Willis Group Strengthens Employee Benefits Practice In Latin America With Strategic Appointment

New York, NY (CompNewsNetwork) - Willis Group Holdings (NYSE: WSH), the global insurance broker, today announced the appointment of Renato Cassinelli as Employee Benefits Practice Leader for Latin America, effective immediately. Cassinelli is responsible for leading Employee Benefits for the region by helping to drive profitable growth in each of Willis' local country markets. In this role, he will report to Chris Burns, Global Employee Benefits Practice Leader, and Eugenio Paschoal, Willis' CEO for Latin America.

Commenting on the appointment, Chris Burns, Global Employee Benefits Practice Leader at Willis, and Senior Vice President of Willis North America Inc., said, "Renato's extensive knowledge of the Latin American market and his work in our Employee Benefits Practice make him an excellent fit for this role. Employee Benefits is a significant area of growth for Willis in this region, and Renato's leadership will be essential to our strategy.”

Eugenio Paschoal, CEO for Latin America, Willis stated, "We are confident that Renato's experience will support our efforts to deliver global resources locally to our clients, and also help multinational clients have the in-country service that they need.”

Cassinelli, who is based in New York and will relocate to Sao Paulo, Brazil, to be part of the Willis Latin American Management team. He joined Willis in May 2006 as Vice President and Operations Director for Multinational Benefits & International Healthcare, within the Global Employee Benefits Practice. Since that time, Cassinelli has provided operational and technical support for the Company's Multinational Benefits unit, and also worked closely with the Employee Benefits Leaders in Latin America to help enhance each country's Employee Benefits Value Proposition including healthcare tools and supporting resources.

Prior to joining Willis, Cassinelli worked for Old Mutual Financial Network, and previous to that worked at AIG for 10 years including a four year assignment in Brazil running the local employee benefits profit center. Cassinelli has also worked in insurance and reinsurance broking in Brazil and in Paris. He earned his BA in economics from Pontificia Catholic University in Rio de Janeiro, and an MBA in finance from Columbia Business School in New York City.

Willis Group Holdings Limited is a leading global insurance broker, developing and delivering professional insurance, reinsurance, risk management, financial and human resource consulting and actuarial services to corporations, public entities and institutions around the world.  Willis has more than 300 offices in some 100 countries, with a global team of approximately 16,000 Associates serving clients in some 190 countries.  Additional information on Willis may be found at www.willis.com.

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