Marsh and McLennan Companies
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Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., doing business as Marsh McLennan, is a global
professional services Professional services are occupations in the service sector requiring special training in the arts or sciences. Some professional services, such as architects, accountants, engineers, doctors, and lawyers require the practitioner to hold professi ...
firm, headquartered in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
with businesses in insurance brokerage, risk management,
reinsurance Reinsurance is insurance that an insurance company purchases from another insurance company to insulate itself (at least in part) from the risk of a major claims event. With reinsurance, the company passes on ("cedes") some part of its own insu ...
services, talent management, investment advisory, and
management consulting Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultant ...
. Its four main operating companies are
Marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...
,
Guy Carpenter Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, is a global risk and reinsurance specialist based in New York with more than 60 offices worldwide. Placing more than $51 billion in gross premium volume in 2021, Guy Carpenter has grown to become one of the world†...
,
Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader ...
, and
Oliver Wyman Oliver Wyman is an American management consulting firm. Founded in New York City in 1984 by former Booz Allen Hamilton partners Alex Oliver and Bill Wyman, the firm has more than 60 offices in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pa ...
. Marsh McLennan ranked #212 on the 2018
Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
ranking, the company's 24th year on the annual ''Fortune'' list, and #458 on the 2017 ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'' Global 2000 List. In 2017, ''Business Insurance'' ranked Marsh McLennan #1 of the world's largest insurance brokers.


History


Foundation and early years

Burroughs, Marsh & McLennan was formed by Henry W. Marsh and
Donald R. McLennan Donald Roderick McLennan (October 27, 1873 – October 14, 1944) was born in Duluth, Minnesota, son of William Lillingston McLennan and Julia MacLeod. He was the co-founder of the insurance brokerage firm Burroughs, Marsh & McLennan in 1905, whic ...
in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
in 1905. It was renamed as Marsh & McLennan in 1906. The reinsurance firm Guy Carpenter & Company was acquired in 1923, a year after it was founded by Guy Carpenter. In 1959, it acquired the
human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include m ...
consulting firm
Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader ...
. The 1960s were particularly notable for the company's development, including an
initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...
in 1962 and a 1969 reorganization that introduced a
holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
configuration, with the company offering clients its services under the banners of separately managed companies. In 1970, the company purchased
Putnam Investments Putnam Investments is a privately owned investment management firm founded in 1937 by George Putnam, who established one of the first balanced mutual funds, The George Putnam Fund of Boston. As one of the oldest mutual fund complexes in the Unite ...
, adding a mutual fund business to its portfolio (and sold it in 2007).


Temple, Barker & Sloane

In 1987, Marsh & McLennan acquired the consultancy Temple, Barker & Sloane. Founded in Lexington, Massachusetts in 1969, Temple, Barker & Sloane found quick success in the management consulting industry. In a candid interview with ''
The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...
'', Carl Sloane said "In the 1960s, if you had a Harvard MBA, a blue serge suit, and an air travel card, you were a consultant." But as the recession of the 1980s began, he noted that "Now the clients have their own bright MBAs, and you have to offer a range of specialized services.'' Temple, Barker & Sloane found themselves specializing in
supply chain management In commerce, supply chain management (SCM) is the management of the flow of goods and services including all processes that transform raw materials into final products between businesses and locations. This can include the movement and stor ...
,
transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...
ation, and
financial services Financial services are the Service (economics), economic services provided by the finance industry, which encompasses a broad range of businesses that manage money, including credit unions, banks, credit-card companies, insurance companies, acco ...
. They conducted studies for the
United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
to determine if the nation should sign onto international oil protocols in the 70s; restructured American Presidential Lines, which became the largest American shipping company in the Pacific in the 80s; and found alternate uses for state-owned railcars when freight trains declined in popularity in the 90s. The firm also employed Burunda Prince, who would go on to become the first female consultant of color at
Bain & Company Bain & Company is an American management consulting company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm provides advice to public, private, and non-profit organizations. One of the Big Three management consultancies, Bain & Company was fou ...
. In 1971, the chairman of the firm's board gave an expert testimony analyzing the impacts of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act based on Temple, Barker & Sloane's experience in the marine transportation industry. U.S. Congressman
Edward Garmatz Edward Alexander Garmatz (February 7, 1903 – July 22, 1986), a Democrat, was a U.S. Congressman who represented the 3rd congressional district of Maryland from 1947 to 1973. Early life and career Born in Baltimore, Maryland; his father and m ...
proclaimed it the best presentation he had "ever seen or heard in ismany years here in the Congress." In 1983, the firm was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate allegations of poor meat and poultry regulations by environmental activist
Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. The son of Lebanese immigrants to the Un ...
. When Nader discovered that the USDA's response had been contracted out, he called the project a "deplorable waste of taxpayers' money". A spokesperson from the Agricultural Department confirmed that Temple, Barker & Sloane had a blanket contract for $100,000 and stated "We did ask them to look into the Nader charges and some other miscellaneous assignments... It's not unusual to have an outside firm take a look at it when serious charges are made against the department." After reading the firm's report, U.S. Representative
Tom Harkin Thomas Richard Harkin (born November 19, 1939) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as a United States senator from Iowa from 1985 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. representative for Iowa' ...
decided not to conduct hearings into Nader's charges, declaring that he was "satisfied the Reagan administration is not imperiling the nation's meat and poultry inspection program". At the time of acquisition, the firm was worth an estimated $45 million in 1987 US dollars, or over $100 million today.


Strategic Planning Associates merger

In 1989, Washington, DC-based international management consulting firm Strategic Planning Associates merged with Marsh & McLennan. Founded by former
Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) is an American global management consulting firm founded in 1963 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the Big Three (or MBB, the world’s three largest management consulting firms by rev ...
associate Walker Lewis in 1981, Strategic Planning Associates applied concepts of
computing Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, e ...
to strategy consulting. By 1986, the consultancy was worth $25 million in 1990 US dollars, but just two clients accounted for more than 40% of their revenue. When one of these clients dropped the firm in 1987, Lewis became increasingly convinced that the firm was too small to succeed, admitting to ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' that "a meaningful-sized consulting company has to be 2,000 professionals or larger... it's simple math."


Mercer Management Consulting

In 1990, Temple Barker & Sloan was merged with Strategic Planning Associates to form Mercer Management Consulting.


Developments leading to current structure

In 1997, the company significantly boosted its insurance brokerage business with a $1.8 billion acquisition of
Johnson & Higgins Johnson & Higgins was one of the largest insurance brokerage firms in the world until it was acquired by Marsh & McLennan in 1997. At that point based in New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the ...
, which, at the time, was one of MMC's biggest competitors in its brokerage business. The purchase occurred during a time of consolidation in the industry, and pushed Marsh & McLennan back above Aon as the world's largest insurance broker. Throughout the 2000s, the company further transformed and focused its operating strategy through various acquisitions and
divestment In finance and economics, divestment or divestiture is the reduction of some kind of asset for financial, ethical, or political objectives or sale of an existing business by a firm. A divestment is the opposite of an investment. Divestiture is a ...
at its subsidiaries, including: * In 2000, Marsh & McLennan’s HR consulting unit,
Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader ...
, acquired Delta Consulting Group for its organizational development and change management expertise. *In 2003, the company acquired
Oliver Wyman Oliver Wyman is an American management consulting firm. Founded in New York City in 1984 by former Booz Allen Hamilton partners Alex Oliver and Bill Wyman, the firm has more than 60 offices in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pa ...
, a management consultancy with a large
financial services industry Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of finan ...
clientele. The acquisition served to transform MMC from a company known mostly for its insurance brokerage services into one with a full-fledged management consulting practice that competes with
McKinsey McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor James O. McKinsey, that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. McKinsey is the oldest and ...
,
Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) is an American global management consulting firm founded in 1963 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the Big Three (or MBB, the world’s three largest management consulting firms by rev ...
, and others. *In 2007, Marsh & McLennan sold its
Putnam Investments Putnam Investments is a privately owned investment management firm founded in 1937 by George Putnam, who established one of the first balanced mutual funds, The George Putnam Fund of Boston. As one of the oldest mutual fund complexes in the Unite ...
mutual fund business to Power Financial Corp. for $3.9 billion in a divestment meant to focus the parent company on its risk and human capital businesses. *Also in 2007, the company announced that its insurance brokerage unit,
Marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...
, had received the first license for a wholly owned foreign company to operate an insurance brokerage business in China. *In May 2007, the company combined three Mercer consulting units - Mercer Delta Consulting, Mercer Oliver Wyman and Mercer Management Consulting - into
Oliver Wyman Oliver Wyman is an American management consulting firm. Founded in New York City in 1984 by former Booz Allen Hamilton partners Alex Oliver and Bill Wyman, the firm has more than 60 offices in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pa ...
. *In 2010, the company sold
Kroll Kroll is a German, Anglo-Saxon, and Scottish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Colin Kroll (1983/4–2018), American businessman; co-founder of Vine and HQ Trivia * Eric Kroll (born 1946), American photographer * Fredric Kroll ...
, its corporate intelligence and investigative unit, to Altegrity Inc. for $1.13 billion. Prior to this final deal and divestiture, Marsh & McLennan had been selling off smaller divisions within Kroll to further focus on its core risk and consulting businesses. *In September 2018 the company agreed to acquire London-based
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc, also known as JLT Group or simply JLT, was a British multinational corporation that had its headquarters in London, England. It provided insurance, reinsurance, employment benefits advice and Brokerage firm, bro ...
for ÂŁ4.3 billion. The transaction was completed on 1 April 2019. In July 2017, Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. was ranked first in ''Business Insurances world's largest brokers list.


September 11 attacks

At the time of the 2001
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
in the United States, the corporation held offices on eight floors, 93 to 100, of the North Tower of the
World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...
. When American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the building, its offices spanned the entire impact zone, floors 93 to 99. Everyone present in the company's offices on the day of the attack died as all stairwells and elevators passing through the impact zone were destroyed or blocked by the crash or the direct impact of the plane crashing into the tower where the company was; the firm lost 295 employees and 63 contractors. A memorial to those lost on 9/11 is located in the plaza adjacent to Marsh McLennan's New York Headquarters at 1166 Avenue of the Americas.


2004 bid-rigging investigation

In 2004,
Marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...
, the company's insurance brokerage unit, was embroiled in a bid rigging scandal that plagued much of the insurance industry, including brokerage rivals
Aon Aon or AON may refer to: * Aon (mythology), son of Poseidon in Greek mythology * ''Aon'' (moth), a genus of moths in the family Erebidae * Aon (trigraph), a Latin trigraph * "Aon", a composition by jazz pianist Harold Mabern, 1968 Business an ...
and
Willis Group Willis Group Holdings plc was a multinational risk advisor, insurance brokerage and reinsurance brokerage company with its headquarters in the Willis Building in London until its merger of equals with financial services company Towers Watson i ...
, and insurer AIG. In a lawsuit,
Eliot Spitzer Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician and attorney. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was the 54th governor of New York from 2007 until his resignation in 2008. Spitzer was b ...
, then
New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...
’s attorney general, accused Marsh of not serving as an unbiased broker, leading to increased costs for clients and higher revenues for Marsh. In early 2005, Marsh agreed to pay $850 million to settle the lawsuit and compensate clients whose commercial insurance it arranged from 2001 to 2004. Much of Marsh & McLennan's corporate strategy since 2005 stemmed from an effort to recover from this tumultuous period, eventually leading to the firm's current organization and simplified focus on insurance services and consulting.


Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT)

In September 2018 Marsh & McLennan made an offer to British financial company JLT, valuing that company at ÂŁ4.3 billion. The transaction was completed on 1 April 2019.


Marsh McLennan

In April 2021, Marsh & McLennan Companies rebranded to Marsh McLennan coinciding with the 150th anniversary of subsidiary Marsh.


Operating segments and subsidiaries

Marsh & McLennan Companies is composed of two primary business segments: Risk and Insurance Services, and Consulting.


Risk and insurance services

*
Marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...
, which provides insurance brokering and risk management consulting, including strategic, cyber, property, casualty, enterprise risk management, crisis management, and more. John Doyle has been the president and CEO since 2017. *
Guy Carpenter Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, is a global risk and reinsurance specialist based in New York with more than 60 offices worldwide. Placing more than $51 billion in gross premium volume in 2021, Guy Carpenter has grown to become one of the world†...
, a risk and
reinsurance Reinsurance is insurance that an insurance company purchases from another insurance company to insulate itself (at least in part) from the risk of a major claims event. With reinsurance, the company passes on ("cedes") some part of its own insu ...
intermediary An intermediary (or go-between) is a third party that offers intermediation services between two parties, which involves conveying messages between principals in a dispute, preventing direct contact and potential escalation of the issue. In law ...


Consulting

*
Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader ...
, offering health, retirement, talent, and investment consulting services *
Oliver Wyman Oliver Wyman is an American management consulting firm. Founded in New York City in 1984 by former Booz Allen Hamilton partners Alex Oliver and Bill Wyman, the firm has more than 60 offices in Europe, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pa ...
, a collection of
management consulting Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultant ...
firms (including Oliver Wyman,
Lippincott Lippincott may refer to: Arts and media * ''Lippincott's Monthly Magazine'' a 19th-century literary magazine published in Philadelphia, U.S. * Andy Lippincott, a fictional character in the comic strip ''Doonesbury'' * "Lippincott", a song by Animal ...
, and NERA Economic Consulting)


See also

*
Aon Aon or AON may refer to: * Aon (mythology), son of Poseidon in Greek mythology * ''Aon'' (moth), a genus of moths in the family Erebidae * Aon (trigraph), a Latin trigraph * "Aon", a composition by jazz pianist Harold Mabern, 1968 Business an ...
* Brian Duperreault *
Willis Towers Watson Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company is a British-American multinational insurance advisor company. The company was founded in 2016, following a merger of the Willis Group and Towers Watson. Overview WTW operates in more than 140 cou ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marsh and Mclennan Companies 1905 establishments in Illinois American companies established in 1905 Companies based in New York City Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Financial services companies based in New York City Financial services companies established in 1905 Financial services companies of the United States Insurance companies based in New York City Publicly traded companies based in New York City