Plumeri was joined by members of the Willis Board of Directors and the company’s Executive Committee at the NYSE on Monday, June 6 to commemorate a defining moment in the broker’s 183-year history.
After an interview with Maria Bartiromo on CNBC’s Closing Bell, Plumeri spoke to NYSE TV1 on the trading floor saying, “Ringing the bell is like throwing the first pitch at Yankee Stadium. It’s an unbelievable feeling, and I’m so proud of what Willis has achieved. We’re here today to celebrate a terrific decade of client service, passion and shareholder return, which we hope to re-enact in the next 10 years.”
On June 12, 2001, Willis emerged from private ownership under Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and made a triumphant return to the NYSE under the leadership of Plumeri, who took the firm public just eight months after assuming the company’s helm.
The decade that followed was one of the most tumultuous in the history of insurance, with regulatory upheavals, the global financial crisis and catastrophes like 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina wiping out billions of dollars from the insurance industry’s balance sheet. Willis weathered these storms, with its stock price appreciating by over 200 percent since its IPO.
With an illustrious history, and a Cause that puts clients first, Willis begins its second decade after the 2001 IPO with a renowned global presence and a limitless future.