Spencer Looks Back with Stephen P. McGill, 2010 Gala Honoree
"It is incredible to think how much has changed since I was honored at the Spencer Gala a decade ago in 2010. At that time, I was working at Aon where I was Chairman and CEO of Aon Risk Solutions. Two years later, I was appointed as Group President of Aon and relocated to London where I stayed until I left the company in 2017 after 12 wonderful years with the exceptional firm. I saw a gap in the market for a high quality, specialty, boutique firm which led to the formation of McGill and Partners, which I founded in May 2019 in partnership with Warburg Pincus. We have just completed our first full year of trading, hired 249 colleagues, won 200+ clients and established a presence in London, New York and Miami.
It’s not surprising that I consider my tenure at Aon and founding of McGill and Partners to be my two greatest professional accomplishments. A little more unexpected, though, is that my greatest personal accomplishment is so closely related to these feats: I’m extraordinarily proud that Queen Elizabeth II awarded me a CBE (Commander of the British Empire) for services to the insurance industry and humanitarian efforts.
We have seen a huge amount of change occur in the last decade across the insurance industry as well, which currently positions us in a marketplace that has never been experienced before. Primarily, we have seen the relentless trend of broker M&A with consolidation occurring at a rapid rate. Next year, we will see the greatest structural change in broking history when Aon takes over Willis Towers Watson, which will have a significant impact on the marketplace as a whole. In addition, we are now experiencing the hardest market seen for decades globally across most products, geographies and client industries and this is reinforced by the impact of Covid-19, which is expected to be the largest Non-Cat event experienced in the industry. We are seeing a challenging market that is ever-changing, but one with a huge amount of opportunity and this year has certainly been one of the most exciting and interesting periods of my career!
For our industry to continue to be successful through these periods, we need to continually bring in young, diverse talent that can help to build the next chapter for the insurance industry. The Spencer Educational Foundation is beneficial to the insurance and risk management community because it helps to nurture the next generation of talent by providing them with tools and programs that present the industry, and the many jobs within it, as attractive career paths.
I was incredibly privileged to accept Spencer’s Honor in 2010. Leadership, innovation and education are integral to the future of our industry. I am passionate about supporting those in education and providing them with the means to succeed. The work that the Spencer Foundation does and the extraordinary fundraising that supports young talent is a fantastic output of the industry.
My advice for this young talent: strive for perfection and settle for excellence, never stop learning, and be a team player."