters. It's why we described Aon as in the Business of Better Decisions. We're literally helping clients address a very complex world and make better decisions because we can provide insight and guidance that no one else can do to support their businesses. What we deliver for stakeholders, I mean, we start with colleagues, helping our colleagues be more relevant, more connected, more valued, all the things that we bring to bear to support each other, it becomes more real every year and no more so than what we're doing in 2022. And this all delivers this client experience and helping them be better informed, better advised and make, as we said many times, make better decisions.
Greg Case:
And this idea of Aon United is at the core of all this, as we talked about at the beginning and it really ties back to our values. Committed as one firm to our purpose, everything we're trying to get accomplished. United as we trust each other, but bringing together the best diverse team we can, the best thinking and hopefully we'll get a chance to talk about that more in this podcast. And then hopefully as you can hear in my voice, some real passion on making a difference on behalf of our clients and on behalf of society. Andy, to me, we've got more clarity than we've ever had before on the Aon Story and the Blueprint. We've got greater alignment in the leadership team across the world on what we're trying to accomplish together. And because of that tremendous opportunity for our colleagues, tremendous opportunity for our clients and really all the stakeholders we deal with every day. So, it's a little bit of what I would describe sort of in the hallway or more broadly. And it really is a testament to what our colleagues have been able to accomplish to get us to this point through 2021.
Andy Weitz:
Greg, I love that. And I'll tell you, you've warmed the hearts of marketing and communications colleagues and people organization leaders around the world, I think, as they listen to that, because it really is what we're trying to get across to our team at scale. I think so much of this year is going to be about making sure that our 50,000 colleagues strong around the world feel as confident and able to articulate that as you just did, because what I hear you saying is Aon is positioned to win in '22 and beyond because the opportunity is greater than ever before.
Andy Weitz:
We would never wish this level of volatility or uncertainty on anyone, but we're built for this. We're built for this moment and we've got clarity around our strategy, we've got alignment amongst our leadership team and we come into the year with a ton of momentum. And so I think that's definitely cause for excitement and passion, but at the heart of that is this question around leadership.
Andy Weitz:
Can we talk for a moment or go back to if you will, this leadership point, because at our heart, at our core, we're a people firm. Every day we show up and we deliver insight. We're more powerful. We're more effective when we bring the best of the firm and work together to do that. But talk about why people leadership is so important to the success of our firm.
Greg Case:
I love it. You described it so well and it isn't just important. It's fundamental, it's vital, it's critical, it's everything. You think about it. We're 50,000 colleague globally acting Aon United with our content and capability. The intellectual property we bring to bear on behalf with clients and that's our firm. That's everything we do. It comes back to people. It comes back to our colleagues. How we support them as individuals and the talent they bring to bear, but how we also help them develop and become stronger and better professionals every day. And we described it a bit at the beginning, this is individual excellence, but also collective capability when we come together and fundamental to that. Fundamental is people leadership. It just literally drives everything. It's why this idea of inclusive people leadership is so fundamental to the success of our firm.
Greg Case:
Again, you can be great as an individual, but you're going to be better as a team. And you're better as an individual if you can bring your best self to work every day, that's what makes us a better firm. And what we have really come to understand is this has to be actively led. We have to create these environments. We have to nurture these environments. We have to make sure we have accountability to each other and transparency that these environments are truly the best possible approach you can be to develop leaders. And in the end we know diverse perspectives and voices help us help our clients more effectively. Help us help clients make better decisions.
Greg Case:
And I would just highlight, this is so important to us that this isn't just something we talk about occasionally, we talk about this every day, inclusive people leadership. We talk about it with our board of directors. We've got, literally, the first of its kind, created a board committee around inclusive people leadership that's led by our chairman. So at every board meeting, we talk about this, it's so fundamental. So really appreciate you're raising it, Andy. It's just so critical to our success. We see the power of inclusion. We see what it can mean for us. And it's one of the reasons why we're so excited and confident about what's ahead in 2022 and the coming years.
Andy Weitz:
Greg, that was a great summary. I mean, to your point, if we're going to be in the Business of Better Decisions, which we've talked about out over the course of this discussion so far, it's self-evident that we need different perspectives. We need to be inclusive. We need unique voices. We need everyone to bring their full selves to the table at work if we're going to evolve as a firm and be at the Global Inclusive Leadership Council or the example of the governance that we put in the place at the board level, we're holding ourselves accountable. I mean, we walk the walk with our apprenticeship program. I think there's so many great proof points that are out there, but we can't stop. Inclusive people leadership to your point, it's got to be at the core of what we do as an organization.
Andy Weitz:
You talked earlier about colleague experience and how that informs client experience and how that drives business and societal impact, so let's bring those things together. If the world is continuing to be more volatile than really ever before, and we hope '22 in some ways we get the clarity we want, but the reality is we begin the year with a lot of questions. In your opinion, how do we turn everything we've talked about so far into client value? What are one or two of the most important things our organization should be thinking about or doing for clients in '22 and beyond?
Greg Case:
Wow, this is the question. And I must say, I talked to so many of my counterparties around the world. Andy, you come back time and time again. You realize clients are, as you said, facing more volatility than ever before. They're facing it in the classic areas of risk, what they see every day. I mean, and they're facing it in retirement.
Greg Case:
You think about this, the idea that 20% of the world's population is ready for retirement. This means this is over the next decade, this is a slow moving train wreck. It's a tragedy that employees and individuals are going to have to go through as they think about managing retirement. So you've got risk, you've got retirement, more volatility. Think about the topic of health, helping our clients help their own employees navigate this world of health where we know on average employees are spending too much on health and not enough on retirement. And then of course, all things around talent in the future of work. So just imagine how clients feel. They're really trying to understand how we deal with a greater level of volatility and deal with in a way that can help build their individual businesses.
Greg Case:
Another point I just would make, Andy, that just underscores the urgency of us, Aon, taking action to lead the way for our industry is really around this idea of innovation and relevance. And if you think about it and I'm going to pick on risk here for a bit, but it's true in retirement, it's true in health, it's true in talent. But if you step back and think about it, think about risk placement, the idea of risk placement as a percent of GDP globally, it's a measure of relevance and as GDP grows, you would hope this proportion grows too.
Greg Case:
And from the seventies to the nineties, it actually grew every year. And from the nineties, mid-nineties to now, the better part of 30 years, that's gone down every year. It means we are not keeping up with clients on this topic of innovation. They're evolving faster than we are. And we've got to break that trend. And if not Aon, who? And stepping forward to break that trend on behalf of clients is critical. And again, in risk, in retirement, in health, in talent and this is really the opportunity. It's really the urgency. It's why we've got to come forward as a firm, deliver on all the promises of Aon United and innovate faster on behalf of our clients because they need it now more than ever before.
Andy Weitz:
Absolutely, Greg, and it's funny, I've heard you talk about this and you reference that first you have the opportunity you have to talk to CEOs and leaders of different organizations around the world. And I've heard you talk about that challenge, that lack of innovation, the ability to bring solutions to bear for clients almost adds a tax on innovation within the client. Can you talk a little bit about that idea that when we don't show up with solutions and I mean, we, as an industry, they then have to reallocate capital within their own four walls to address the challenge themselves. Bottom line that for our listeners, what does that mean? Where does that put a company when they have to put a tax on innovation because we can't help them?
Greg Case:
It means, Andy, and it's such an insightful question and approach on what clients face. It means they can't grow. It means they can't fulfill their destinies. It means they have to do things to play defense, when if we can help them have better risk understanding and better approaches to risk mitigation, they could be on offense. And the difference between defending your position versus truly attacking an opportunity, changes growth trajectory for companies, changes growth trajectory for clients. And that's why this is so fundamental. In many respects, you can probably hear the urgency in my voice, but it's also the excitement. This is literally what we're destined to do. This is what Aon is all about. This is back to the idea in the Business of Better Decisions, helping clients make better calls in these kinds of environments is what we're built to do and excited to pursue on the behalf of clients.
Andy Weitz:
I appreciate you getting into that because I think sometimes it can begin to get a little abstract, but the way you tied that back to better decisions, ultimately a client without our advice, our insight, and literally, our ability to help them make markets and in some cases, transfer risk, left to their own devices they have to make tradeoffs on their own balance sheet that put them at a disadvantage. And if we exist to shape decisions for the better, to protect and enrich the lives of people around the world, let's make it real. When somebody doesn't have the right level of cyber coverage and they have to take money out of their R&D budget to remediate a cyber hack, that is a tax on innovation, they now can't innovate and bring new solutions to the market that have benefits to business and benefits to society. Sometimes we've got to make those connections, because we do a lot of different stuff at Aon and it's tough sometimes to remember that at the end of the day, it has those kind of impacts. So I love that notion of tax on innovation. I appreciate you going there.
Andy Weitz:
One other thing before I move on this topic, you talked a lot about risk, retirement, health, talent. That's not the way the client thinks about their problems though, is it? I mean, when we think of about the impact of Aon United, how do we show up in a world where client problems more integrated than ever before? Let me put it differently. They face what feel like distributed problems, but they're actually interconnected. How do we as an integrated firm step up to that challenge? Because they don't say to themselves, I need a health solution. I need a talent solution. Do they? How do they think about it when you talk to them?
Greg Case:
Well, listen again, incredibly important and insightful in terms of how we build our firm to help clients shape their businesses. And you're exactly right. This is why, again, you think about Aon United and the decade we've invested to connect our firm. It's because the challenges clients face as you just described truly require distributed, detailed understanding across the client, but an integrated approach. I loved your cyber example. I was with a client last week, we were talking about their cyber challenge, by the way, this is no longer just what the risk manager, this is what the CEO and the board. And they're talking about the cyber challenge. And I asked them who addresses cyber in the business, who owns it? And by the way, they went through about 15 people who all thought they owned cyber, which means no one really owned cyber. It really was distributed. It really wasn't integrated.
Greg Case:
But in order to actually think about what is cyber, it's a technology challenge. It's a risk challenge. By the way, it's a peak challenge. One of the biggest challenges on cyber is not just the technology. It is actions that individuals take, whether innocent or not so innocent that create risk. Andy, as you think about our Aon world, that's our risk colleagues. That's our reinsurance colleagues. That's our talent colleagues all together, thinking about how to approach this on behalf of clients. This means these distributed problems require an integrated solution just as you said, and that's fundamental that we have to approach this. By the way, this is true in cyber, this is true in climate, this is true in intellectual property. This is true on all of the long-tail risks that are sort of coming on the horizon and why it's so important that we act integrated, act Aon United and also innovate faster on their behalf in these critical categories.
Andy Weitz:
Love it. Great summary. And I think it really brings to life why Aon United in this decade plus journey is so critical to our success in '22 and '23 and '24 and beyond, and love the fact that we're talking about C-level issues, board level issues, and able to help integrate and help bring together these distributed problems. And we're also solving every day at the risk management level, at the benefits level, at the HR leadership level. Our ability to toggle up and down and across organizations, I think really distinguishes us. So thank you for bringing that to life.
Andy Weitz:
Changing gears for a second. It's definitely been an interesting couple of years. We've talked about this a few times. I've heard you say, I wish I had dates here, but I've heard you say over the last 18 months, as we get the pandemic beside us and begin to focus on the future only to then have it right in front of us again, it's been a little bit of Groundhog Day. I'm curious. What have you taken away from it either personally, professionally? I think we've all probably done a lot of reflecting over the holidays as we gear up for '22. Any insights you want to share?
Greg Case:
Well, listen, you step back and think about what's gone on during the pandemic. We would've talked about before the pandemic, all about the idea of increasing risk. And we spent the last decade doing that. And that's true as population age, risk goes up, as population moves to coast, risk goes up, as populations become more interconnected globally, risk goes up, and that's all true. And that really is fundamental to Aon United, but pandemic created a different outcome for our clients. And in many respects, Andy, think about it, when in global economic history has every company in the world, big, medium, and small, had to react to an independent event that created a level of volatility that was created by the pandemic? It just never happened. These things tend to happen regionally, locally. They evolve over time. They take years to develop. In a period of months we experienced a level of volatility at every level of the economy globally. That's just never happened before.
Greg Case:
And what it did, Andy, is it created a situation where our clients, again, not just risk managers, heads of HR might have acted a little more focused on their area. It created an integrated response at the C-suite level with CEOs and CFOs and board directors who were asking questions about volatility they'd never asked before. And actually, not just asking questions, they're demanding answers on what to do. And this idea of these long-tail risks that have been talked about forever, pandemic, intellectual property, climate, cyber, all these long-tail risks that used to be out on the horizon are now on your doorstep. And they demand an answer. They demand a response.
Greg Case:
In many respects, what the pandemic has done is fundamentally ratcheted up and increased the level of volatility on top of what we were talking about before, in a way that's never been done before. And again, it creates a level of risk for clients, but it also creates a tremendous opportunity because those clients who can get understanding, they can come to play. They can come to play in a much more positive way than being in a defensive mode where we've been over the last 24 months, which is why this situation is so unique. It creates so much risk, but it also creates tremendous opportunities. Clients come out of it and we support them to do so. So that's one observation coming out of the pandemic that I have found helpful as we think about our client strategy and client delivery approach.
Andy Weitz:
Well, Greg, that definitely puts a fine point on what we could do differently, how we could serve them. It also makes me think, I've heard you mention this research before about the mindset shift we're seeing amongst companies, is your point around opportunity, it strikes me that that research, I think, talked about how leading companies are actually, they're becoming not more risk averse, they're leaning into it. They're wondering how they can take more calculated risks that could drive better return?
Greg Case:
This is exactly right, Andy, and it really is, as you're describing, it was 800 C-suite leaders across the world, principally in North America and in Europe, but really around the world. And it really highlighted as we talked to them, this first of all, as pandemic starts to take hold early in 2020, really a defensive posture, but it is as you just described evolved way past that. Not that they aren't respectful of the risks, but they want to understand it. They want to deal with it. They want to be out in front of it. They want to attack in terms of building their businesses and strengthening their positions. And risk understanding is fundamental to that. So this evolution, even when the context of pandemic became very clear where clients want answers to build their business and they will settle for nothing less and they should settle for nothing less. Again, back to the idea of what is Aon all about.
Andy Weitz:
Well, Greg, this has been a great conversation and I'm mindful that if we want to be asked back, we should probably wrap things up at this point. You and I could talk about Aon United and the opportunity we have ahead for us for a long time, I think, but I'm betting that our listeners would probably, if I could put you on the spot, love to hear a little bit more about you. And so I am going to put you on the spot and ask just in closing here, is there anything you just love to do outside of work that we might not know about, that defines you and your time away from the office?
Greg Case:
Well, love it, Andy. I appreciate you asking the question. Although I'm not going to be as exciting I can assure you as Aon and Aon United, and certainly not as exciting as our clients, but listen, before I answer the question, I do have to say, listen, I know we're number 21 in the podcast series, but it's been a real privilege to be here with you. I also want to thank everyone working behind the scenes to make this podcast a reality. It's been an incredible series, maybe with the exception of this one, Andy, but it's been an incredible series in terms of sort of what's there. And hopefully we get a chance to do this again and we're asked back.
Greg Case:
But to your question, I'll tell you, I have two wonderful sons. Will, who's 26 and Andrew who's 24, and I would say most of my time outside of Aon is, when they'll have me, which is not always, spending time with them in a variety of things. The holiday was phenomenal because it was a chance to get our family together and we hadn't been for quite some time. So they're probably my focal point more than anything else outside of Aon. So, that's where I would go. And again, Andy, really appreciate being here with you today.
Voiceover:
This has been a conversation “On Aon” and CEO Greg Case’s message for the New Year. Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed this week’s episode, tune in in two weeks for a discussion of Aon's work with Historically Black Colleges and Universities. To learn more about Aon, its colleagues, solutions and news, check out our show notes, and visit our website at Aon.com