Deals & People October 14, 2010

Aon Shedding 1,800 Jobs in Restructuring

Aon Corporation has announced a $325 million restructuring plan, undertaken in connection with its acquisition of Hewitt Associates, in which 1,500 to 1,800 jobs are expected to be axed.
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According to a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, the restructuring expected to be completed by year-end 2013 will generate about $180 million in employee termination costs and about $145 million in real-estate-related costs.

The SEC filing said the eliminated jobs globally are “predominantly non-client facing.”

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As a result of the changes, Aon said, it expects to deliver total annual savings of around $355 million in 2013, including approximately $280 million of annual savings related to the restructuring plan, and additional savings in areas such as information technology, procurement, and public company costs.

The $4.7 billion acquisition and the formation of Aon Hewitt with about 29,000 employees was completed on October 1, 2010 (see Aon, Hewitt Complete Merger).   

The Aon SEC filing is at http://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/315293/000110465910052251/a10-19358_18k.htm.

Deals & People October 14, 2010

BofA Merrill Lynch Revamps Business Retirement Solutions Team

Rich Linton, the recently appointed head of Business Retirement Solutions at Bank of America (BofA) Merrill Lynch, has announced organizational changes to his team.
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Linton, who was hired in July, has organized the team into three areas: Product Management, Product Development, and Channel Management (see “BofA Merrill Lynch Adds Two to Retirement Team“).   

Karen Mara, a 26-year veteran of the firm, will lead Product Management, where she will oversee SEP, Simple, Basic, Investment Link, and Retirement Cash Management Account (RCMA Investment Only Account).  Previously, Mara worked closely with small business plans through BofA’s Advisor Alliance Product (formerly MLConnect) and Relationship Management group (see “BofA Merrill Revitalizes Recordkeeping Platform“).

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Kate Lavelle will head the Product Development unit.  As new legislation and regulations keep cropping up, she will be responsible for creating products that match clients’ changing needs.  Before taking on this new leadership role, Lavelle worked closely with Mara and led Product Management and Development.

The only member of Linton’s team to be hired from outside the company is Dee Sawyer, as Channel Strategy and Development Director.  Sawyer joins the organization from Fidelity Investments where she held several senior product management, client management and marketing roles during her 15-year tenure. Most recently, she had responsibility for Market & Client Insights and Plan Sponsor Marketing for Fidelity’s 401(k) business.

 

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