GLOBAL – Mercer’s president Peter Coster is retiring from the firm months after being removed from the board of parent company Marsh & McLennan Companies.

He will be replaced by Brian Storms, who becomes president and chief executive of Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Storms, currently vice chairman of Mercer HR Consulting, was formerly chief executive of UBS Global Asset Management, Americas.

MMC said the moves follow Coster’s planned retirement “after a successful 40-year career at Mercer”. Coster left the board of MMC – embroiled in an insurance market scandal - in November amid a corporate governance push.

Mercer will now be split into two business areas.

Storms, 50, will head Mercer HR Consulting's core consulting practices as well as its new outsourcing and investment solutions businesses.

David Morrison, 57-year-old president and CEO at Mercer Management Consulting, will head MMC's speciality consulting businesses.

Both will report MMC CEO Michael Cherkasky.

"As MMC continues to realign its structure, these changes at Mercer represent important steps in streamlining accountability while ensuring that our leaders remain close to the clients and markets they serve,” Cherkasky said.

“We greatly appreciate the enormous contributions that Peter Coster has made to the company over the years, and we wish him well in his retirement."

Coster, 64, joined Mercer in 1984 and became president in 1987. He joined the MMC board in 1988. According to Forbes.com, he earned a total of 3.3 million dollars in 2003 and has 14 million dollars in stock options.

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