Aon UK boss Harmer quits

Aon UK chief executive, Peter Harmer, is stepping down from his role at the global broking giant.

The company said that Harmer will return to Australia in September.

In a statement, Aon said that since joining Aon UK in January 2007, Harmer "drove fundamental change across many parts of Aon Risk Services in the UK and across the company’s shared services operations, putting in the architecture for growth."

Harmer said: “I have truly enjoyed my time in the UK and am delighted that the progress we have made in implementing our strategy has allowed me to return home a little sooner than originally planned.”

As a result of Harmer’s decision, the ARS UK management team will get additional support from Aon Risk Services president, Ted Devine. Devine will be spending a significant amount of time in the UK over the next few months working on plans to accelerate the next phase of Aon’s global broking strategy.

“Our biggest opportunity as a firm comes from building a fully coordinated broking platform that connects our international placement centres, our global specialties and our leading edge analytics to create the world’s premier specialist broker,” Devine explained.

“The UK team is exceptional, with a passion for delivering the best of Aon to our clients. I look forward to working alongside them with a strong focus on winning business, driving up revenues and profits to grow our Firm, and collectively building on the strong foundations for UK growth that have been laid.”

Aon Corporate & Affinity chief executive Rob Brown will be joining the global ARS executive committee to represent its UK retail business.

Aon Corporation president and chief executive, Greg Case, said: "I would like to thank Peter for his extraordinary leadership and efforts both here in the UK, and as a key player on the global Aon stage. We wish him and his family well on his return to Australia later this year."

At the same time, Harmer is also stepping down from his role as chairman of the Market Reform Group. "It is with regret that I am stepping down as chair of MRG. I believe we have made genuine progress over the past 15 months," added Harmer.

Richard Ward, MRG member and chief executive of Lloyd’s, said: "MRG would like to thank Peter for his significant contribution to market reform during his time in London. As chair of MRG he has set us squarely on the path to achieving our immediate objective of “Finishing What We have Started”. This will ensure London continues to be the market of choice for global insurance. We will name Peter's successor shortly to allow for a smooth handover."