Changing of the Guard: How the exodus of global broker executives is reshaping the insurance landscape

Recent leadership changes at the world’s largest brokers are just the visible edge of a deeper structural shake-up. Years of deals – from Marsh/JLT and Gallagher/Assured Partners to Howden’s mergers in Germany and New Zealand – have left overlapping entities, hierarchies and brands that must now be rationalized, inevitably resulting in new job titles and some exits. At the same time, the groups are redrawing the map: creating regional “super-roles” such as Marsh McLennan Pacific or WTW’s Australia-New Zealand co-head to drive cross-selling, shared analytics and a more focused operator strategy rather than purely local fiefdoms. The most important thing is the war for talent. Promoting internal stars to regional and global positions is one of the few reliable tools these companies have to prevent their best talent from going to competitors, MGAs or start-ups. All of this is happening against a backdrop of risks that require more technical firepower at the top.