Willis Towers - WTW STOCK NEWS

WTW (NASDAQ: WTW) has announced a strategic scientific partnership with Cornell University to assess and quantify global drought risks. The collaboration aims to develop more accurate drought prediction tools and datasets, focusing on identifying geographical 'hotspots' for climate-amplified drought.

The initiative addresses a critical global challenge, as two-thirds of the world's population experiences water stress seasonally. The research will be led by Prof. Toby Ault at Cornell's Atkinson Center for Sustainability, a leading expert in future drought under climate change. The partnership seeks to overcome current limitations in climate models that often underestimate drought severity, duration, and correlation.

This collaboration will particularly benefit water-dependent sectors such as food and beverage, energy production, and waterborne transport, helping businesses better prepare for water scarcity risks. The research emphasizes the increasing impact of climate change on drought conditions, notably affecting low-income and middle-income countries, particularly in agriculture-dominated regions.

Willis (NASDAQ: WTW) has appointed Guy Donahue as Cross Industry Midwest Property Broking Leader within Corporate Risk and Broking North America. Donahue, who joined on February 3, 2025, brings over 20 years of experience in commercial property insurance broking, with expertise across industries including mining, semiconductors, automotive manufacturing, and pulp and paper.

Prior to joining Willis, Donahue served as Senior Account Manager and Unit Manager for Midwest Property at Lockton Companies, where he managed a team of 11 brokers handling over 45 accounts. He previously held the position of Senior Vice President, Property Client Advisor at Marsh. In his new role, Donahue will focus on driving strategic initiatives, fostering client relationships, and leading property broking efforts across the Midwest region, reporting to Scott Pizzi, Head of Property Broking for CRB NA.

WTW (NASDAQ: WTW) has launched Expert, an AI-enabled assistant designed to help U.S. midsize businesses optimize their HR, compensation, and benefits operations. The new tool, announced on February 11, 2025, leverages generative AI technology and WTW's expertise to provide comprehensive support for HR teams.

Expert offers four key features: research capabilities for accessing market-leading compensation and benefits data; regulatory expertise with access to federal and state HR legislation; writing assistance for drafting communications and job descriptions; and a secure search engine for managing strategy and policy documents.

The platform includes WTW's proprietary human capital research, trend data, thought leadership, regulatory briefings, and case studies. According to Julie Gebauer, President of Health, Wealth & Career at WTW, Expert particularly targets time-constrained HR teams at midsize companies.

WTW (NASDAQ: WTW) has announced a significant technological advancement with the launch of its Rating, Pricing, and Underwriting accelerator for Guidewire. The new integration enhances WTW's Radar rating and analytics engine, specifically designed for the insurance sector, with Guidewire's PolicyCenter system.

The accelerator streamlines integration by directly incorporating Guidewire product definitions into Radar's pricing environment, significantly expediting the implementation process. This innovation allows insurers to update market prices in minutes instead of days or weeks, addressing the growing demand for innovative insurance solutions while balancing regulatory requirements for rating accuracy, transparency, and fairness.

WTW (NASDAQ: WTW) has announced the launch of its Rating, Pricing, and Underwriting accelerator for Guidewire, enhancing its Radar rating and analytics engine. The new accelerator streamlines integration between Radar and Guidewire's PolicyCenter, significantly reducing implementation time and costs.

Radar is an end-to-end solution for the insurance sector, providing real-time analytics and decision-making guidance for pricing and underwriting. The accelerator's innovative approach directly incorporates Guidewire product definitions into Radar's pricing environment, enabling insurers to update market pricing in minutes instead of weeks or months.

This development addresses increasing market demands for innovative insurance solutions while helping pricing teams balance competitive pricing with regulatory requirements for rating accuracy, transparency, and fairness.

Willis (WTW) has appointed Stephen Kyriacou as Head of Litigation and Contingent Risk Solutions, and Senior Director of Transactional Solutions for North America. Kyriacou, who previously served as Managing Director at Aon's Litigation Risk Group, brings over a decade of expertise in legal and insurance industries.

As the first insurance industry professional focused solely on the litigation and contingent risk insurance market, Kyriacou pioneered judgment preservation insurance and insurance-backed judgment monetization. He was named a Risk & Insurance 'Power Broker' for three consecutive years (2022-2024).

At WTW, Kyriacou will focus on expanding the firm's litigation and contingent risk solutions practice, structuring risk transfer strategies, and building a technical risk solutions team. He holds a J.D. from NYU School of Law and previously worked at Boies Schiller Flexner.

Willis (NASDAQ: WTW) has appointed Mike Giacobbe as Client Strategy Leader for Corporate Risk & Broking, North America, effective Q2 2025. Reporting to Adam Garrard, Chairman of Global Risk & Broking, Giacobbe will be responsible for driving an integrated value proposition and ensuring consistent service across client segments.

Based in Chicago, Giacobbe joins from Marsh, where he served as U.S. and Canada Leader of Marsh Advisory. His previous roles include Global Head of Data, Analytics & Consulting at JLT and Managing Director, Broking at Aon Risk Solutions. He holds a doctorate in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Illinois.

In his new role, Giacobbe will focus on maximizing Willis's consulting capabilities and analytics tools, working with the Risk and Analytics team to tailor solutions for clients across North America, regardless of their size, industry, location, or purchasing patterns.

WTW (NASDAQ: WTW) reported strong Q4 2024 financial results with revenue increasing 4% to $3.0 billion and full-year revenue growing 5% to $9.9 billion. The company achieved 5% organic revenue growth for both periods.

Q4 2024 highlights include diluted EPS of $12.25 (up 105%) and adjusted diluted EPS of $8.13 (up 9%). Operating margin improved to 29.7% (up 300 basis points) for Q4. However, full-year results showed a net loss of $88 million, primarily due to over $1.0 billion in impairment charges related to the TRANZACT sale.

The company's Health, Wealth & Career segment revenue grew 3% to $1.85 billion, while Risk & Broking segment revenue increased 6% to $1.14 billion. WTW completed its Grow, Simplify and Transform strategy and repurchased $901 million of shares during 2024.

Willis (Nasdaq: WTW) has appointed Paul Graziano as Growth Leader for North America, focusing on developing a unified revenue growth framework across Willis in North America. Graziano brings over 30 years of industry experience, joining from Marsh where he served as Managing Director and Global Engagement Partner. His background includes working with Fortune 500 C-suite executives, entrepreneurs, and emerging growth companies.

Prior to this appointment, Graziano held positions as Chief Business Development Officer at JLT before its 2019 Marsh acquisition, and spent 18 years at Aon as Executive Vice President. Based in Denver, Graziano is an Indiana University graduate. Adam Garrard, Chairman of Global Risk and Broking, emphasized how Graziano's experience in growth strategies and complex risk solutions aligns with Willis's North American growth plans.