Aon

Ins urance giant Aon's international activity exploded in 1990 due to rapid expansion mainly driven by acquisition activity", says Erwin Janush, senior vice president at Aon in Chicago. The "full service" actuarial and compensation consultancy has operations in 550 offices in more than 100 countries worlwide, 20 of them in Europe. Aon's international expansion has stemmed from a belief in having wholly owned operations, and secondly in having critical mass in the local marketplace. Once people are on the ground, the group sets out to acquire "detailed knowledge" of the local HR and compensation consulting market. Aon also offers retail brokerage, reinsurance and wholesale brokerage, alternative risk management solutions and risk management and integrated human resources consulting services. The investment consulting side of the business is not as prevalent in Europe as in the US, but Aon conducts "a fair amount" of business in the UK."