Willis North America Appoints Michael Liss Midwest National Partner

<table cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 border=0><tr><td align=right>Copyright: </td><td>Copyright Business Wire 2011</td></tr><tr><td align=right>Source: </td><td>Business Wire, Inc.</td></tr><tr><td align=right>Wordcount: </td><td>448</td></tr></table><!-- start_body --><br><p class="bwalignc"><i><b>Industry Leading Talent to Drive Growth, Deliver Willis Cause</b></i></p><p><location value="LU/us.ny.nyc" idsrc="xmltag.org">NEW YORK</location>--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Willis <location value="LB/nam" idsrc="xmltag.org">North America</location>, a unit of <org value="NYSE:WSH" idsrc="xmltag.org">Willis Group Holdings</org> (NYSE: WSH), the global insurance broker, today announced the appointment of <person>Michael Liss</person> as National Partner of its <location>Midwest Region</location>. <person>Mr. Liss</person> has been serving as Managing Partner of Willis’ <location value="LU/us.il.chicgo" idsrc="xmltag.org">Chicago</location> office since 2006. He will report to <person>Todd Jones</person>, President of <org value="ACORN:1027649099" idsrc="xmltag.org">Willis North America</org>. </p><p> In this role, <person>Mr. Liss</person> will oversee the retail insurance brokerage operations of the <location>Midwest Region</location> and focus on driving growth and strategic development. In addition, he will lead the drive to expand Willis’ market share, elevate the Willis brand and align resources to deliver quality solutions to clients. </p><p><person>Mr. Liss</person> will work closely with existing management teams in Willis’ <location>Midwest Region</location>, an operation that includes 10 offices and 750 Associates in <location value="LS/us.il" idsrc="xmltag.org">Illinois</location>, <location value="LS/us.mi" idsrc="xmltag.org">Michigan</location>, <location value="LS/us.oh" idsrc="xmltag.org">Ohio</location>, <location value="LS/us.mn" idsrc="xmltag.org">Minnesota</location>, <location value="LS/us.wi" idsrc="xmltag.org">Wisconsin</location>, <location value="LS/us.ne" idsrc="xmltag.org">Nebraska</location> and <location value="LS/us.ks" idsrc="xmltag.org">Kansas</location>. Willis delivers a variety of specialty insurance services to this region including construction, healthcare, senior housing, real estate, financial services and manufacturing. <person>Mr. Liss</person> is based in the iconic <location value="LU/us.il.chicgo" idsrc="xmltag.org">Chicago</location> skyscraper, <location>Willis Tower</location>, which serves as Willis North America’s hub for Midwest operations. </p><p> Mr. Liss’ appointment is part of Willis’ strategy to build an executive team across <location value="LB/nam" idsrc="xmltag.org">North America</location> committed to driving sales leadership and delivering The Willis Cause to clients across its portfolio. Commenting on the appointment, <person>Mr. Jones</person> said, “Mike brings an enormous amount of talent and energy to this role. I am confident his strong track record of success and outstanding reputation in the industry will help Willis achieve its growth targets for this important region.” </p><p><person>Mr. Liss</person> joined Willis in 2006 as a Regional Partner for <org value="ACORN:1027649099" idsrc="xmltag.org">Willis North America</org> overseeing its <location value="LU/us.il.chicgo" idsrc="xmltag.org">Chicago</location> and <location value="LU/us.wi.milkee" idsrc="xmltag.org">Milwaukee</location> retail operations. Following Willis’ acquisition of Hilb Rogal and Hobbs in 2008, he was appointed Managing Partner of <location value="LU/us.il.chicgo" idsrc="xmltag.org">Chicago</location>, where he successfully integrated four <location value="LU/us.il.chicgo" idsrc="xmltag.org">Chicago</location>-area offices into <location>Willis Tower</location>. </p><p><person>Mr. Liss</person> brings over 28 years of industry experience to this role. Prior to joining Willis he served as Executive Vice President and <person>Branch Manager</person> at <org>Wachovia Insurance Services</org>. He has also held leadership roles at <org>Marsh USA</org>, Johnson & <org>Higgins and The Hartford Group</org>. </p><p><b>ABOUT WILLIS</b></p><p><org value="NYSE:WSH" idsrc="xmltag.org">Willis Group Holdings plc</org> is a leading global insurance broker. Through its subsidiaries, Willis develops and delivers 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 400 offices in nearly 120 countries, with a global team of approximately 17,000 employees serving clients in virtually every part of the world. Additional information on Willis may be found at <a href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.willis.com%2F&esheet=50037280&lan=en-US&anchor=www.willis.com&index=1&md5=fa5c9ddd8a2eaf625ff9e75a8545eedb">www.willis.com</a>. </p><p class="bwalignc"></p><p></p><p><img alt="" src="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=bwnews&sty=20111020006080r1&sid=acqr4&distro=nx" /><span class="bwct31415" /></p><p><org value="NYSE:WSH" idsrc="xmltag.org">Willis Group Holdings plc</org><br />Media:<br /><person>Colleen McCarthy</person>, +1-212-915-8307<br /><a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a><br />or<br />Investors:<br /><person>Peter Poillon</person>, +212-915-8084<br /><a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a></p><p></p><p>Source: <org value="NYSE:WSH" idsrc="xmltag.org">Willis Group Holdings plc</org></p>